Earlier this week, news broke that Apple Music was getting new leadership within Apple, including a major new outside hire. That leadership could very well infuse some TikTok-style innovation into Apple Music before long. Here’s why.
Apple poached a top TikTok exec to co-lead Apple Music
Apple Music has fresh leadership. There are two new co-heads now at the helm.
Ole Obermann and Rachel Newman have been given shared leadership of all aspects of the streaming service, under the oversight of former head Oliver Schusser.
Newman is a longtime Apple Music exec, but Obermann is brand new to the company—the rare outside hire to move straight into top leadership.
Back in February, Obermann announced his departure from TikTok, where he has worked for the last five and a half years.
At TikTok, Obermann was Global Head of Music Business Development.
But according to Music Business Worldwide, his role at Apple sounds much more product-focused.
Beyond being co-head, more specifically Obermann’s job is “a newly created role…focused on strategy and innovation.”
Obermann’s TikTok tenure centered a lot on striking big deals with artists and helping the platform thrive as a result.
But it seems Apple’s successful poaching came with new responsibilities.
Top comment by Benjamin Nelson
All I want is for Siri to find the right album or track. But if the stations could be more relavant to stuff that I've liked vs stuff that the algorithm would like me to see that would be cool too.
Co-leading Apple Music should prove a big upgrade on its own. But so too will shifting to focus more on “strategy and innovation.”
9to5Mac’s Take
The core user experience in Apple Music hasn’t changed all that much since the service first debuted. New features in the Music app arrive regularly, and enhancements like Spatial Audio have been highlights too.
But in many respects, the core of Apple Music, to me at least, feels like it could use some modernization. I’m excited to see what such a high-ranking TikTok veteran can bring to the service to shake things up.
What changes do you want to see in Apple Music, and are there any TikTok features you think would be a good fit? Let us know in the comments.
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