Why producer and tech dude Jimmy Iovine is worried about the future of music

Jimmy Iovine cut his teeth as a studio engineer for Bruce Springsteen. He moved on to working with Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Trent Reznor, Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, and Lady Gaga. After that, he was a co-founder (with Dr. Dre) of the Beats empire, which sold to Apple for more than US$3 billion.

Few people are better acquainted with the current relationship between music and technology than Iovine. And he’s worried. The New York Times reports:

“In a series of conversations in December, Iovine spoke about his career transition from the studio to the halls of Cupertino, and the tangled relationship between music and tech in the 2010s. Artists, he said, are more powerful than ever, thanks to social media — but too few, in Iovine’s opinion, have made social statements as bold as those by the 82-year-old Ruscha and ‘Our Flag.’

“’This painting says more than any song that I’ve heard in the last 10 years,’ Iovine said. ‘Why is that?’

Uh-oh. Better keep reading.