Larry Jackson, the global creative director of Apple Music, is leaving the company after seven years.
According to Billboard, On Thursday (Sept. 15) Jackson called the move a “tough” decision but did not reveal his following plans. “It’s been a tough conclusion for me to come to as I have so much pride and passion associated with what we’ve built together here at Apple Music since day one,” he said in a letter to staff of the streaming service.
He continued, “So many major moments and milestones that have truly reshaped the music marketplace and its distribution path over that period of time. More than all, I really, really appreciate the collaboration [and] partnership that I’ve had with each of you individually in what has easily been one of the most colorful chapters for me professionally.”
Previously, Jackson was the chief content officer at Beats Music. He joined Apple Music as global creative director in 2014 after the company acquired Beats Music and Beats Electronics in May 2014 for $3 billion dollars. He played a crucial role in streaming platform’s transformation into a music streaming service that rivaled Spotify.
The publication reported that Jackson’s accomplishments include negotiating a major deal with Drake that saw Apple Music secure a five-day exclusive window for the rapper’s 2016 album Views. The album reached one million streams and sales on the streaming service in its first five days. He was also responsible for bringing Frank Ocean’s back-to-back 2016 albums Endless and Blond to the music app. Jackson was also vital in negotiating Kanye West‘s deal with Apple Music for three stadium listening parties for the rapper’s 2020 album Donda; all streamed exclusively on the platform.
Before joining Beats Music, Jackson was the executive vice president at Interscope after serving as president/executive VP at Sony Music’s Arista Records/RCA Music Group. He has been named to Billboard’s Power List for several years running.