Oliver Schusser, who now heads up Apple Music, recently sat down with Billboard to give some insight into how ‌Apple Music‌ works and his plans for ‌Apple Music‌'s future.

Schusser, who has been with Apple for 15 years, was promoted to Head of Global Operations for ‌Apple Music‌ back in April 2018, reporting directly to ‌Apple Music‌ chief Eddy Cue.

oliverschusser
At a time when there was internal strife over Jimmy Iovine's move to an advisory role and stress over slowing iPhone sales, Schusser was responsible for dissolving the "internal divide of the Iovine era" and bringing renewed energy to ‌Apple Music‌, according to sources that spoke to Billboard. From Rachel Newman, global senior director of editoral at ‌Apple Music‌ and one of Schusser's employees:

"He knows more about most people's teams than they do themselves, in a good way. He knows people's birthdays. He just has the capacity to deal with the human side of being a leader, as much as he does the strategic and commercial sides. That is what makes him phenomenal."

When he took over ‌Apple Music‌, Schusser appointed trusted confidantes to lead new ‌Apple Music‌ initiatives and he created new editorial, artist relations, and music publishing divisions to "take better advantage of Apple's long-standing artist relationships."

He also aimed to introduce updates to ‌Apple Music‌ more frequently, debuting top 100 charts and new personalized playlists over the course of the last year, and he established partnerships with American Airlines, Verizon, and Amazon to boost subscriber growth. Record labels are happy with the changes that Schusser has implemented, and have called Apple more open and engaging under his leadership.

One thing that's not changing is Apple's focus on curation. Apple is at the "crossroads between the liberal arts and technology," says Schusser, and it's important to have a human element when it comes to recommendations.

"That's just not the way we look at the world," continues Schusser. "We really do believe that we have a responsibility to our subscribers and our customers to have people recommend what a playlist should look like and who the future superstars are."

Schusser says that he is optimistic about the future, and that Apple is "feeling really good" about where the service is today, four years after it launched.

Other people have had a lot more experience, a lot more time to test things and to learn, and we've caught up really fast. We look at ourselves as an artist-first company, and we want to be the best partners for labels, publishers and songwriters. We're working with the product and engineering team on our vision and the future for the product. If you do all of these things, the rest will follow."

Billboard's full profile on Schusser can be read over on the Billboard website.

Top Rated Comments

Mactendo Avatar
48 months ago
it's important to have a human element when it comes to recommendations.

"We really do believe that we have a responsibility to our subscribers and our customers to have people recommend what a playlist should look like and who the future superstars are."
Curation can be a good and bad thing, depending on who curators are. It looks like there are too many rappers and hip-hoppers in those future superstars.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Brenster Avatar
48 months ago
Curation can be a good and bad thing, depending on who curators are. It looks like there are too many rappers and hip-hoppers in those future superstars.
I’m assuming Shusser is at least in part responsible for bringing Deutsche Grammophon classical label on board last year to curate their own content and playlists, which has been an ongoing joy to explore and listen. Whilst, yes, the Browse section of Apple Music is overwhelmingly urban/hip hop and the like, there are some fantastic curators for other genres on the service.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rojaaemon Avatar
48 months ago
This is very helpful, because when I ask Siri "Who heads up Apple Music?" the reply is "I don't know what you mean by 'Who heads up Apple Music.'"

And when I ask "Who is the head of Apple Music?" the reply is "Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple."
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
funandblindness Avatar
48 months ago
Curation can be a good and bad thing, depending on who curators are. It looks like there are too many rappers and hip-hoppers in those future superstars.
This is an old and tired argument. Hip hop and rap are very popular genres. Spend a little time interacting with Apple Music and it will never show you Kanye or Drake again.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Classie Avatar
48 months ago
Really love the part about him knowing birthdays and other personal things - it’s great working for someone how cares
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mactendo Avatar
48 months ago
This is very helpful, because when I ask Siri "Who heads up Apple Music?" the reply is "I don't know what you mean by 'Who heads up Apple Music.'"

And when I ask "Who is the head of Apple Music?" the reply is "Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple."
- Siri, what's the weather going to be like today?
- Tim Cook.
- Siri, what are you tal...
- Tim Cook.
- Siri, where's...
- Tim Cook.
- Siri, when...
- Tim Cook.
- Siri!
- Tim Cook.
- Tim Cook?
- Tim Cook.

:D

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Sunday March 26, 2023 6:05 am PDT by
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:06 am PDT by
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Some Apple Employees Seriously Concerned About Mixed-Reality Headset as Announcement Draws Closer

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:25 am PDT by
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Steve Jobs Theater dusk

Apple Reportedly Demoed Mixed-Reality Headset to Executives in the Steve Jobs Theater Last Week

Sunday March 26, 2023 5:53 am PDT by
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
top stories 25mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak, iOS 16.4 Coming Soon, and More

Saturday March 25, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
apple tv 4k red image

Apple Releases tvOS 16.4 for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD

Monday March 27, 2023 10:00 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 16.4, the fourth major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that came out last September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.4 comes two months following the release of tvOS 16.3. The tvOS 16.4 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌ by going to System > Software Update....