The 62-year-old opposite me in the pristine trainers and rimless glasses is describing, with a breeziness you’d normally reserve for relaying your dinner plans, how he shaped one of the biggest business decisions in recent history.

This week, Taylor Swift revealed that her internet-breaking open letter to Apple — informing them that she was pulling her newest album from their nascent streaming service because of an argument over artist royalties — was written in a frenzy at 4am. Jimmy Iovine, however, veteran record producer, Beats Electronics co-founder and exec at the Cupertino Company’s long-gestating Spotify rival, is running through the chain of events leading to Apple’s U-turn with a casualness at odds with Swift’s insomniac keyboard hammering.

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“Eddy [Cue, Apple senior VP] woke up on Sunday morning,” says Iovine. “He called me and said, ‘This is a drag’. I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe there’s some stuff she doesn’t understand’. He said, ‘Why don’t you give Scott [Borchetta, Swift’s label boss] a call? I called Scott, I called Eddy back, Eddy and Tim [Cook, Apple CEO] called me back and we said, ‘Hey, you know what, we want this system to be right and we want artists to be comfortable, let’s do it’.”

So just like that, it was done. Apple would go back on its initial plan and pay artists per stream during the three month-free trial of Apple Music. A flurry of morning phone calls and this axis of power had agreed to a policy change estimated to be worth millions of pounds in customer acquisition. How long did it take? He says he’s not sure but he remembers “getting a pair of espadrilles for Fathers’ Day”. Financial clout and beach-appropriate footwear; it seems fitting for a man who suddenly finds himself a major player among Silicon Valley’s hoodied kajillionaires.

Six weeks after those phone calls and a month to the day since the launch of Apple Music, I’m meeting Iovine (pronounced “eye-oh-veen”) in his suite at the Berkeley hotel. Having flown in from New York yesterday he’s clearly battling a bout of midday jet lag but, as he mainlines green tea with honey, there’s a spry, childish energy to him that belies a 40-year career in the music business, producing for everyone from John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen and signing artists including Eminem, Lady Gaga and his future business partner Dr Dre. Later he’s heading to watch Billy Elliot (which, incredibly, he’s never heard of) with his girlfriend, British model Liberty Ross.

“I have a great life,” he says with a smile, describing the weekly trip he makes from his LA home up to his Cupertino office, thanks to last year’s $3 billion sale of Beats to Apple. Great, perhaps, but pressurised. The heat is on in the music streaming sector, with Apple taking on not just Spotify and Google but Rdio, Jay Z’s Tidal and a newly announced streaming bundle for Amazon Prime customers. Is he worried about another cut-price rival?

“There’s a lot of [them],” he says, disdainfully. “Music deserves elegance and the distribution right now is not great. It’s all over the place and there are a bunch of utilities. That’s the best you can find. It’s basically a really narrow, small, inelegant way to have music delivered. So it’s sterile, programmed by algorithms and numbing.”

This is a familiar mantra over the course of our time together (if I did a shot every time Iovine said “utilities” I’d have been carried from the room). Curation is the hottest word in the tech world, with everyone from Facebook to YouTube extolling the virtues of using human guides through the online cosmos. As Iovine says: “Algorithms don’t understand the subtlety and the mixing of genres. So we hired the best people we know. Hired hundreds of them.”

He looked in London — he first visited in 1976 when he crashed in a Portobello Road hotel and was “completely terrified”— for an important one of those hires. Zane Lowe was poached from the BBC to head up Beats 1, the international digital radio station that has arguably been Apple Music’s most popular innovation. “What he’s done in 19 weeks shouldn’t have been possible,” he says. Was it easy to convince Lowe to leave London? “It wasn’t easy but that was my job and I come from a world of knowing when someone is special.”

Taylor Swift - In pictures 63 show all Taylor Swift - In pictures 1/63 Taylor Swift attends the premiere of "Miss Americana" at the Eccles Theater during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Invision/AP 2/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2017 DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadic Getty Images 3/63 Taylor Swift with her cat Meredith Taylor Swift 4/63 Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne and Taylor Swift take to the water slide for their 4th July celebrations Cara Delevingne/Instagram 5/63 Kanye West jumps onstage after Taylor Swift wins the 'Best Female Video' award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Getty Images 6/63 Feud Taylor Swift and Katy Perry in 2010 Getty Images 7/63 Taylor Swift attends the 46th annual CMA Awards in 2012 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee Getty Images 8/63 Taylor Swift performs at the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Lexington Avenue Armory Getty Images 9/63 Taylor Swift performs at the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Lexington Avenue Armory Getty Images 10/63 Good friends Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift in 2013 Getty Images 11/63 Red alert Swift poses in a red minidress at the Jingle Bell Ball in 2014 Getty Images 12/63 Taylor Swift attends the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York Getty Images 13/63 Trophies Taylor Swifts poses with all her gongs at the Billboard Awards in 2015 Invision/AP 14/63 Swift performs in 2015 to a packed-out arena in Glasgow Getty Images 15/63 Mummy's girl Swift accepts the Milestone Award from mum Andrea Swift on stage at the Academy Of Country Music Awards in 2015 Getty Images 16/63 Intimate snap Taylor Swift with then-boyfriend Calvin Harris 17/63 Taylor Swift appeared to mock Kim Kardashian's robbery ordeal in a video at the MTV Video Awards 18/63 New couple Taylor Swift posts her first photo on Instagram with then-boyfriend Calvin Harris 19/63 Comedy skills Taylor Swift and Jimmy Fallon goof around in basketball gear on The Tonight Show in 2015 NBC/Getty Images 20/63 Duet Madonna and Taylor Swift perform together during the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards Getty Images 21/63 Chart-topper The star performs during her 1989 tour in 2015 Invision/AP 22/63 On stage Performing during her 1989 world tour in LA in 2015 Getty Images 23/63 Stylish Taylor Swift attends the Elle Style Awards in 2015 Getty Images 24/63 Taylor Swift performs during the BRIT Awards at The O2 Arena in 2015 Getty Images 25/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during The 1989 World Tour Live In Los Angeles at Staples Center in 2015 Getty Images 26/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the International Female Solo Artist Award, poses in the winners room during the BRIT Awards 2015 Getty Images 27/63 Award-winning Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards in 2015 Getty Images 28/63 Taylor Swift attends the 'Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology' Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2016 Getty Images 29/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album for "1989" and Best Music Video for "Bad Blood," poses in the press room during The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 30/63 Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift attend The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 31/63 Taylor Swift attends the 64th Annual BMI Pop Awards in 2016 Getty Images 32/63 Taylor Swift and then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston in 2016 Rex Features 33/63 Taylor Swift attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Getty Images 34/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 35/63 Taylor Swift attends The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 36/63 The official music video for Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik's single "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" from the film Fifty Shades Darker 37/63 Taylor Swift starring in an Apple promotional video campaign in April 2016 38/63 Taylor Swift in 'Family Secrets' Taylor Swift/Twitter 39/63 Taylor Swift on the cover of the May 2016 issue of Vogue Magazine Vogue Magazine 40/63 In this courtroom sketch, the pop singer speaks from the witness stand during a trial against David Mueller in 2017 AP 41/63 Taylor Swift hosts fans at her home in Rhode Island in 2017 42/63 Taylor Swift returns with her 2017 album Reputation 43/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2017 DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadi Getty Images 44/63 Taylor swift accepts the Artist of the Year award during the 2018 American Music Awards Getty Images 45/63 Taylor preforms ANZ Stadium in Sydney in 2018 Getty Images 46/63 Taylor Swift attends the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards Getty Images 47/63 Taylor Swift joins Idris Elba onstage during the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2019 NBCUniversal via Getty Images 48/63 Taylor Swift attends Gigi Hadid's birthday party at Chalet in New York SplashNews.com 49/63 Taylor Swift performs during the TIME 100 Gala 2019 Dinner at Jazz at Lincoln Center on 23 April 2019 in New York Getty Images 50/63 Taylor Swift poses upon arriving for the Time 100 Gala celebrating Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in New York Reuters 51/63 Taylor Swift performs with Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco in Las Vegas, NV, USA Getty Images 52/63 Taylor Swift performing during the filming of the Graham Norton Show in London, England PA 53/63 Taylor and Katy Perry make up in her video You Need To Calm Down Taylor Swift 54/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage at 2019 iHeartRadio Wango Tango Getty Images 55/63 Taylor Swift as Bombalurina 56/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award, performs a medley at the American Music Awards Reuters 57/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award, performs a medley at the American Music Awards Invision/AP 58/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award, performs a medley at the American Music Awards Getty Images 59/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award at the American Music Awards Invision/AP 60/63 Taylor Swift out and about in New York in 2016 Rex 61/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award at the American Music Awards Getty Images 62/63 Taylor Swift: Miss Americana at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival AP 63/63 Taylor Swift attends the premiere of "Miss Americana" at the Eccles Theater during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Getty Images 1/63 Taylor Swift attends the premiere of "Miss Americana" at the Eccles Theater during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Invision/AP 2/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2017 DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadic Getty Images 3/63 Taylor Swift with her cat Meredith Taylor Swift 4/63 Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne and Taylor Swift take to the water slide for their 4th July celebrations Cara Delevingne/Instagram 5/63 Kanye West jumps onstage after Taylor Swift wins the 'Best Female Video' award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Getty Images 6/63 Feud Taylor Swift and Katy Perry in 2010 Getty Images 7/63 Taylor Swift attends the 46th annual CMA Awards in 2012 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee Getty Images 8/63 Taylor Swift performs at the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Lexington Avenue Armory Getty Images 9/63 Taylor Swift performs at the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Lexington Avenue Armory Getty Images 10/63 Good friends Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift in 2013 Getty Images 11/63 Red alert Swift poses in a red minidress at the Jingle Bell Ball in 2014 Getty Images 12/63 Taylor Swift attends the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York Getty Images 13/63 Trophies Taylor Swifts poses with all her gongs at the Billboard Awards in 2015 Invision/AP 14/63 Swift performs in 2015 to a packed-out arena in Glasgow Getty Images 15/63 Mummy's girl Swift accepts the Milestone Award from mum Andrea Swift on stage at the Academy Of Country Music Awards in 2015 Getty Images 16/63 Intimate snap Taylor Swift with then-boyfriend Calvin Harris 17/63 Taylor Swift appeared to mock Kim Kardashian's robbery ordeal in a video at the MTV Video Awards 18/63 New couple Taylor Swift posts her first photo on Instagram with then-boyfriend Calvin Harris 19/63 Comedy skills Taylor Swift and Jimmy Fallon goof around in basketball gear on The Tonight Show in 2015 NBC/Getty Images 20/63 Duet Madonna and Taylor Swift perform together during the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards Getty Images 21/63 Chart-topper The star performs during her 1989 tour in 2015 Invision/AP 22/63 On stage Performing during her 1989 world tour in LA in 2015 Getty Images 23/63 Stylish Taylor Swift attends the Elle Style Awards in 2015 Getty Images 24/63 Taylor Swift performs during the BRIT Awards at The O2 Arena in 2015 Getty Images 25/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during The 1989 World Tour Live In Los Angeles at Staples Center in 2015 Getty Images 26/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the International Female Solo Artist Award, poses in the winners room during the BRIT Awards 2015 Getty Images 27/63 Award-winning Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards in 2015 Getty Images 28/63 Taylor Swift attends the 'Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology' Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2016 Getty Images 29/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album for "1989" and Best Music Video for "Bad Blood," poses in the press room during The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 30/63 Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift attend The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 31/63 Taylor Swift attends the 64th Annual BMI Pop Awards in 2016 Getty Images 32/63 Taylor Swift and then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston in 2016 Rex Features 33/63 Taylor Swift attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Getty Images 34/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 35/63 Taylor Swift attends The 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016 Getty Images 36/63 The official music video for Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik's single "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" from the film Fifty Shades Darker 37/63 Taylor Swift starring in an Apple promotional video campaign in April 2016 38/63 Taylor Swift in 'Family Secrets' Taylor Swift/Twitter 39/63 Taylor Swift on the cover of the May 2016 issue of Vogue Magazine Vogue Magazine 40/63 In this courtroom sketch, the pop singer speaks from the witness stand during a trial against David Mueller in 2017 AP 41/63 Taylor Swift hosts fans at her home in Rhode Island in 2017 42/63 Taylor Swift returns with her 2017 album Reputation 43/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2017 DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadi Getty Images 44/63 Taylor swift accepts the Artist of the Year award during the 2018 American Music Awards Getty Images 45/63 Taylor preforms ANZ Stadium in Sydney in 2018 Getty Images 46/63 Taylor Swift attends the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards Getty Images 47/63 Taylor Swift joins Idris Elba onstage during the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2019 NBCUniversal via Getty Images 48/63 Taylor Swift attends Gigi Hadid's birthday party at Chalet in New York SplashNews.com 49/63 Taylor Swift performs during the TIME 100 Gala 2019 Dinner at Jazz at Lincoln Center on 23 April 2019 in New York Getty Images 50/63 Taylor Swift poses upon arriving for the Time 100 Gala celebrating Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in New York Reuters 51/63 Taylor Swift performs with Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco in Las Vegas, NV, USA Getty Images 52/63 Taylor Swift performing during the filming of the Graham Norton Show in London, England PA 53/63 Taylor and Katy Perry make up in her video You Need To Calm Down Taylor Swift 54/63 Taylor Swift performs onstage at 2019 iHeartRadio Wango Tango Getty Images 55/63 Taylor Swift as Bombalurina 56/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award, performs a medley at the American Music Awards Reuters 57/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award, performs a medley at the American Music Awards Invision/AP 58/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award, performs a medley at the American Music Awards Getty Images 59/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award at the American Music Awards Invision/AP 60/63 Taylor Swift out and about in New York in 2016 Rex 61/63 Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award at the American Music Awards Getty Images 62/63 Taylor Swift: Miss Americana at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival AP 63/63 Taylor Swift attends the premiere of "Miss Americana" at the Eccles Theater during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Getty Images

Here he’s touching on his ability to spot artists but he clearly has a knack for future-proofing. Iovine saw that the writing was on the wall when his record industry contemporaries were denying that a wall even existed.

“Napster hit me on the side of the head,” he says. “The minute I saw it I was like, we are in trouble. I knew the record industry wouldn’t know how to handle it. I said, ‘OK, let’s try to embrace the tech industry’. [From 2000] I spent three years looking for a relationship in tech we could work with.”

After first befriending Steve Jobs and advising him on the launch of iTunes, Iovine has finally made that relationship official. Apple Music announced today that it already has 11 million subscribers (Spotify has 20 million paying users) but the work goes on. “It’s such a big thing we’re trying to accomplish,” he says, putting all thoughts of espadrilles to the back of his mind. Elsewhere he still gets a kick out of seeing people in Beats by Dr Dre headphones and letting his girlfriend introduce him to Hollywood’s English mafia. “I had no idea how many English people were in LA before I met Liberty Ross,” he laughs.

But before that, streaming war. Or perhaps not. Jay-Z is a long-time acquaintance, has he reached out to Iovine for advice on Tidal? “I know Jay, he’s a fabulous cat, but I’m not involved in his streaming service,” he says. “I don’t look at Spotify or Rdio or any of these guys as a direct competitor, I look at other forms of entertainment as the competitor. Not everybody can do this but I think the team I’ve put together can. I always say, I love chocolate but I’m not Willy Wonka.”

Follow Jimi on Twitter: @jimfam

A free three-month Apple Music trial is available at apple.com/uk/music