Jimmy Iovine, who first gained acclaim as a recording engineer at New York City's renowned Record Plant studio in the 1970s, has enjoyed a dynamic career in the music industry. Iovine is the co-founder of Interscope Records, Beats Electronics (Beats by Dre), the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy, and the Iovine and Young Center.
At Record Plant, Iovine engineered tracks for industry greats, such as John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen, and he produced music for the likes of Patti Smith, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Dire Straits, The Pretenders, and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. Iovine served as a music supervisor and producer for films that included "Sixteen Candles," "Scrooged," and "Road House."
In 1990, Iovine co-founded Interscope Records with media mogul Ted Field and others after being introduced to Field by U2's manager, Paul McGuinness. Iovine helped turn Interscope Records into a multi-media powerhouse, discovering and working with major hitmakers, such as Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, Lady Gaga, will.i.am, Nine Inch Nails, and Eminem. The record label put artists and their ideas first. And, it was while with Interscope Records that Iovine met his future business and philanthropic partner, Andre "Dr. Dre" Young.
After a beachside conversation with Dr. Dre about personal branding, the duo came together in 2006 to launch the premium sound and music technology brand Beats Electronics (Beats by Dre). The headphone, earphone, and speaker empire took the world by storm, mixing fashionable and high-performance sound elements that allowed users to hear every aspect of the music. Apple acquired the entire Beats Electronics brand in 2014.
Through their experience at Beats, Iovine and Dr. Dre concluded that education is siloed. That is, students weren't being taught in an interdisciplinary manner but received coursework that was either about the arts or technology – but not both.
With this as their inspiration, Iovine and Dr. Dre created the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. The Academy, launched in 2013 and located at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, offers undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to study human-centered design, purpose-driven technology, business innovation, entrepreneurship, and communication. The Academy has yielded tech startups and hosts student and alumni events throughout the year.
In 2022, Iovine and Dr. Dre co-founded the Iovine and Young Center (IYC). IYC is high school education reimagined, with coursework in entrepreneurship, technology, and design. Since August 2024, two IYC locations have opened – in Los Angeles and Atlanta. More locations are forthcoming, beginning with one in Inglewood, California, in 2025.
Over the years, Iovine has been recognized for his many achievements. In 2012, he was honored by The Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing. Later, in 2014, Iovine and Dr. Dre were inducted into the California Museum's California Hall of Fame. Iovine accepted the Wall Street Journal Innovator Award that same year, and, in 2022, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Ahmet Ertegun Award for his contributions to the music industry.
Iovine is on the board of several organizations, including the XQ Institute, Live Nation Entertainment, Complex NTWRK, and Rosewood Creative. He is an investor in the ready-to-drink mixed cocktail brand Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop.
