The head of Hip-Hop/R&B Programming at Apple Music, Carl Chery, is reportedly headed for rival Spotify.
Chery worked for Apple since 2014, and was responsible for helping to launch the careers of Cardi B, Bryson Tiller, Post Malone, and others.
This is the second high-profile departure from Apple Music in a week. Just a few days ago, Jimmy Iovine ended his time as head of this streaming music service. Oliver Schusser took over as chief of Apple Music Worldwide.
Both Chery and Iovine were first brought into the fold when Apple acquired Beats by Dre. Their near-simultaneous departures aren’t necessarily related. Iovine isn’t leaving Apple, and he’s certainly not going to work for Spotify, he’s just taking a smaller role at the company.
Cheryl’s defection isn’t official yet, there’s just an unconfirmed report from Variety, so it’s not known who will replace him.
Apple Music itself is doing well, recently passing the 40 million paid subscribers mark. That said, rival Spotify has somewhere over 70 million subscribers. The two are in intense, and sometimes petty, competition.
