Obermann’s Transition to Apple Music
In February, MBW reported the news that Ole Obermann left his role as the head of the development of musical business in Baitedance after five and a half years.
Our sources informed us that he had built a large role in Apple Music.
Today (April 29) we can confirm that Obermann really joined Apple in a recently created role in music focused on strategies and innovations.
MBW understands that Obermann took a joint leadership position in Apple Music with Rachel Newman, following Oliver Schusser’s report.
According to the internal announcement sent this afternoon and received by MBW, since the new co-leaders of Apple Music, Obermann and Newman will help “bring the service to the next stage.”
Background of Rachel Newman
Rachel Newman, a veteran from Los Angeles, has spent more than 16 years at Apple. She approached the role of joint leadership with her previous position as a global content leader and editorial overseer on the platform.
Initially, she joined Apple in 2009, working as the ITUNES Australia/New Zealand Music manager.
Obermann was previously responsible for managing the Baitedance musical strategy/TikTok.
Initially, Obermann joined TikTok in 2019 as vice president of Global Music. Later, it was confirmed that the role of Obermann expanded to become a global leader in the development of the musical business and IP at Bytedance.
Prior to his arrival at TikTok/Bytedance, Obermann held various high-ranking digital positions at Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.
After Obermann’s departure from Baitedance at the end of March, Tracy Gardner was appointed the new global manager of the company’s musical business development.
The internal announcement from Apple today described Obermann as a “respected leader in the music industry,” who “concluded contractual agreements with provisional values during his tenure at TikTok.
The key event during Obermann’s time at TikTok was the return of the recorded music and publishing catalogs of Universal Music Group to the platform after a passionate licensing dispute that led to UMG pulling its music from TikTok in January/February of last year.
Universal and TikTok reached a new licensing agreement in May 2024, which includes an “improved remuneration” for artists and authors of UMG songs, along with a commitment to develop artificial intelligence tools.
Obermann is also credited with securing what TikTok describes as “the first of its kind, an artist’s deal with Taylor Swift” to present her catalog on TikTok in support of the release of her album Midnights.
A Add to Music feature was also launched during Obermann’s tenure, which, according to TikTok, has already led to over a billion tracks saved on its partners’ DSPs (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and Melon).
