Apple Music Headed To Nashville

NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Apple Music announced on Monday that it was expanding into the nation’s key country music capital, with the relocation of longtime Apple exec Jay Liepis to Nashville.

According to Variety, Liepis is tasked with overseeing a team that will be “dedicated to being more involved with artists, managers, songwriters and the label community at large.”

Liepis, who has been on the Apple team for more than a decade, has served as the company’s head of U.S. and artist relations at iTunes, and played a key roll in the development and growth of Apple’s subscription-based streaming service Apple Music, Variety reported.

The local music community seems ready to welcome Apple to the neighborhood.

“Jay’s move to Nashville is a reflection of Apple Music’s ongoing investment to our ever-growing and increasingly diverse music community,” said Sandbox Entertainment president and CEO Jason Owen in a statement. “The impact that Apple has on our industry worldwide is undeniable, and it excites me to know that Nashville is a top priority. The expertise that Jay brings from his tenure paired with his long-term relationships with our city makes this move ideal on every level. Plus, he’s an awesome hang.”

Apple’s new offices in Nashville will be up and running later in 2018 and will focus on developing and expanding the company’s relationships with the country music industry, as well as the city’s burgeoning indie music scene.

However, rivals such as Spotify and Amazon, both already have offices in Nashville, and Spotify, in particular, has focused on fostering relationships in the community since 2013 when they began hiring in the market. In December, the company held a two-day open house that included presentations from top-level Spotify execs, including global head of creator services, Troy Carter, and global head of songwriter relations Tiffany Kumar.