We don't want to do the most. We want to do the best. That's what's great about working at Apple, is that we constantly improve the products, over and over. There is no doubt that AI tools will be great for creators, but they won't replace the human. In 2003, you took on the giants of the music industry.
Today, we are meeting a rare individual who has been working at Apple since 1989. For years, he was the man behind the scenes with Steve Jobs, and in 1998, he was entrusted with one of the most important missions of his career: creating the online Apple Store, the very one we all use today. In 1989, Apple was struggling; the company was going through a rough patch and went so far as to fire its founder, Steve Jobs, before bringing him back in 1997. Yet, in 1989, one man decided to walk through Apple's doors anyway. A very private man who spent a long time working in Steve Jobs' shadow. The App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV. Since 1989, this man has worked on all these products we know so well. Welcome! Today, we are spending 20 minutes with one of the most secretive architects of Silicon Valley. The Senior Vice President of Services at Apple: Eddy Cue.
Eddy, you've been at Apple since 1989 and you worked alongside Steve Jobs during key stages like the launch of the iTunes Store. What exactly does your job consist of after all these years?
Well, listen... Over time, I've come to lead a whole group of people. And the most important thing for me is the people around me. So my role is to create an environment where they can give their best. I work with them and help them carry out the projects they are working on with their teams. It's an incredible opportunity because I collaborate with the best in their field. Take Zach and Jamie, who manage TV and cinema. Or Oliver Schusser who runs music with his team. I really work with the greatest talents in the world.
But when friends ask you: 'What's your job?' What is your work? What do you tell them?
I usually tell them that most of the things you do with your iPhone are related to what we design. Sometimes I give a specific example: 'Do you use Apple Pay?' And when they say 'Oh yes!', I say 'Well, that's us.' It's a very concrete answer. And it's a huge satisfaction because you are constantly using what we develop, whether it's Podcasts, Maps, iCloud, Apple Music, or Apple TV... It's hard to believe. Since 1989!
Yes. It's incredible.
In 2003, Eddy Cue had to face the top executives of the biggest record labels worldwide to negotiate deals that would completely reshape the music industry. Following high-tension meetings, the creation of the iTunes Store proved to be a revolution that saved an entire sector from digital piracy, right at a time when physical media was disappearing.
In 2003, you took on the giants of the music industry. Do you remember a crazy anecdote about those meetings?
Yes... I can't even imagine! The craziest thing is that they all told us to leave. Most of the time, they didn't believe in us at all, simply because they couldn't conceive of selling music online without imposing a ton of usage restrictions. And I said, 'No, I'm going to buy it, it's fine.' But they ended up changing their minds and that's a great thing. Today, the music market is growing. I often say that there has never been a better time to be a musician because you have direct access to the whole world. It has become so much easier to create content. You can have a studio at home with a Mac or an iPhone. Look at what you do with YouTube. It's incredible what you can accomplish today.
Thank you for that! Look at what you do with YouTube.
The music streaming market is ultra-competitive today. In this saturated landscape, what really differentiates Apple Music? And how do you preserve that unique identity?
The secret is innovation. You can't rest on your laurels. You have to constantly innovate and offer novelty. For example, we changed... There had been nothing new since stereo for a very long time. Then we came with Dolby Surround sound. It was a whole new listening experience, especially with AirPods, it was mind-blowing. Then we integrated lyrics, first on all tracks, then real-time synced lyrics. And now we offer translations, because people listen to music from all over the world, often without understanding the lyrics. Now they have easy access to them. So we innovate constantly. We just launched an AI playlist creation tool too. It's very fun. You can't stay still. Apple's permanent goal is to make our products always better. Innovating is difficult. The path is not always obvious. Sometimes you have to go with instinct. You have to feel it. But the key is to be demanding. Keep searching, keep wanting. If you keep that hunger, you have a much better chance of succeeding.
Eddy Cue had to build the Apple ecosystem. Apps like iCloud, Apple Music, the App Store... Eddy Cue doesn't create the hardware, but rather all the software that allows Apple to become essential. Eddy Cue became the head of the App Store in 2008. The App Store in 2008 was a revolution. Because without the App Store, the smartphone era probably wouldn't exist as we know it today. Eddy Cue also oversaw the birth of the iCloud service in 2011. Here, in 2026, at the Cannes Lions Festival, which honors creatives from all over the world, Eddy Cue's presence is no coincidence. In 2019, his team launched Apple TV. Faced with giants like Netflix or Disney at the time, many experts doubted this gamble. But unlike the competition, he chose to focus on quality over quantity. Apple invested billions, attracted top international directors, and the payoff came. In 2022, Apple became the first streaming platform to win the ultimate prize: the Academy Award for Best Picture with CODA. It was an incredible milestone! Because when Apple was founded, it was far from being an entertainment company. It was just a computer company.
In 2026, Apple TV won the Oscar for Best Picture with CODA. Congratulations. That's crazy.
It's true that it's crazy.
Was that the ultimate goal to validate your vision? Or just a step in your conquest of Hollywood?
No, we didn't see things on such a grand scale. It was an incredible honor. The CODA team was fantastic and they deserved it wholeheartedly. It's such a beautiful movie. I always love watching it on repeat. And it's a good thing. It's rewarding to see the work rewarded, the work that our creators and partners accomplish alongside us. These awards are pleasing because they prove that the public recognizes the great quality of our content. When we launched Apple TV, we said, as always: we don't want to do the most, we want to do the best. And being the best remains a major challenge because the competition is tough in this sector. But I love it, it stimulates us, it pushes us forward. Since we don't have a huge number of series or a catalog 30 years old, every project we release has to be excellent. That's our philosophy.
In 2026, Apple is working on the future of entertainment, moving beyond mere production and content distribution on smartphones, computers, or TVs. The Apple Vision Pro, released in France in July 2024, is one of the driving forces behind this new way of consuming more innovative and far more immersive.
Entertainment is evolving at full speed. How will the Apple Vision Pro and spatial computing concretely redefine the entertainment experience? And do you see this model of total immersion as the long-term future of cinema and sound, or is there a more immediate purpose for the general public?
Yes. Listen. This immersion opens up completely new perspectives for content creators and their way of telling a story. And when you experience it that way, the emotions felt are also different, because you experience them more intensely. The primary goal of a story is to touch people. We want to make them laugh, make them cry, make them think... All at once. Creating a new environment that allows this to happen in an even more impactful way is exciting.
And I've seen your recent productions on the Apple Vision Pro, the immersive formats. It's mind-blowing. What's the next step for you?
Well, we have to keep growing. This is the beginning, new technologies sometimes take time. We'd like it to go faster, always. But what has been accomplished is already extraordinary. And it's only the beginning. Creators are just learning to master this format because it's a completely new approach.
And AI-generated videos? You know... Do you think that will be interesting or...?
