Beats 1 architect Ian Rogers departs Apple

In a move that apparently startled the company, one time CEO of Beats Music Ian Rogers has left Apple Music.

He is moving from its Cupertino, California-based headquarters to a job in Europe. According to the Financial Times, it is apparently outside the tech industry.

Rogers’ departure comes two months after the launch of Beats 1 radio, which he was the architect of.

He was CEO of Beats Music before it was acquired by Apple for US$3 billion. Initially emerging as webmaster for the Beastie Boys between 1993 and 1998, he then became GM of Yahoo Music. After that he headed the artist-to-fan marketing and sales platform Topspin. Beats bought its technology to integrate into its service, and also brought in Rogers’ tech expertise and innovative streak and his huge passion for music.

Not only was Rogers the key to developing Beats 1 but he played a major role in enticing its chief curator Zane Lowe from the BBC. It has fast acquired a reputation for breaking new music to a global audience.

Apple confirmed Rogers’ departure but refused to comment further. His LinkedIn status has not been changed. According to top Apple exec Eddy Cue, Apple Music has 11 million users and retained 79% of those who signed up during its trial period.