Dr. Dre plays a key role in one of Apple's most important businesses, Apple Music chief Jimmy Iovine told Variety in an issue published on Tuesday. Rapper and producer Dre (Andre Young) rarely speaks in the course of his duties at Apple, but he talks to Iovine every morning, Iovine said in the interview.

CNBC notes in their report that Iovine told Variety that "Dre's purpose in life is to come up with something that moves the needle. He's done that really seriously a bunch of times. And now he's experimenting with video. And what he does will be unique, and he will get there. My responsibility to Apple and to him is to put him in that position where he can."

Bolstering Apple's video content is no side project. CEO Tim Cook told investors last month that the company's fastest growing segment, software and services, is helped by 150 million paid subscriptions, including Apple Music. As the cable media industry begins "to break down," Cook said, original programming, like Dre's "Vital Signs," will become more important for Apple.

By coincidence, the U.S. Patent Office granted Apple a design patent for Beats by Dr. Dre Mixr On-Ear Headphones.

In other related news today, Variety reported that HBO will be showing the documentary called "The Defiant Ones," later this year.

Variety notes that "Dr. Dre and Iovine gave Hughes extensive interviews, speaking frankly about their highs and lows, and the show will also include interviews with other music giants like Bono, Eminem, Nas, Ice Cube, Gwen Stefani, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor, Snoop Dogg, and Bruce Springsteen. The series also features never-before-seen footage from a multitude of recording and writing sessions with Eazy-E, JJ Fad, Stevie Nicks, N.W.A., Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and U2, among others." So Apple fans, stay tuned for that.

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