Apple Music Taps Industry Veteran Mika El-Baz to Lead PR (Exclusive)
Music industry veteran Mika El-Baz has joined Apple Music’s PR team, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
El-Baz, who is based in Los Angeles, will lead the Apple Music PR team, bringing with her years of experience in the music industry. She arrives from gamma, where she led communications for the media company, which was launched by ex-Apple executive Larry Jackson in 2023.
El-Baz had previously spent 17 years at RCA Records, the Sony Music Entertainment label whose roster includes such acts as Pink, Justin Timberlake, Doja Cat, Khalid and Britney Spears, working closely with Clive Davis during their shared tenure. Prior to RCA, she spent six years at Interscope Records and Island Records, respectively.
El-Baz has worked closely with Apple Music in the past on an assortment of campaigns and launches, sources tell THR. The tech giant, while notoriously press-averse, has become a major player in the music space as one of the largest subscription-based music streaming platforms in the world. Apple Music competes directly with Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music and offers among the highest per-stream rates of the leading platforms. It also boasts playlists curated by humans and is home to Zane Lowe, a noted DJ who left BBC Radio 1 in 2015 to join Apple Music, where he’s landed dozens of exclusive interviews with top music acts.
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El-Baz’s deep contacts in the industry will no doubt be a huge asset to Apple Music’s presence on the West Coast. Per her LinkedIn profile, El-Baz boasts being a “partner to visionary CEOs” and skills “in partnering with exceptional talent including artists, influencers and their stakeholders.”
She will be L.A.-based and report to Apple’s Tom Neumayr, according to sources.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Apple for comment.
