Maida Vale has been sold to a partnership between Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, co-chairmen of Working Title, Hans Zimmer and his business partner Steve Kofsky.
Maida Vale Studios has become a part of musical history, having first been bought by the BBC in 1933. Since then, it has seen the likes of David Bowie, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Dusty Springfield record in the building, and has become a home for the BBC Performing Group.
It recently featured BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room series including Stormzy, Depeche Mode and Cat Burns.
There are plans to keep the original façade of the building and “preserve the ethos of Maida Vale”, according to the announcement. It will remain as a studio space, with a multi-million pound refurbishment plan for its existing studios. There will also be the creation of a not-for-profit educational facility, and a long-term commitment to providing local jobs, innovation and investment.
Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner said: “Maida Vale Studios has been synonymous with artistic excellence for generations. The venue has become part of the fabric of the UK’s pioneering cultural industry, from helping to nurture new and ground-breaking artists, to housing some of the world’s most legendary musicians. We are thrilled to be partnering with our old friends Hans Zimmer and Steve Kofsky on this once in a lifetime project and collectively we are determined to continue the BBC’s legacy at Maida Vale by attracting global talent to the UK.
“Through our redevelopment plans we will future proof the historic site, continuing its presence in the local community with a new education facility, whilst creating a world class studio space for the next generation of composers, producers, editors and engineers.”
Lorna Clarke, BBC’s director of music, said: “Maida Vale has played such an important part in the BBC’s history, and its significance in popular culture is huge. We are so pleased to secure a sale which looks to continue the bright, vibrant future of music making in this iconic building – not only providing new studio spaces but jobs and an education facility.
“We look forward to being able to continue to deliver world-class music to BBC audiences with our new tailor-made BBC Music Studios in the wonderfully rich cultural district of London’s East Bank.”
The sale comes after plans were announced in 2018 that the BBC will move its music studios and performing groups from its Maida Vale location to a new, purpose-built recording and studio space in Stratford’s cultural quarter of East Bank, residing in East London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Maida Vale Studios has been synonymous with artistic excellence for generations
Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner
Hans Zimmer, composer and music producer, said: “The first time I worked for the BBC at their Maida Vale Studios was 45 years ago. I was just a kid, in awe, honoured to be booked to play on one of my first sessions. I still remember the strong pull, the desire to touch the walls, as if that would somehow allow me to connect to the artists whose extraordinary music had resonated against these walls on a daily basis. This was a place of revolutionary science in the service of art, this was a place that inspired you to give your best, where music was performed around the clock and Art was taken seriously. For the people by the people. This was the place that kept a struggling musician like me from giving up.
“At the same time, Tim, Eric and I started working together, making our first movies. Movies not only made in Britain with the greatest talent the country had - and still has - to offer, but movies that often provoked and had something to say about a changing Britain; that gave voice to our generation. Usually by making you laugh. My work with Working Title gave me my career in Hollywood, where Steve Kofsky became my partner, and he and I made sure to drag the work from as many Hollywood films as possible back to Britain. So now I want to close the circle: make Maida Vale Studios a place that inspires, teaches, technologically serves the arts and humanity - and gives the next generation the same opportunities I was given: to create and to never give up.”
The new BBC Music Studios in East Bank – planned to open in late 2025 – will include tailored spaces designed to accommodate the world’s biggest musical acts and ensembles.
The new studios will also be open to the public, featuring a library housing the largest sheet music collection in the world. It will host classical, pop and choral music and will accommodate the requirements of the BBC performing groups. It will also host music sessions from the likes of Radio 1 Live Lounge through to BBC Proms rehearsals, Radio 3 concerts, and special performances from the BBC Pop music stations.
Moving the BBC Music Studios from Maida Vale is also part of a wider partnership with the V&A, Sadler’s Wells, UCL and UAL’s London College of Fashion to create London’s newest creative quarter, East Bank.
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