Legendary London, UK, recording facility Maida Vale Studios has reportedly been sold to a consortium of film and music industry figures that includes German soundtrack star Hans Zimmer.
Per Digital Music News, Zimmer is joined in the consortium by longtime business partner Steve Kofsky, and Working Title Films co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
Previously owned by the BBC, Maida Vale Studios went up for sale last November, following the broadcaster's 2018 announcement of plans to relocate recording operations to purpose-built music studios in Stratford in 2025.
Now, the newly acquired space will reportedly stay true to its roots, from having its striking facade kept intact, to the planned establishment of a not-for-profit educational facility and a long-term commitment to job creation.
"The first time I worked for the BBC at their Maida Vale Studios was 45 years ago," Zimmer shared in a statement [via Digital Music News]. "I was just a kid, in awe, honored to be booked to play on one of my first sessions… 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."
Built in 1909 as the Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club, the complex was purchased and renovated by the BBC in 1933. Its seven sound studios have played host to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, in addition to classical music, popular music and radio drama recording sessions.
Famously, Maida Vale Studios hosted John Peel's BBC Radio 1 Peel Sessions, the performance series recorded from 1967 through to the DJ and radio presenter's death in 2004. Over 2,000 different artists took part in the series, including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Joy Division, New Order, PJ Harvey, Stereolab, Yo La Tengo, the White Stripes and many more.
Zimmer's purchase of Maida Vale Studios is something of a full-circle moment, as the composer was honoured with a feature-length BBC documentary last year.
Per Digital Music News, Zimmer is joined in the consortium by longtime business partner Steve Kofsky, and Working Title Films co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
Previously owned by the BBC, Maida Vale Studios went up for sale last November, following the broadcaster's 2018 announcement of plans to relocate recording operations to purpose-built music studios in Stratford in 2025.
Now, the newly acquired space will reportedly stay true to its roots, from having its striking facade kept intact, to the planned establishment of a not-for-profit educational facility and a long-term commitment to job creation.
"The first time I worked for the BBC at their Maida Vale Studios was 45 years ago," Zimmer shared in a statement [via Digital Music News]. "I was just a kid, in awe, honored to be booked to play on one of my first sessions… 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."
Built in 1909 as the Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club, the complex was purchased and renovated by the BBC in 1933. Its seven sound studios have played host to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, in addition to classical music, popular music and radio drama recording sessions.
Famously, Maida Vale Studios hosted John Peel's BBC Radio 1 Peel Sessions, the performance series recorded from 1967 through to the DJ and radio presenter's death in 2004. Over 2,000 different artists took part in the series, including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Joy Division, New Order, PJ Harvey, Stereolab, Yo La Tengo, the White Stripes and many more.
Zimmer's purchase of Maida Vale Studios is something of a full-circle moment, as the composer was honoured with a feature-length BBC documentary last year.