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from Tony Platt's blog
Abbey Road
Posted on: February 17, 2010 @ 02:39 PM
most recent comment at December 21, 2011 @ 08:57 PM
Whilst it is very sad that Abbey Road is up for sale - should we perhaps avoid the outpouring of emotional hand wringing and just accept that this was the inevitable result of the greed and stupidity of speculators who hopefully will go off and bottom feed somewhere else? It was never a matter of whether but more a matter of when.
More importantly, any rescue package, if it is put together, should focus on incorporating Abbey Road into a modern music industry and there will need to be some significant changes in the way it is run to do that. I think it is both possible and desirable that Abbey Road can be saved but please let it be done realistically and please not by Simon Cowell!
More importantly, any rescue package, if it is put together, should focus on incorporating Abbey Road into a modern music industry and there will need to be some significant changes in the way it is run to do that. I think it is both possible and desirable that Abbey Road can be saved but please let it be done realistically and please not by Simon Cowell!
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It needs new blood with a fresh and open-minded approach to a "re-birth". Things will never go back to the way they were "back in the day".
How on earth can you say the facilities are obsolescent? You are absolutely ill-informed to say that most film music is recorded abroad. The orchestras that are used abroad are used because they are cheaper; they are not nearly as good. You won't find one professional composer, producer or engineer that will say they prefer the orchestras available in Prague or other Eastern Europe venues over our own London based fabulous musicians.
As I'm a professional please tell me what facilities that are available elsewhere compare with those of Abbey Road. Abbey Road is in danger not because of obsolescence or lack of use but because an idiotic, greedy company needs to raise money quickly to keep afloat. The car park use is not indicative of how well the place is doing. I often record and mix there and people do use the tube and bus you know! I actually walk there. Abbey Road's best customers are the ones that are there. The place hasn't been abandoned by anybody apart from its present owners.
The current situation was the inevitable result of the greed and stupidity of speculators who had no understanding or desire for understanding of the complexities of the music industry. Hopefully they will go off and bottom feed somewhere else but frankly it was never a matter of whether but more a matter of when Abbey Road would be put up for sale. However it is most definitely the case that out of the various components of EMI, Abbey Road Studios was probably the most viable alongside the Publishing division. The record company is what has dragged it down and Mr Hands had no idea at all how to confront this - he has (ironically) got his fingers burnt and deservedly so.
I think that Abbey Road can be saved and continue as a valuable and viable studio facility but only if, importantly, any rescue package focuses on incorporating Abbey Road into a modern music industry. You see it is not the equipment that is obsolete or obsolescent - it is the way it has been managed for some time now - Terra Firma just made matters worse by increasing the fear factor amongst the highly talented staff.
I think it is both possible and desirable that Abbey Road can be saved but please,please let it be done realistically and please not by Simon Cowell!
I really hope that a true music person or group can buy it, and that it isn't turned into Disneyland or a Hard Rock type thing. That would be the worst.
The loss of this wonderful place would be both a tragedy and a disgrace; It being wrested from the hands of an asset stripping property company that has made disastrous decisions, would be a marvellous turn of a friendly card.
Abbey Road deserves to be once again owned by people who are passionate about music, musicians and recording. It deserves to exist and it deserves support from everybody who cares about music. There are many, many people that fit that bill.
I absolutely love the place and the thought of the studio no longer existing really does fill me with great sadness.
For the sake of transparency I would like to add that I was employed by Abbey Road Studios for 18 years, 10 of them as the Senior Engineer.
I’ve joined three Facebook groups who want to save Abbey Road studios. Yes, it’s a shocking and sad development that EMI should decide to close the legendary studios which are undoubtedly the most famous recording studios in the world. The studios’ important history is undeniable, and apart from their history, they are still state-of-the-art, fully functioning and very useful studios to their many clients. (Warning: I’m going to present a cheeky devil’s advocat argument here!) I do however wonder whether perhaps the bigger picture is that capitalism can never be sentimental, and increasingly, in all areas of business, margins are tighter, greed is increasing, and wealth for the few is generated and maximised by operating as close as possible – and in some cased beyond – the legal and moral boundaries set by governments and popular opinion. Of course, stray too far into offending popular opinion and you’ll lose customers. But even then, common sense often does not prevail – the goal is maximising profit and sometimes such obvious factors are dsimissed in pursuit of short term profit. EMI already closed The Manor, and it was heavily rumoured that the sale’s terms precluded future use as a commercial studio, the implication being that they didn’t want someone to take it on, make a success of it, and make EMI’s decision look foolish. Then of course Olympic went. So perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised. Perhaps there is even a slight analogy to be made with the rise of MP3 and the demise of CD. Are not all those of us in the industry who are demanding that Abbey Road be saved a bit like those “home taping is killing music”/”downloading is theft” fuddy-duddies? Capitalism marches ever on. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t protest the closure. But that’s the system of EMI management and accountants and the way they operate. It’s difficult to know how to appeal to their better nature, if they have one. I’m not sure that whingeing about the closure of Abbey Road is the right way to take EMI on. If Lloyd Webber buys it and it continues, then great. But if it’s sold for flats and Studio 2 is turned into a museum, well, perhaps the price and value of AIR/Angel/Bank Cottage can remain steady at least?!http://www.georgeshilling.com/George_Shilling/Blog.html