The BBC‘s historic London-based Maida Vale studios have been sold to a group of buyers including Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, co-chairmen of Working Title, as well as Hans Zimmer and Steve Kofsky.
According to the announcement, there are plans to keep the original façade of the building and to “preserve the ethos of Maida Vale”, and that the building 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,” according to the announcement.
Maida Vale Studios was first 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.
The sale of Maida Vale comes after plans were announced in 2018 that the BBC would 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.
The new BBC Music Studios in East Bank – planned to open in late 2025 – will be open to the public, and will feature a library claimed to house the largest sheet music collection in the world.
The new Studios will host classical, pop and choral music and will be home to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers and administrative home of the BBC Concert Orchestra.
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, with the public invited to attend.
The announcement states that “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”.
“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.”
Tim Bevan, Working Title
Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, Co-Chairmen of Working Title, 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, and engineers.”
“Maida Vale has played such an important part in the BBC’s history, and its significance in popular culture is huge.”
Lorna Clarke, BBC
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 facilty.
“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 first time I worked for the BBC at their Maida Vale Studios was 45 years ago. I was just a kid, in awe, honored to be booked to play on one of my first sessions.”
Hans Zimmer
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, honored 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.
Added Zimmer: “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.”Music Business Worldwide
