Studio for sale, slightly used

[cryptique]

link

 

And in the end, Abbey Road goes on the block

 

Newspaper says EMI looking to sell iconic Beatles recording studio

 

Associated Press

 

LONDON - The Financial Times is reporting that cash-strapped music company EMI Group Ltd. is seeking to sell Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles recorded some of their most famous songs.

 

The newspaper said Tuesday that five people familiar with the situation had confirmed the sale. EMI refused to comment.

 

EMI was bought in 2007 by private equity firm Terra Firma. The label's artists include Coldplay and Lily Allen.

 

The crosswalk in front of the north London studio was immortalized on the cover The Beatles' 1969 album "Abbey Road."

 

An audited report released last week revealed that Terra Firma needs a huge cash infusion by June to avoid defaulting on its loans from the bank Citigroup and may require more than $165 million to last through this year.

[Dude]

cash-strapped music company EMI Group Ltd. is seeking to sell Abbey Road Studios

 

Money's spent. See no future, pay no rent. All the money's gone. Nowhere to go.

[a-me-with-a-you]

When I first read this thread I thought we we're gonna bid on "The Tonight Show", after all Conan O' Brien did put it up for sale on Craig's list.

[Moss]

Damn, it will probably become a walmart before I am able to visit the place.

[moxiebean]

Wonder if Sir Paul won't snap it up

[Dude]

Maybe Apple Records has sold enough Beatles Rock Band games and Beatles reissues to buy it? One can always hope.

[Mr. Kinsley]

Damn, it will probably become a walmart before I am able to visit the place.

I could totally see someone turning it into a Beatles version of Graceland. Too much potential $$$ in keeping that place intact.

[Moss]

I could totally see someone turning it into a Beatles version of Graceland. Too much potential $$ in keeping that place intact.

 

I hope you are right. It's my personal Mecca.

[Analogman]

The real name of the place was EMI Studios - until the early 1970s, if I recall correctly. I think it began to be used as a studio in the early 1930s. The building itself was built in the 1830s.

 

The Beatles are not the only group that made great and innovative music there (of course). It would be nice to see the place continue to serve as a studio.

 

I would think Paul McCartney has enough money to but the place many times over - if he wanted to buy it.

 

One of things I like about the Complete Beatles book, is George noting that some of the same lights and other things The Beatles had brought in were still there when he visited in the 1980s.

[HungryHippo]

I can't foresee music fans with $$$ (aka artists we all love and respect) sitting back and letting this place go to someone who's going to turn it into a pub/ tie shop or whatever. then again CBGB's is now a clothing store (which I was in one day and had no idea it used to be CBGB's.) like Dylan says, "not much is sacred."

[froggie]

Wonder if Sir Paul won't snap it up

 

it wouldnt surprise me! (or Dave Gilmour)

[Analogman]

Paul McCartney: I hope Abbey Road studios can be saved

 

 

Former Beatle reacts to plans to sell iconic London recording complex

 

Paul McCartney has said he hopes Abbey Road studios in London can be saved, after record label EMI announced plans to sell it.

 

The iconic studios, where The Beatles recorded much of their output (immortalising it on their 1969 album 'Abbey Road'), looks set to be sold to raise money for EMI in a bid to help clear the company's debts. However, McCartney told BBC Newsnight that he was aware of a joint "bid" from people associated with the studio, and added that he hoped they would be able to save it.

 

"I do know that there are a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time who were talking about mounting some bid to save it," McCartney explained.

 

He added, "I sympathise with them. I hope they can do something, it would be great. Obviously I've got so many memories there with The Beatles and it still is a great studio. So it would be lovely for someone to get a thing together to save it."

 

EMI, which is owned by private equity company terra firma, is reportedly hoping to raise £30 million from the sale to clear huge debts.

[Analogman]

EMI Wants to Hold on to Abbey Road

 

Music company EMI wants to retain ownership of the Abbey Road recording studios, immortalized by the Beatles album of the same name, though it is talking to other parties about revitalizing the site, EMI said on Sunday. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters last week that loss-making EMI had put the studios up for sale and was talking to a few interested firms, although no deal was imminent. "EMI confirms that it is holding preliminary discussions for the revitalization of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties," the company said in a statement, without elaborating on what exactly the talks were about. EMI said it had been in discussions since November 2009 to find ways to regenerate the studios, which have been losing money for years, but had rejected an offer worth 30 million pounds ($46 million).

 

"We believe that Abbey Road should remain in EMI's ownership," the company said. Millions of Beatles fans around the world are sentimentally attached to the studios, which are also popular with tourists who pose for souvenir snaps on the nearby pedestrian crossing where the Beatles are pictured on the album cover. EMI said it welcomed reports that the architectural preservation body English Heritage planned to list Abbey Road, a step that would make it very hard for any developer to do anything radical to the site. Such a listing could potentially lower the price EMI could get for Abbey Road if it did end up selling it. The firm, owned by private equity group Terra Firma, said any plan it agreed for Abbey Road would involve "a substantial injection of new capital." "When Terra Firma acquired EMI in 2007, it made the preservation of Abbey Road a priority," EMI said. Last week's reports the studios were up for sale attracted a lot of interest, including from ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, who said the studios should be saved, and musical theater maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber, who signaled he was a potential buyer.

 

Lloyd Webber, the man behind blockbuster musicals "Cats," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Jesus Christ Superstar," has recorded some of his works at Abbey Road. The 4-billion-pound acquisition of EMI has come to symbolize the difficulties caused by expensive buyout deals struck at the height of a private equity bubble. EMI's high debt and poor performance have become a burden for Terra Firma. The private equity firm recently launched a lawsuit against Citigroup, claiming the U.S. bank had inflated the price of EMI during the sale process by failing to reveal that another bidder had withdrawn. Citigroup denies the allegation.

 

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

[tommyjacobs]

Damn, it will probably become a walmart before I am able to visit the place.

Don't worry, Walmart uses the Asda brand in the UK. No Walmarts in London.

[Dude]

 

Abbey Road studios win preservation order

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61M3LW20100223

 

LONDON

 

Tue, Feb 16 2010

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Abbey Road, the recording studios made famous by the Beatles, was designated a historic site by the government on Tuesday to protect the pop music shrine against any plans to radically alter it.

 

ENTERTAINMENT | MUSIC | LIFESTYLE

 

Reports last week that owners EMI were to sell the studios attracted worldwide interest and sparked fears the site might be converted into a residential development.

 

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge declared the iconic venue a Grade II listed building -- the second-highest category -- on the advice of national preservation body English Heritage.

 

In a statement she said the listing had been granted "overwhelmingly on the historic merit of the studios" and because of its "huge cultural importance."

 

The new status means that although changes to its interior can be made, any proposed alterations must respect the character and preservation of the site.

 

Abbey Road became synonymous with the Beatles who recorded almost all their albums and singles there between 1962 and 1970. Pink Floyd also used the studios for their late 1960s and mid-1970s albums.

 

Tourists still regularly pose for snaps on the nearby pedestrian crossing over Abbey Road which features on the cover of the Beatles album of the same name.

 

Among those calling for the buildings to be saved were ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber, who signaled he was a potential buyer.

 

On Sunday, EMI said it wanted to retain ownership of the studios in St John's Wood, north London, though it indicated it was talking to other parties about revitalizing them.

 

The firm, owned by private equity group Terra Firma, has previously said it welcomed reports about the planned listing although the restrictions involved could potentially lower the selling price.

 

"It's a testament to both the importance of music in people's lives as well as the passion this kind of issue stirs up, that so much interest has been generated by the perceived threat to the future of Abbey Road," Hodge said.