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Author Topic: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road  (Read 17049 times)

TotalSonic

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #15 on: February 20, 2010, 08:38:20 PM »

Abbey Road is indeed an example of the "old model" yet I think it's business model was to a completely different niche than anyone is discussing in this thread.  

Namely they were primarily doing larger orchestral sessions - for which there are only a few adequate facilities in the world - and for which high net dollar items like games and films there is indeed still a need and a budget earmarked for this.  In this regard their competitors are not dweebs with DAW's but orchestras located in Eastern Europe (primarily Prague in Czech Republic and Sofia in Bulgaria) which are willing to do the same sessions for a fraction of the price (although with a debatable quality difference).  

As for the mastering facilities at Abbey Road - I think Sterling's continued success shows that it is indeed possible to continue to make a high overhead multi-room mastering facility generate a definite profit as long as it can continue to convey it's "name brand" as worth the extra cash it takes to book a session there in comparison to other options.  

Best regards,
Steve Berson

AlexVI

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #16 on: February 21, 2010, 09:15:27 AM »

TotalSonic wrote on Sun, 21 February 2010 01:38

Abbey Road is indeed an example of the "old model" yet I think it's business model was to a completely different niche than anyone is discussing in this thread.  

Namely they were primarily doing larger orchestral sessions - for which there are only a few adequate facilities in the world - and for which high net dollar items like games and films there is indeed still a need and a budget earmarked for this.  In this regard their competitors are not dweebs with DAW's but orchestras located in Eastern Europe (primarily Prague in Czech Republic and Sofia in Bulgaria) which are willing to do the same sessions for a fraction of the price (although with a debatable quality difference).  

As for the mastering facilities at Abbey Road - I think Sterling's continued success shows that it is indeed possible to continue to make a high overhead multi-room mastering facility generate a definite profit as long as it can continue to convey it's "name brand" as worth the extra cash it takes to book a session there in comparison to other options.  

Best regards,
Steve Berson


Steve,
You're spot on with regard to the competition for orchestral sessions; much of it is of course now done in Prague and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
As an aside, I wonder, sometimes, how much cheaper it actually is, though - the musician costs in particular are a lot lower per unit of time, but you need more time to rehearse because they're nothing like as good as the top session outfit(s) in London. I put together a budget recently for a film being made in the ex-USSR, supplying one quote to orchestrate and record the around 30mins of cues with a substantial set of forces in London, or recording in Prague (both ways mixing in London). Allowing for the extra time you'd need in Prague, plus flying a small recording team out there, I came to the conclusion that it was only around
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Thomas W. Bethel

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #17 on: February 21, 2010, 09:58:25 AM »

AlexVI Wrote:

That's a little O/T, but back on topic, I also agree that mastering facilities with high overheads have a place to stay, too. Abbey Road, Metropolis, and others in the UK often seem busy on the occasions I've been working there, and I don't think they're too empty the rest of the time...

I've also thought for a while that the greater the amount of home  / budget recording that goes on, the greater a lot of artists are going to feel the need to go somewhere really nice to have it made better at the end of the day...




Home/budget recordist by in large are cheap. That is why they want to do everything themselves, somehow convincing themselves that spending 6 to 10 thousand dollars on a studio full of equipment is better than going to a real recording studio and getting their stuff professionally recorded. There is also, of course,  the musician that wants total control over all the processes that go into making his or her music and is willing to do what it takes to have that control including spending a lot of money on equipment that he or she does not know how to operate just do they can "do their thing". Neither of these types are going to go to a place like Abbey Road to get their material mastered. It is not in their genes to spend money so someone else can do their mastering.

I think that the day of the very large multi-room mastering facility is going away very quickly. The business model is just wrong for today's music climate. It worked in the old days because with vinyl you had to go to someone who had a lathe and knew how to operate it and you had so many more people needing their services.

Today with digital recording for CDs and web casting there is no need for the musicians to go out of their houses. ANYONE can do recording and mixing in their bedroom or basement and can also "master" their own recordings and have it pressed, duplicated or put up on the WWW without involving another human being, (except for the people doing the actual production of the CD). Big expensive to maintain multi room facilities are, excuse the French, pass
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MoreSpaceEcho

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #18 on: February 21, 2010, 02:26:42 PM »

apparently it's NOT for sale....good news if true...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/21/abbey.road/index .html?eref=igoogle_cnn
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Jerry Tubb

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #19 on: February 21, 2010, 04:05:36 PM »

MoreSpaceEcho wrote on Sun, 21 February 2010 13:26

apparently it's NOT for sale....good news if true...

 http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/21/abbey.road/index .html?eref=igoogle_cnn


Hahaha... joke's on us!

JT
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Adam Dempsey

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #20 on: February 21, 2010, 11:37:13 PM »

Good news. Also reported here today
http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/international/22605/Abbe y-Road-not-being-sold.htm
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masterhse

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #21 on: February 22, 2010, 09:48:59 AM »

Great news, thanks for reporting!
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Tom Volpicelli
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jetbase

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #22 on: January 24, 2011, 11:50:10 PM »

Maybe it's for sale again:
http://www.audiotechnology.com.au/news/misner-negotiating-to -buy-abbey-road-studios/
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Ben F

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2011, 12:38:23 AM »

jetbase wrote on Tue, 25 January 2011 15:20

Maybe it's for sale again:
 http://www.audiotechnology.com.au/news/misner-negotiating-to -buy-abbey-road-studios/


Yes, sold SAE as well.
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Geoff Emerick de Fake

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2011, 12:40:26 PM »

Hell, what is Sir Paul doing?
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TotalSonic

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #25 on: January 25, 2011, 01:11:59 PM »

Geoff Emerick de Fake wrote on Tue, 25 January 2011 12:40

Hell, what is Sir Paul doing?


If he's a smart man that cares for leaving the biggest possible estate for his family - then he's investing in things with a lot more future and likelihood of a decent return than the music "industry"!

So, he recorded there 40 years ago - still why would he want the headache and likely loss from buying a large recording facility?

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Steve Berson

bblackwood

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #26 on: January 25, 2011, 01:27:03 PM »

TotalSonic wrote on Tue, 25 January 2011 12:11

Geoff Emerick de Fake wrote on Tue, 25 January 2011 12:40

Hell, what is Sir Paul doing?


If he's a smart man that cares for leaving the biggest possible estate for his family - then he's investing in things with a lot more future and likelihood of a decent return than the music "industry"!

Yep, I'd not buy it, either.
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Geoff Emerick de Fake

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #27 on: January 25, 2011, 05:33:28 PM »

Did anyone really think I was serious?
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TotalSonic

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #28 on: January 25, 2011, 06:46:17 PM »

Geoff Emerick de Fake wrote on Tue, 25 January 2011 17:33

Did anyone really think I was serious?


Sorry - couldn't see the twinkle in your eye through my LCD screen - and didn't notice the <sarcasm></sarcasm> tag.  
Razz

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Steve Berson

Bonati

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Re: EMI Puts 'For Sale' Sign On Abbey Road
« Reply #29 on: January 25, 2011, 07:12:01 PM »

Some are sellin', some are buildin'...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/arts/music/26studio.html?a dxnnl=1&hpw=&adxnnlx=1296000071-skv89V+O81hE/i7+hlDz eg
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