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Apple Music Unveils State-of-the-Art Venue in London
Confirmed
In Short: Apple Music is set to open a new state-of-the-art live music venue in London, situated beneath its European headquarters at Battersea Power Station.
Apple Music is set to open a new state-of-the-art live music venue in London, situated beneath its European headquarters at Battersea Power Station. The 600-capacity venue, known as Apple Music Hall, will host one-off shows by both established and emerging artists, all of which will be filmed and broadcast live online.
According to Oliver Schusser, Apple Music's vice president, the venue will feature more cameras and speakers than any comparable space in the world. The facility is equipped with a 48-speaker spatial sound system and a 38-foot-wide stage that can be reconfigured for various performance styles.
The venue's technology includes 16 or more cameras feeding a purpose-built broadcast control room, enabling artists to perform live, record in Spatial Audio, and capture multi-camera video directly from the venue. Apple Music Radio’s London-based hosts and shows will also broadcast live from the space.
Apple Music Hall marks the company's return to London after scrapping the popular iTunes Festival nine years ago. The festival had featured performances by high-profile acts like Lady Gaga, Elton John, Britney Spears, and Adele at venues such as Koko and The Roundhouse.
The venue's opening comes at a time when London's live music scene is under pressure, with 45 venues closing in the capital last year alone. Apple Music aims to promote new and upcoming bands who might struggle to gain traction otherwise.
Apple Music Hall features a mixture of standing and seated areas, allowing for intimate performances with high production values. The venue's technology and infrastructure are designed to close the gap between intimacy and production value, providing artists with an unprecedented level of creative control.
For more information about Apple Music Hall, including ticketing details for upcoming shows, fans can visit applemusichall.com. An opening date and the identity of the first performing act have not yet been confirmed.
What's confirmed
- The US tech giant Apple is to open a new, state-of-the-art concert hall in London, situated underneath its European headquarters at Battersea Power Station.
- "We have really no interest in trying to be in the way of anyone else, and that's one of the main reasons it's a smaller space." The venue, known as Apple Music Hall, marks the company's return to London, nine years after it scrapped the popular iTunes Festival, which saw acts like Lady Gaga, Elton John, Britney Spears and Adele play free concerts at venues such as Koko and The Roundhouse.
- Apple Music has announced it will be opening a brand new state-of-the-art music venue in London.
- “The venue is also hardwired for 16 or more cameras that feed a purpose-built broadcast control room with infrastructure that supports iPhone video capture running in parallel alongside traditional broadcast cameras,” according to a press release.
- Apple Music Radio’s London-based hosts and shows will also broadcast live out of the space in Battersea.
- For more information about Apple Music Hall, including how to access tickets for upcoming shows, fans can visit applemusichall.com.
- The new space, named Apple Music Hall, will open at the capital’s Battersea Power Station where the company has its London headquarters.
- An opening date or news of the first performing act has not yet been confirmed.
- The 600-capacity space features the opportunity for artists to perform live, record the show in Spatial Audio in a broadcast-ready mix, and capture multi-camera video directly from the venue and its studios.
- Related Billboard to Add Smart Media Albums As Chart-Eligible Sales Formats Billboard Staff Apple Music Hall features a mixture of standing and seated areas, and the 38-foot-wide stage can be reconfigured for traditional front-facing sets or more in-the-round experiences.
- The venue is also equipped with a 48-speaker spatial sound system.
- Battersea Power Station, previously a coal-fired power station on the bank of the River Thames, has a longstanding connection to music.
What's still developing
- Details of the opening act are expected to be announced soon.
- The effort comes after legendary music mogul Jimmy Iovine said music streaming services were "minutes away from being obsolete", because they don't foster a connection between the listener and the music.
- The rate in London is higher than the rest of the country, so the arrival of a deep-pocketed tech company could give independent venue owners cause for concern.
- BBC News got an early look at the venue as the finishing touches were being made in early September.
- For weeks, shoppers have browsed Battersea Power Station ’s outlets completely unaware that construction workers are putting the final touches on a state-of-the-art music venue mere metres above them.
- Inside the music venue, a 38-foot stage takes up a significant amount of floor space, meaning artists with typically large productions (say, someone who has just come off a run of shows at The O2 or Wembley) can translate their show more easily to a smaller venue.
- Perhaps the most memorable example is the iTunes Music Festival, launched in 2007 in London.
- Over the past few months, Apple has been secretly constructing its first-ever music venue right under our noses.
- I visited the venue for an exclusive first look last month, making me one of the first non-Apple employees to behold what will soon become the shiniest new jewel in London’s live music crown.
- In fact, it’s better envisioned alongside the city’s most intimate venues: two MOTH clubs, or four Ronnie Scott’s.
- While Apple Music Hall does not have an exact opening date, the site is expected to open its doors to punters within weeks.
- Producers of the beleaguered London Sunday in the Park with George revival have officially put its 2027 opening on hold, following the separate departures of stars Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey.