Academically Confirmed

Professor Andrew Leyshon, a Professor Economic Geography, examined the effects of digital advances on the studio sector and found the industry to be in a more serious condition than anyone thought. The implications are grim and wide-reaching; affecting emerging talent, employees and record companies alike. Once synonymous with the creative talents of artists like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Oasis and Coldplay, the recording studio sector is today becoming better known for closures and redundancies. A number of iconic London recording studios, including Olympic Studios, Townhouse Studios, Whitfield Street Studios (formerly Sony and, before that, CBS Studios) and Eden have closed in recent years. "We all know that the music industry has been radically transformed by software," Professor Leyshon says. "We understand the impact that software formats such as MP3 and problems like internet 'piracy' have had on intellectual property rights and distribution. We also understand the knock-on effects for record companies. But the impact on the recording studio sector has passed by with very little comment." Even the famous Apple Studios are in crisis. They already are rather a tourist attraction today than a birthplace for new pop music.