I guess this post belongs here, as much as anywhere else. Three rather big stories have come across my radar screen since the Labor Day weekend, and I thought I'd pass them along here.
The first, as everyone knows, is the closing of Sony's studios in NYC. Of course, there's bound to be an auction, right? Not surprisingly, I got a 12 page glossy photo ad-book in the mail from the auctioning company handling the sale. It's kind've the opposite of gear-porn to me. (Gear-slaughter, or gear-orphans, if you know what I mean. Kind've exciting, yet sickening, in a way.)
In case anyone's interested in some SSL 9000 series consoles (four of them), or a Neve board, 20 Studer 24 track machines, and a ton of other audio & video goodies, you may want to check out the website and attend the auction itself on Sept. 10th & 11th.
Here's the website, with pictures: http://www.josephfinn.com or http://www.josephfinn.com/Recording%20Studio%20page.htm You may laugh or cry about this giant of a music biz icon closing its doors in NYC, but as they say, the bigger they are. . Not sure how cheap the SSL's and Studers are going to go, but there's a ton of SD video gear as well, and considering how fast HD is taking off these days, I would imagine most of that old SD video gear is headed to the scrapheap (or use as a boat-anchor) very soon.
The next story is an interview with Rick Rubin in the NY Times over the weekend, in the Sunday magazine. If you haven't seen it yet, here's the link. Anyone who's doing ANYTHING in this business should take the time to read it. (Sign up to get into the NY Times, if you have to, it's worth it.) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/magazine/02rubin.t.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Last but not least, I just read that Cherokee Studios in LA is closing. They're going to level the place and rebuild it as a facility for private studios and production rooms. Their consoles & monitors are up for sale, too. Among many others, Sinatra used to sing in the big room with the orchestra behind him.
Jokes about fire-sale prices for entire record labels and large-format consoles aside, this sea-change at the top of our industry doesn't nec. spell doom and gloom for the rest of us, perhaps quite the opposite. Regardless, something has been going on for some time now, yet it's still a big deal to see such major shifts happening, esp when the NY Times notices it, too.
Comments
Good Topic I think things are changing much more rapidly than a
Good Topic
I think things are changing much more rapidly than a lot of people thought that they would.
There are more and more large studios closing down and some of them are irreplaceable because they contained scoring stages and rooms that were unique in character.
The day of the bedroom or basement studio is surely upon us but if you have to record a large orchestra or other large ensemble it needs a place to be done and that cannot be done by a person with a Mackie mixer and three Shure microphones in their 6 by 10 bedroom.
It is disheartening to see places like Sony NY closing down. 22 studios and over 200 people displaced. Many will get alternative jobs in and around the big apple but some may not be that lucky.
I try and keep up with the day to day news but so much of what I hear or watch on network television leaves me cold and I really don't want to get more depressed than I am already over the war in Iraq or Global Warming so I try and watch as little as I can get away with.
The record industry is changing. It has changed in the past and will change in the future. It is unfortunate that so many good people are being effected by this latest round of studio closures.
Good looking out. I tell all of my business consulting clients
Good looking out.
I tell all of my business consulting clients this:
You have to read the local and national news everyday, or pay someone to do it if you call yourself THAT busy. As a businessperson, you simply must keep track of what is going on, and ascertain how it relates to your business directly and indirectly.