Working Title co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner have partnered with music producer Steve Kofsky and composer Hans Zimmer to buy London’s historic music recording facility Maida Vale Studios from the BBC.
They plan to keep the building as a music studio space, conduct a multi-million pound refurbishment and create a not-for-profit educational facility on the site.
The BBC has owned Maida Vale Studios since 1933, since when music artists including The Beatles, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Dusty Springfield have recorded in the building. The site has also been used for the recording of film scores, including for films worked on by the new owners.
In 2018 the BBC announced plans to move its music studios and performing groups to a purpose-built facility in Stratford, east London. The new BBC Music Studios will open in late 2025.
“We are determined to continue the BBC’s legacy at Maida Vale by attracting global talent to the UK,” said a statement from Bevan and Fellner. “Through our redevelopment plans we will future proof the historic site, continuing its presence in the local community with a new education facility, whilst creating a world class studio space for the next generation of composers, producers, editors and engineers.”
“My work with Working Title gave me my career in Hollywood, where Steve Kofsky became my partner, and he and I made sure to drag the work from as many Hollywood films as possible back to Britain,” added Zimmer. “So now I want to close the circle: make Maida Vale Studios a place that inspires, teaches, technologically serves the arts and humanity - and gives the next generation the same opportunities I was given: to create and to never give up.”
Zimmer and Kofsky are business partners in several firms which provide music production services. The duo have collaborated on several films Zimmer has scored, including Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and upcoming Dune: Part Two.
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