EMI Putting Abbey Road Up For Sale?

EMI Putting Abbey Road Up For Sale?


As part of EMI's financial restructuring, the music company is reportedly putting the legendary Abbey Road studios up for sale. According to the Financial Times' sources, EMI has been putting out feelers for bidders on the property to further chip away at its debts. EMI has not confirmed the reports.

It is unknown whether EMI would sell the Abbey Road name along with the property itself, but one media lawyer told the FT, "The brand is worth more than the building . . . anybody who wants the studios will want the brand." A sale of Abbey Road could bring in tens of millions of pounds to the troubled company.

The Abbey Road building was bought by EMI in 1929 for £100,000 and became the first custom-built recording studios in the world. It was used to record the London Symphony Orchestra in the '30s and making World War II propaganda later on. The Beatles famously recorded the majority of their music at the studio and made it a household name with their 1969 Abbey Road album.

Pink Floyd recorded Dark Side Of The Moon at Abbey Road, which has also been used by Radiohead, Oasis, Blur and many more over the years. However, with the costs involved in recording music dropping, Abbey Road has become a pricey extravagance for musicians. "What you have is a very, very expensive piece of heritage. If an artist goes to a label and asks to record at Abbey Road they will be met with maniacal laughter," the media lawyer told the FT.

Source:
http://www.fmqb.com