LONDON, England — Apple is combining a live venue, radio studios and a complete video-and-audio production facility inside its European headquarters at Battersea Power Station.
Apple Music Hall, scheduled to open September 28, is a 600-capacity performance space designed for concerts, recording sessions, radio programming and video broadcasts.
A venue built as a production system
The room includes a reconfigurable 38-foot stage and a 48-speaker spatial-audio system. It is hardwired for at least 16 broadcast cameras and connects to two dedicated recording and mixing studios behind the stage.
New Apple Music radio studios are opening alongside the performance space. Apple says all of its London-based hosts and programs will originate from the Battersea facility.
The result is more than a concert room. Apple can host an artist, record the performance, produce interviews and radio programming, create video and distribute the finished material through its own global platforms.
A powerful opportunity—and a controlled gateway
The facility could give selected artists high-quality production and international exposure without requiring a separate broadcast truck, outside studio or venue-production team. It also places artist selection, production, presentation and distribution inside one platform-controlled environment.
Apple has not announced the opening performance or explained how artists will be selected. Other unanswered questions include ownership of the resulting recordings, reuse rights, compensation and the audience information supplied to performers and their representatives.
For broadcasters, the most interesting part of Apple Music Hall may be its integrated workflow. Radio, live performance, multichannel sound, recording and video are being treated as components of one production rather than separate products.
The venue also returns Apple to London’s live-music scene after the company ended the iTunes Music Festival in 2017. Battersea Power Station itself has a place in music history through its appearance on the cover of Pink Floyd’s Animals.