Apple has opened the doors to a new home for live music in London.
Announced on 21 September, Apple Music Hall is a new 600-capacity live music venue located inside the historic Battersea Power Station. Designed for intimate performances with arena-level production capabilities, the space will host one-off shows that can also be livestreamed to fans around the world.
The venue marks Apple's latest investment in bringing artists and audiences together, following a history of music initiatives that includes the iPod, iTunes, the long-running iTunes Music Festival, and Apple Music.
“Apple’s deep love for music dates all the way back to the very beginning, from the launch of the iPod to the long-running iTunes Music Festival to the debut of Apple Music,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple's Vice President of Apple Music and International Content.
“Today, with the opening of Apple Music Hall, we are once again taking an unprecedented step further in our commitment to artists and fans by supporting live music in ways only Apple can do.”
An intimate venue with arena-scale production
Taking its visual cues from Battersea Power Station itself, Apple Music Hall incorporates heritage brickwork, fluted arches, and bronze balconies inspired by the building's historic oriel windows. A large glass wall also looks out towards the concourse and River Thames.
At the heart of the venue is a 38-foot-wide stage that can be reconfigured depending on the performance. Artists can opt for a traditional front-facing setup or create more immersive, in-the-round experiences.
The 600-person capacity keeps audiences close to the action, but behind that intimate setup is infrastructure designed to accommodate productions on a much bigger scale.
A 48-speaker spatial sound system surrounds the audience, allowing performances created for spatial audio to be experienced immersively throughout the venue.
Apple Music Hall is also built as a recording and broadcast facility. Two dedicated studios can capture shows as multitrack recordings and mix them in Spatial Audio, either live or after the performance.
For video, the venue is hardwired to support 16 or more cameras connected to a purpose-built broadcast control room. Its infrastructure can also accommodate iPhone video capture alongside traditional broadcast cameras.
In practical terms, an artist could play a single intimate show and come away with a finished Spatial Audio recording, broadcast-ready mix, and multicamera video of the performance.
Apple Music Hall performances will stream globally
While Apple Music Hall itself is in London, its shows aren't intended to stay within its 600-person walls.
Apple said performances from the venue will also be livestreamed globally, giving fans outside London a chance to watch its one-off concerts remotely.
“At Apple Music, we care deeply about music, the artists who make it, and their life stories,” said Zane Lowe, Apple Music's Global Creative Director and lead anchor for Apple Music 1.
“We’re always looking for new opportunities to connect the artists and the fans because we are fans. What better way to celebrate this relationship than a new music venue where we get to experience amazing music in an amazing space and share it with the world.”
Lowe added: “Great music and memories will be made at Apple Music Hall.”
Apple Music Radio gets a new London home
Apple's expansion at Battersea also includes a new base for Apple Music Radio.
All of Apple Music Radio's London-based hosts and programmes will now broadcast live from new studios inside Battersea Power Station.
The studios will continue to host the interviews, artist specials, global premieres, and surprise performances that form part of Apple Music Radio's programming. The service broadcasts around the clock and is available to listeners worldwide for free.
The opening brings Apple's live performance, recording, broadcasting, and radio operations together at Battersea, with Apple Music Hall giving artists a space where a single performance can reach both the audience in the room and listeners and viewers around the world.
Details on upcoming Apple Music Hall performances and ticket access are available via Apple Music Hall's official channels.
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