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October 14, 2009

What About the Labs? 'Up to Half' of LA Studios Either Folded or Sold to Artists...

L.A. Times | Read Full Story >

“The old days were big budgets, top-of-the-line equipment and ‘How do you want your espresso and can I get it for you?’ ” he said. “I do miss that a bit. And at the time, even just 10 years ago, it didn’t seem like that could ever end, ever go away.”

Although nobody officially tracks the number of recording studios, the consensus among industry experts is that the big commercial facilities have taken a major hit. They estimate that as many as half of the L.A. area’s commercial studios have closed or been sold to artists for private use.

A key reason is that recording software emulates what old studio consoles and tape recorders used to do—at a fraction of the price. Among the most widely used programs are Avid Technology Inc.‘s Pro Tools, Steinberg Media Technologies’ Cubase and Apple Inc.‘s GarageBand.

“You used to patch everything into a big console. Now you can plug everything into a computer,” he said. “And editing music using tape wasn’t easy. Now you just click and drag a mouse across the screen.”



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