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Pirate Studios raises $20M for ‘self-service’ tech-enabled music studios


Jim Feeley

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This story covers the tech-investment angle, but huh... In my day were were lucky to rehearse in a warehouse with a leaky roof... 🙂

So I guess these are fancy(ish) rehearsal spaces? Anyone here know anything about these? Seem like an idea that could work, or taking the whole "gig economy" trope too literally and too far?


Pirate Studios raises $20M from Talis Capital for its ‘self-service’ tech-enabled music studios

[snip]

The new funding will enable Pirate Studios to continue to expand across the U.K., Germany and the U.S., where it has been building what the startup describes as a community of musicians, DJs, producers and podcasters who need access to professional rehearsal, production and recording studios at affordable rates. The company charges as little as £4 per hour, depending on what kind of music studio space and facilities you book.

[snip]

 

Rest of story:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/14/pirate-studios/

 

Company site:

https://www.piratestudios.co.uk

 

Gratuitous marketing picture:

Birmingham-Pre-Production-Space.jpg?w=13

 

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This is not new to me. When I was rehearsing with my first bands in the mid 90's we booked such places already. They had like 20 rehearsal rooms, a big stage small stage for live performances and TV show recordings and an audio recording studio. exactly the same as this pirate thingy minus the youtube/instagram/facebook live offering, hey, it was the 90's...

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If they really have permanent physical space with equipment in all those locations  then there has to be some sort of profit aspect to this for the Co., it's just too big to be just a PR thing.  Maybe they are co-oping with existing studios and rehearsal halls, maybe they get some kind of dibs on music recorded there, but the real estate involved in that list of sites has to be worth more than could be supported by $8 an hour rentals?  And, yes, there has to be staff, maintenance, cleaning etc etc as well.

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Ya, maybe there's some why to make money in all this. Maybe...

 

The local Guitar Center has rehearsal and recording spaces. Never been there (I still have quesy feelings about Guitar Center dating back to my teenage years).

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Services/Lessons/Rehearsals.gc

So I guess Guitar Center figures there's a way to make money off this stuff. On the other hand, they keep flirting with bankruptcy...

 

On the other other hand, I hear the rehearsal spaces around here (and there are quite a number of rooms) have long waiting lists...

 

 

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Ya, "disrupting" the broke-ass musician world seems...challenging.

 

So here's the page for their New York City location:

https://deck.piratestudios.co.uk/booking/rooms?booking_enquiry[property]=brooklyn-new-york

 

$20 an hour (or so) for a room and backline... Less for DJ rooms...maybe more for weekends? I didn't dig too deeply. 

 

But I wish them luck! My son's going to need rehearsal space in NYC next year... 😉

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