Apple opens new 600-capacity music venue in London’s Battersea Power Station

Over the last few years, music venues have been dropping like flies. 2023 was the worst year for venue closures in history, with grassroots venues struggling the most. However, amidst all the closures, new venues are cropping up to fill the ever-growing void. Apple is the latest company to lend a hand, setting up a brand new live venue in Battersea Power Station for newcomers and world-renowned superstars alike.

Apple Music Hall comes as London’s newest intimate venue, boasting a 600-capacity gig space within Battersea’s iconic former power station. And the space doesn’t try to hide its history, leaving the exposed brickwork and metal structuring untouched. The design even adds in bronze balconies as a nod to the vintage, industrial history of the space.

There’s also a big glass wall in the foyer before entering the dedicated gig space, designed to give punters a panoramic view of the venue’s central concourse, as well as providing a great view of the River Thames.

While the space’s primary function is to serve as a new intimate venue, it also has a slew of other uses. Due to it being kitted out with Apple’s Spatial Audio, with a 48-speaker spatial sound system positioned all around the room, artists could use it as a way of recording immersive live sessions. Behind the scenes, artists can also take advantage of the venue’s two dedicated recording and mix studios, providing artists with the tools to capture their shows as a multitrack recording.

There’s also the option to easily record a gig or live session, due to the being hardwired for 16 or more cameras. Then, there’s a specialised broadcast control room, which even supports parallel usage of iPhone video capture alongside its more traditional broadcast camera support.

As Apple notes in its Newsroom announcement, the 600-capacity venue is “designed intentionally to close the gap between intimacy and production value”. It’s a way of helping artists feel totally in control of their production, allowing the intimacy of a small space with the bonus of infrastructure one might associate with an “arena tour”, complete with a 38-foot-wide stage suited for front-facing sets or “more in-the-round experiences”.

“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,” Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and International Content, says in the press release. “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.”

Alongside the new venue, Apple has also moved its London Apple Music Radio team to Battersea Power Station. Its a move that takes advantage of Battersea’s new radio studios.