LONDON — Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena has teamed up with Adidas and Abbey Road Studios for the launch of a new recording studio inside its premises.
The Adidas Originals Recording Studio is situated inside the U.K.’s largest music arena and has been designed as “a vibrant hub for emerging musical talent and young creative communities.” The studio has been engineered by Abbey Road’s technicians and sound engineers.
The studio in Manchester, England will be available to local musicians from August onwards. The initiative is launched in conjunction with a number of existing schemes, including Abbey Road’s Amplify and Equalise programmes, which hosts a number of panels, workshops and recording opportunities at the iconic London studios each year.
Factory’s International’s Factory Sounds initiative, which provides financial support and mentorship to underrepresented groups in the Greater Manchester area, is also involved with the project. Courteeners frontman Liam Fray, who was born and raised in Middleton, Manchester, opened the studio with an acoustic live performance and praised the space and the opportunities it may provide: “To have something of this level up here that is a focal point in Manchester opens up the industry and takes it to a wider audience.”
Despite a rocky, delayed opening, the Co-op Live Arena has become a key venue on the U.K.’s touring circuit, with a number of huge acts set to perform there this summer, including Bruce Springsteen, Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator, Massive Attack and more.
Sally Davies, managing director of Abbey Road Studios, said in a statement: “The launch of the adidas Originals Recording Studio is a world-first collaboration creating a new, Abbey Road-engineered recording space beyond the walls of our home in London.”
“We are enormously proud to partner with Adidas, Co-op Live and Factory International to create a new platform for talent in Manchester and the North-West, expanding our mission to enable and empower the global community of music makers and creators, and shape the future of music making.”