Abbey Road Studios Set For Multimillion-Dollar Renovation

Iconic British recording house Abbey Road Studios will undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation after a proposed investment plan was approved by Universal Music UK chief executive Lucian Grange, it has been reported.

According to the Telegraph, Universal's investment comes about three years after it acquired the site during its billion-dollar purchase of EMI, and follows an earlier commitment from Universal to implement an investment program, under recently appointed managing director Isabel Garvey, to bolster its number of existing recording and mixing spaces.

The studio, which will turn 84 this year and has been a world-famous fixture of contemporary recording since The Beatles' sessions there in the mid-20th century, will see the installation of cutting-edge equipment, with particular attention being paid to maintaining its film-score capabilities and opening up its ability to woo modern pop icons such as recent Grammy winner Sam Smith back to its hallowed halls.

As part of the overhaul, Abbey Road will become the first studio in Europe to feature the new Dolby Atmos system, which, as the Telegraph explains, is "a new form of surround sound designed to make films more immersive", making use of up to 128 audio tracks and up to 64 speakers to take aural interaction to exciting new depths.

The work will need to gain planning permission before it can go ahead, but — all things being equal — is expected to be completed some time next year.