Apple Music Hall can turn one live show into Spatial Audio, video and a broadcast

An artist performing at Apple Music Hall can walk off stage with much more than a completed concert. Apple’s new London venue has been built so the same show can become a Spatial Audio recording, multicamera video and broadcast-ready mix.

The production workflow is one of the most unusual parts of the new 600-capacity venue at Battersea Power Station and helps explain why Apple describes it as more than a conventional concert hall.

Apple says two dedicated recording and mix studios sit behind the stage, allowing every performance to be captured as a multitrack recording and mixed in Spatial Audio either live or after the event.

The auditorium itself contains 48 speakers positioned around the audience, giving fans a spatial live experience while also allowing artists and engineers to work with the format as part of the production.

Image: Apple

For video, Apple Music Hall is hardwired for at least 16 cameras feeding a purpose-built broadcast control room. The system can also accommodate iPhones recording in parallel with traditional professional cameras.

That creates a single venue where the performance, recording, audio mix and video production can happen simultaneously.

The approach fits closely with Apple Music’s wider push into Spatial Audio. Rather than simply asking artists and labels to deliver Dolby Atmos mixes of studio recordings, Apple now has a physical venue where live performances can be created with spatial production in mind from the beginning.

It also gives Apple considerably more control over the production pipeline for live content. Apple Music Live has already shown the company’s appetite for exclusive performances, including shows from artists such as Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish.

Image: Apple

Apple Music Hall brings that concept under one roof. Instead of adapting an arena or another third-party venue for a broadcast, the technical infrastructure is permanently installed and available for every performance.

The Hall’s 38-foot stage can also be reconfigured from a conventional front-facing setup to more immersive layouts, giving artists more control over how the physical performance and recorded version are presented.

For fans who never enter the 600-person room, the recording facilities could ultimately prove just as important as the venue itself. Apple has built Apple Music Hall so a small London concert can be transformed into content capable of reaching a global audience.