Inside Apple Music Studio at the heart of creative LA

Summer 2025 marked the tenth anniversary of Apple Music, the streaming service launched as a direct rival to Spotify and Amazon Prime Music. Although it has around half the number of paying subscribers as Spotify (c95-100m users), Apple Music is deeply integrated into the company’s devices and operating system. It also has a rich streak of curation and promotion, demonstrated by the 24-hour Apple Music Radio service, with wide-ranging playlists and unique content.

All of this creativity needed a dedicated home. In 2025, Apple Music cemented its role as a cultural generator with the opening of a dedicated space in Los Angeles. Housing two state-of-the-art broadcast studios, a large performance soundstage and facilities for editing, podcasting and more, it has become a major destination for talent.

Located in an Eric Owen Moss-designed building in LA’s Culver City, the new Los Angeles studio is part of a growing network of Apple Music creative hubs – there are also facilities in Tokyo, Paris and Berlin, among other places, with plans for London and New York well advanced.

In addition to the latest technology, the studio complex also makes space for art and music memorabilia. Glass artist Katherine Gray’s Iridescent Motion and Light graces the main lobby, with its high-tech treated surfaces generating a series of sky tones to set the overall palette for the interiors. The lobby connects with the various studios via two gallery-style spaces, the A-List Corridor and Archive Corridor, both of which provide a backdrop of imagery and artwork from Apple Music collaborators and events.

With the studio now up and running, we spoke to Rachel Newman, co-head of Apple Music (with Ole Obermann) about the opportunities the new facility provides, as well as John De Maio, global head of workplace design & places at Apple, about the architectural and interior considerations that shaped the studio.

So what does the new studio give Apple in terms of reach and access to different recording artists? ‘Since launching (LA), we have had more than 300 artists through the doors,’ Rachel Newman says, adding that ‘the space itself is a true creative facility where artists have the opportunity to take over Apple Music Radio, perform a live show, record an interview, mix their music in Spatial or even host a fan event.’

This ability to editorialise in generous, dynamic surroundings has unsurprisingly found favour with artists. ‘We’ve opened the doors to artists to use the space in whatever way their hearts desire and it has already proven to be a total game-changer,’ Newman agrees.

As one would expect from an Apple project, technology is at the heart of the experience. The ability to work with Spatial Audio – for which a ‘halo’ of 20 speakers is required – while also concealing the cameras that film interviews, for example, shows how the design prioritises creativity without distractions.

‘Like everything at Apple, the experience is our focus,’ Newman explains. ‘The technology that goes into making something special is our bread and butter, but not something that ultimately matters from a customer POV. What matters is that it feels magical.’

According to Newman, Apple will continue to expand its ability to create content through such physical spaces. ‘We are committed to supporting artists, storytelling and providing a space for fans to connect directly, in person, with their favourite artists,’ she says, going on to highlight events that wouldn’t have been possible without this dedicated space, including ‘the Doja Cat album release party; Rap Life Review Live with a surprise performance by Clipse; a fan-only album release party for Taylor Swift and many other special events’.

Design lead John De Maio was tasked with giving shape to this realm, balancing the desire for a calm, creative space with the need to integrate technology and make it instantly accessible. ‘At its best, we believe that technology should amplify human creativity, experience and connection,’ he says. ‘We always approach the design of our spaces in the same way as we approach the design of our products; we start by asking, “How do we want people to feel?” It is so important that the spaces we create empower and inspire the people who use them.’

Across three storeys and 15,000 sq ft, the Los Angeles space runs the gamut from high-tech production areas to dressing rooms, a green room and gallery-like spaces. The presence of the underlying technology is amplified or reduced depending on the nature of each area.

‘For example, in some areas we’ve reduced the footprint of the cameras or speakers – or removed the standard overhead lighting grid – to create a more natural experience for artists,’ De Maio explains. ‘In other spaces, like the Spatial Audio mixing room, direct access to the equipment is critical to the artistic process, to how engineers and artists create, so it is on full display and immediately accessible.’

LA’s role as a centre of creativity – in music as in movies – was also considered. ‘We are always keeping our eyes firmly set on the future, but we also like to draw inspiration from the past where it’s relevant,’ says De Maio. ‘LA has such a vibrant music scene and culture of creative spaces… We wanted to add to that cultural legacy but also evolve it to meet people where they are, telling authentic stories through a series of diverse spaces.’

The third-floor green room is a case in point. Not just a time-honoured space for talent to ‘unwind’, it’s also a meeting room and a place for content creation. Apple Music’s ‘Sunset Sessions’ are shot here, with the Santa Monica mountains in the background.