Apple Music to open a studio in Culver City

Apple Music on Monday said it’s opening a three-story studio in Culver City this summer that will have a 4,000-square-foot soundstage for live performances and fan events.

“With this new studio, we are furthering our commitment to creating a space for artists to create, connect, and share their vision,” said Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s co-head, in a statement.

The facility spans more than 15,000 square feet and includes two radio studios for live interviews and performances, a spatial audio mixing room, booths for songwriting and podcasting, and rooms to help artists create content, Apple said in a post about the studio.

The facility is located in Culver City in the Hayden Tract neighborhood. Los Angeles architect Eric Owen Moss, known for his distinctive and sculptural structures throughout Los Angeles, designed the building that houses the new studio. Apple didn’t provide an exact date for the studio’s opening.

The new space shows how Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., has been expanding its real estate footprint in Southern California as it pushes further into the entertainment industry.

The tech giant is building a new office complex on the border of Culver City and Los Angeles that is expected to house the company’s television streaming service Apple TV+.

As technology, including the frenzy around artificial intelligence, continues to reshape the way musicians and filmmakers tell stories, tech companies are emphasizing that they want to support creativity.

Last year, Apple apologized after an iPad Pro ad that showed a hydraulic press crushing musical instruments such as a piano and other creative tools before the thin device was revealed, sparked backlash. While the commercial showcased Apple’s thinnest product, some critics viewed it as a symbol of technology destroying creativity.

Apple said the new studio will serve as the anchor for a global network of creative hubs that are already open in New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris and Nashville. The company said it plans to open more studios soon.

Apple also announced that as part of its 10-year anniversary celebration, Apple Music Radio starting on July 1 will start counting down the service’s top 500 most-streamed songs. Apple Music is also releasing a way for its listeners to see and stream the songs they’ve played the most since they joined the service in a “Replay All Time” playlist.