Capitol Studios closes its Mastering division

The mastering department at famed Capitol Studios in Hollywood has been closed and several employees have been laid off, Universal Music Group confirmed Tuesday evening after news of the shutdown began circulating on social media.

The recording studios themselves, a tourist site and magnet for top artists since it opened in 1956, will remain open. But Capitol Studios’ mastering rooms, which were almost as revered by engineers and producers, won’t, as these spaces will be converted into recording studios – likely much smaller than Studio A, where Frank Sinatra was recording. with a full orchestra.

Said a spokesperson for Universal Music Group: “At Capitol Studios, while demand for recording studios remains high, there has been an overall decline in requests for mastering services – to the point where we have decided to shut down the Capitol mastering facility and focus on other areas of the recording process that are most requested by artists, including using the space to build additional recording suites. “

Also being closed: the tape restoration service at Capitol Studios, where old recordings from the UMG catalog were digitized. According to UMG, much, if not most, of this work had already been contracted out to Iron Mountain in Hollywood in recent years.

UMG did not confirm the number of cut employees, but the mastering department had four employees. But one key employee affected by the changes taking place this week was not just tied to the tape mastering or restoration departments, but to Capitol Studios as a whole: Paula Salvatore, vice president of the studio who recently celebrated her 30th anniversary with the company, and who was widely regarded as the face of the entire establishment.

Salvatore will no longer continue in this role. Rumor had spread in the music community on Monday and Tuesday that Salvatore had been fired, with growing dismay over the potential departure of an institutional facility that many saw as the very face of Capitol Studios. UMG sources say she will continue with the company in a different role, yet to be defined. We do not know, outside, if she will continue as an employee or as a consultant. Variety could not reach Salvatore for comment.

All recordings need to be mastered for release, so it’s not entirely intuitive as to why the demand for studio sessions would continue to be at a high level, but the mastering work would have slowed down until the exploration suggested by the UMG statement. It could be that additional recording studios located in such a famous location may charge more of a premium than the mastering work, which may be outsourced. UMG has outside facilities that it uses for mastering in Los Angeles, which should take over work that was previously done in-house. The company does not anticipate any reduction in mastering facilities at the studios it owns in New York City, Nashville, Canada and Mexico.

Senior engineer Steve Hoffman, who oversees the popular Hoffman Forums discussion boards, was one of those surprised by the mastering department’s shutdown. On his Facebook page, he expressed his relief at the reopening of the recording studios, contrary to initial rumors that they too could be closed for good. “I hope that’s true,” he wrote, “but why fire and close mastery? Are they never going to release music?

Capitol Studios as a whole was closed in the early stages of the pandemic, then reopened under COVID protocols, with activity slowing down as fewer people were allowed on-site and a thorough cleaning was to take place between sessions. The entire facility was temporarily closed again recently when Los Angeles County imposed new restrictions on entertainment production due to a surge in COVID infections; There are hopes the studio will be allowed to reopen if cases slow down in late January, although that seems less likely as the days go by and hospitalizations increase.

Capitol Studios’ mastering department was particularly renowned in recent years for its role in the vinyl renaissance, although CD mastering was also performed there. The studio’s website, which has not been altered to reflect the shutdown of the department, still claims: “Capitol Mastering is proud of the living heritage of vinyl lacquer mastery with two legendary Neumann towers in full service. time. We cut lacquer masters for all sizes including 7 “, 10” and 12 “.”

Sources say the towers and other vintage or analog gear will be kept on site and not sold, although they will be moved out of mastering rooms as they are converted into recording spaces.

The department’s longest-serving veteran Ron McMaster made headlines (including a Variety profile) when he retired in 2018 after 38 years in the Capitol Tower. He then said he was retiring because the influx of vinyl masters applications was so intense – sometimes involving cutting four hairsprays a day – that he no longer had the energy to keep up with that pace.

Rumors continue to circulate about the future of the Capitol Tower, which was sold in 2007 and then leased to the Capitol label group. The building has historic status and the studio floors, at least, are meant to be safe from conversion to other uses. UMG argued that any supposed conversion to condos is not being considered.

Salvatore’s tenure in the company had not recently gone unnoticed internally. In November, another Capitol Tower tenant, Capitol Records, posted a video on his Salvatore Facebook page giving a tour of the famous basement studio, with a caption saying it was “to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Paula Salvatore ”(below).