With movie studios and live music venues across the world closing, the Canadian market may soon see a return to its golden years.
The Vancouver office of global music producer Arca has been in talks with a handful of venues in the Greater Vancouver area to open studios for live music, with an estimated opening date in 2017.
The studio is being built on the corner of Burnside Avenue and King Street West in a building formerly used by the CBC’s Radio 1, which has recently been relaunched.
The Arca studio will be operated by a subsidiary of the entertainment company MediaCity, which operates several other Vancouver venues.
“We’re in discussions with some Vancouver venues that have the ability to bring live music to the studios and we’re also in discussions on potential expansion to other locations,” said Brian McKeown, Arca’s vice-president of international expansion.
“This is a very exciting opportunity to provide a new, innovative, creative space for music to be enjoyed and enjoyed by a large number of people in Vancouver.”
McKeon added that the studio is not being developed as a concert venue, but rather as a space for live performance.
“Live performance is a key element of our strategy,” he said.
“It’s our way of creating a sense of community, of belonging and community, and it’s something we want to continue to do.”
The Arcs studios are not the first venue in the city to expand in the past few years.
Earlier this year, the Globe and Mail reported that The Royal Theater at the University of British Columbia was expanding to fill an opening in the former location of the Victoria Theater.
The theatre, which was also used by The CBC, is now the home of The Sound, a popular live-music venue that was shuttered in 2016.
“The Sound is a huge part of our community and we will be expanding in the future,” said Michael O’Reilly, director of the Royal Theater.
“In addition to the new venue, we’re adding a new music venue on Burnside, a large stage space in our west-end building, and we’ll be building out the new Vancouver theatre for a live show in the fall.”
McGlinchey said the Arcs studio is expected to open in spring 2017.
It’s not the only studio being built in the Vancouver area, either.
Earlier in 2017, The Red Door and the Vibe announced plans to open an 11,000-square-foot studio on the west side of Vancouver, complete with an outdoor patio and a rooftop bar.
The Red Doors studio will have an outdoor stage, a lounge area, a dining area, and two large screens, while the Vibes will be building a 10,000 square-foot rooftop bar, which will feature live music.
McGlincey said the studio will offer a similar experience to the Viges, although it will be more accessible to the public.
“They will have the same type of concept that we’re doing here with the rooftop bar,” he explained.
“And I think they’re going to be able to sell out and create a buzz and generate a lot of buzz for us as well.”