A large-scale New York City recording studio at 723 Seventh Avenue, one of NYC audio’s landmark addresses, is for sale: Premier Studios. Owner & CEO Sandy Schneiderman has announced its availability on the market.

Approximately 6,600 square feet over two floors (six and eight) in Times Square, Premier Studios opened in September, 2009. Schneiderman purchased the space from fellow 723 denizens Quad Studios, then named the rooms Premier.

Sharing the heritage of the famed Quad complex, Premier has long had a dedicated following of platinum hip hop, rock, pop, and media brand clients. Each floor is flagshipped by one large studio, plus one mid-sized room. Premier’s Studio A and Studio B are both regarded as classic SSL Rooms, stocked with outboard gear such as Neve 1073s and 33609s, Teletronix LA-2As, API 550s. Vintage effects include the Lexicon 224XL, 480L, and 960L, PCM 42’s and 72’s, Eventide H3000, and much more.

Studio Manager Glenn Swan’s deep experience operating the studios, managing the staff, and booking sessions is an additional asset. He brings a large contact database and extensive technical expertise to the facility. (Interested parties in the studio sale can contact Glenn Swann at glenn@premierstudiosny.com.)

Premier’s Studio A control room with its SSL AWS Delta 48 console.

Seeing Challenges and Opportunities

“I decided to put Premier Studios up for sale for a few reasons,” Schneiderman says. “After being involved in the entertainment businesses for 50 years – with 12 years in the music recording and sound editing business – it is time for me to move on, and concentrate on other businesses I’m involved in.

“There have been major changes in the music recording business from the equipment which is used, to the places – like your home – where the recording can be done. The engineers who operate the equipment now do not have to be super-technical, because the technology of equipment has made it easier to operate.”

Owner & CEO Sandy Schneiderman started Premier in 2009.

Schneiderman notes some macro trends that he believes have made conditions more challenging for studios. ‘’Consumer behavior has changed,” he says. “The quality of sound, especially on streaming services, is not as important as it used to be.

“Social media and Facetime allows artists to network. Although it’s now not as important to go to large studios like Premier Studios to network with others, it’s still important to many artists to do that, and bring lots of people with them to enjoy the music being recorded.

“I believe you cannot replace the face-to-face networking with other artists and their mangers at studios. That’s how new artists get to the next step and signed with record labels.”

Headwinds notwithstanding, Schneiderman sees an opportunity for its next owner. “The next owner of Premier Studios has four great-sounding studios with all the vintage equipment and plugins needed by the artists to record. We have two great Steinway grand pianos as well. Our rooms were quality built and have great acoustics. We have some very large, medium sized and smaller rooms to record and write music.

“We have six years left on our space lease in Times Square, at very favorable terms,” he continues. “Rather than build new rooms which take a long time and are very expensive to build because of inflation and supply chain issues, you get studios that are ready to be used.”

Schneiderman, whose next phase will focus on cryptocurrency mining, shared personal insights from his five decades in the entertainment industry.

“There have been many changes over the last 50 years,” he reflects. “You have to be ready to adjust to changes with some knowledge of where you think the music industry is headed. You have to have enough working capital to do what you think is necessary to make adjustments, and have the patience over the long term to hopefully see positive results.”

The Studio A live room at Premier Studios.

The Studio B live room.

The producer’s view from the songwriting-oriented Studio E.

Looking into Premier’s Studio F.

— David Weiss is an Editor for SonicScoop.com, and has been covering pro audio developments for over 20 years. He is also the co-author of the music industry’s leading textbook on synch licensing, “Music Supervision, 2^nd Edition: The Complete Guide to Selecting Music for Movies, TV, Games & New Media.” Email: david@sonicscoop.com

Please note: When you buy products through links on this page, we may earn an affiliate commission.