The founder of The Magic Shop, the New York City studio where David Bowie recorded his last two albums and countless other hit albums were made, including part of Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways and Lou Reed’s Magic and Loss, has announced that it will close on 16 March after 28 years in business.

Owner Steve Rosenthal – who revealed last year that rocketing rent prices and changes to the music/recording industry that have impacted on client demand were causing him to fear the worst – delivered the news via Facebook earlier this week, where he has since received thousands of messages of support from all over the world.

In his statement, Rosenthal gave thanks to Bowie and producer Tony Visconti, as well as Foos frontman Dave Grohl, who in 2015 generously offered his own financial backing to help the studio deal with its rent issues and bid to buy the property, which sadly proved to be unsuccessful.

Rosenthal concluded his statement by saying he plans to continue with his restoration and archiving business, and that he hopes to see an end to the current situation whereby studios are being priced out of urban centres due to a ruthless real estate market:

"I get that New York City is always changing and adapting like the living city it is. Maybe what I believe in is no longer of value, but it was for us and we lived it.

As the city becomes more of a corporate and condo island, some of us wish for a better balance between money and art, between progress and preservation, and we hope that one day we will see a reversal of the destruction of conscience and community we are witnessing.

Or maybe not…

After all I’m just a guy from The Bronx."

Picture: Hannes Bieger

http://magicshopny.com