2022 has been full of exciting developments and breakthrough moments so we wanted to take a look back on some of the highlights.

From launching our Music Photography Awards to opening a Dolby Atmos music mastering room and a handful of writing rooms to a series of number one projects, releasing a documentary film and book exploring over 90 years of Abbey Road history and enhancing our online studio with new services like Track Check to our arsenal.

We can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2023. See the full list below.

It was a real honour to come home with the Studio of the Year award at the Music Producers Guild Awards, the first gathering of the music production community in two years.

The last two years have seen the studio community collaborate like never before to reimagine studio life. It’s against this backdrop that we’ve welcomed new friends to Abbey Road, built new spaces, acquired new businesses, reopened Angel Studios, celebrated our 90th anniversary and launched new programmes to inspire and empower the next generation.

Big thanks to our brilliant recording, mastering & technical engineers, and our facilities team who kept us open, made music creation possible and delivered to the highest standards. We’d also like to thank the wonderful musicians, composers, artists and producers who brought their brilliant work to our house. We exist because of you.

The culmination of years of research, the film is Mary McCartney's personal love letter to a place which not only fostered her dad’s creative work, but also countless numbers of the most talented artists from around the globe.

If These Walls Could Sing is a passionate account of the world’s first purpose-built recording studio spanning 91 years. Featuring stories from the likes of Jimmy Page, Kate Bush, Noel Gallagher, John Williams, Celeste, Elton John, Giles Martin, Shirley Bassey, Liam Gallagher, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney, the documentary takes you on a journey starting at our beginnings recording the greats of classical music, to hosting dance hall and big band stars, witnessing the birth of British rock & roll, producing a prolific string of hits in the 1960s, facilitating Oscar-winning film scores and seeing the rise of hip-hop idols. Mary’s film brings to life the magic that continues to echo within the walls of No. 3 Abbey Road.

Featured as one of Far Out Magazine’s 20 Best New Releases to Stream This December, the UK premiere of the film was held in Studio One where over 250 guests gathered to watch, including: Paul McCartney, Elton John and Ringo Starr

Brought to you by Penguin Books and author David Hepworth with a foreword by Paul McCartney, the book is filled with amazing moments from our 90 years of history as a creative hub.

The definitive story of Abbey Road Studios is out now.

We were proud to announce the expansion of our mixing and mastering services with the opening of our new mastering suite designed specifically for Dolby Atmos Music mastering.

Immersive audio allows artists to present their music in a new way, giving their music a richer and bolder sound. It’s a format that is increasingly being embraced by major music platforms. During the past few years, Abbey Road’s engineers have mixed hundreds of tracks in Dolby Atmos Music, working across both the Penthouse and Mix Stage studios.

Read more here.

Welcome to the newly redesigned Studio Three at Abbey Road.

After extensive remodelling, Studio Three goes back to its roots as one of the best stereo rooms in London. A classic SSL G-Plusmixing desk custom-designed to our specification is the centrepiece, complemented with the perfect blend of vintage tech and modern gear that you’d expect from a bespoke writing & recording room.

With increased space, state-of-the-art technology and a sense of intimacy, Studio Three is the ultimate creative playroom for today’s artists.

Read more here.

Earlier this year we opened three brand new writing and production rooms. Located in the heart of London and built into the very fabric of Abbey Road, these rooms are a creative hub for London’s most inspired musicians, artists, managers, labels, and creators.

With flexible booking options that means the spaces can be booked by the week, these rooms are ideal for small writing camps or artists looking for an uninterrupted period of time to focus on their craft. Additionally, clients can take full advantage of our arsenal of analogue and digital outboard gear, instruments and microphones.

Earlier this year we launched Track Check, a service whereby our engineers will feedback on everything from balance and spatial image to headroom, phase, limiting and compression. Helping you arrive at a mix that will lead to an even better master.

Headed by Abbey Road engineer Tom Hall, Track Check is the final quality control step before submitting your song for mastering.

Read more here.

We always feel privileged to see music that has involved our team be recognised and reach number 1.

This year is no different, and we are thrilled to have worked on the below number 1s:

George Ezra - Gold Rush Kid - Strings were recorded in-part in Studio Two by Daniel Moyler, arranged by Tobie Tripp and assisted by Joe Wyatt and Andy Maxwell.

Frank Turner - FTHC - Mastered by Frank Arkwright.

Eliza Rose - B.O.T.A - Mastered by **Alex Gordon **.

Sam Smith, Kim Petras - Unholy - The strings were recorded at Angel Studios by Gordon Davidson and assisted by George Oulton and Freddie Light.

Earlier this year, we launched the inaugural Abbey Road Studios Music Photography Awards, the first ever awards to celebrate the art of music photography and the talent behind the lens.

The competition ran across a series of distinct categories, with winners selected by a panel of photographers, music artists and creatives. The awards recognised 2021’s most unforgettable, unique and unsung music moments and the varied and talented photographers who captured them.

Click here to see the winners and their work

We bid a massive congratulations to Little Simz on winning her first ever Mercury Prize for her exceptional fourth album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.

The album, produced with her regular collaborator Inflo, was recorded in-part at Abbey Road where we hosted the orchestral and percussion sessions for the album, recorded by Richard Woodcraft and Ben Baptie with Abbey Road’s Matt Jones and Chris Parker.

A well-deserved honour for this amazing artist.

Equalise
On Saturday 5 March, Abbey Road Equalise opened up Angel Studios to the next generation of female artists and creatives for a free day of panel talks & masterclasses for IWD 2022!

We heard from some of the music industry’s leading women and most exciting rising female talent about how they got started and their essential tips for success.

Read more here.

Amplify
Over 7, 8 and 12 November, coinciding with our 91st Anniversary, we once again opened our doors to the next generation of artists, producers, composers and creatives for a free festival featuring panel discussions, masterclasses and Q&As.

We welcomed over 500 guests to listen to our 54 guests speakers that included the Abbey Road team and some of the music industry’s leading names as they shared career insights from their personal journeys, as well as advice for upcoming talent.

Read more here.

Our Abbey Road Red incubator offers music tech entrepreneurs a program of mentorship, access to Abbey Road's facilities and a platform for exposure.

This year we were lucky enough to onboard three new startups working in the music tech space.

XONE
Music is at the heart of XONE’s roadmap. They are currently developing a set of gaming and social features to create hangouts, avatar integrations, and large-scale music experiences.

The first XONE listening parties have already been tested and we look forward to working together to incorporate spatial and interactive audio elements across its musical features!

Read more here.

MediMusic
MediMusic is a groundbreaking medtech company which enables the prescription and provision of music as medicine to ease pain and anxiety.

It delivers music chosen using its proprietary algorithms and digital fingerprints, soon to be informed by machine learning, and already proven to ease stress in dementia patients.

Read more here.

DAACI
DAACI is a ground-breaking patented ‘meta-composition’ tool. Its founders have created a system based on PhD research with the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence and Queen Mary University of London, designed to convincingly pass a Turing Test for music creation.

It takes rules-based composition, and assistive composition in general, to a new level with emotional intelligence and an ability to understand and reflect narrative details and contextual connotations in the music it creates.

Read more here.

Earlier in the year, we partnered with Manchester, UK-based talent management, publishing and record company NQ, as part of a new artist residency program.

The partnership signaled a “new era” for the studio with the creation of a resident creative community based in a suite of new writing and production rooms.

The partnership allowed NQ’s stable of talent to use our studio spaces for monthly sessions, and also provided music makers from Manchester and the North West a gateway into the music industry.

A Stormzy Special premiered on BBC One.

A 45-minute special set was performed in Studio Two featuring three live performances from his new album This Is What I Mean and an interview with BBC Radio 2’s Trevor Nelson.

The session was engineered by Paul Pritchard.

Spitfire Audio x Abbey Road bring you our most detailed sample library to date, Abbey Road Orchestra: Low Percussion.

Featuring drums from across the globe spanning different tones and ranges, played by the wonderful Joby Burgess (Black Panther, Mission: Impossible) using a variety of striking positions, beaters and techniques. All within the unmistakable acoustic space of Studio One.

With over 25 of our legendary microphones on each drum, Abbey Road senior engineer Simon Rhodes (Skyfall, Avatar) meticulously captured each of the 166,000 samples that make up this extensive library.

Experience the resonant brilliance of Low Percussion by clicking here.

The Beatles Revolver is back with brand-new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes from Giles Martin and Sam Okell.

Out now, the reissue features mono and stereo remixes plus an entire disc of never-before-heard outtakes. For the first time, you can hear it on Apple Music in Spatial Audio.

Read more and buy it here.