The world of music rehearsal spaces
Established 2006
ABOUT BANDSPACE
Measuring the health of music rehearsal spaces since 2006
There are many commercial music rehearsal spaces across the world offering excellent opportunities for musicians to perfect their informal music-making.
Similar to sports centres, they act as a critical meeting point between amateur and professional activity. Music Rehearsal spaces are developed over several years, often unique in response to their users, location and the building they are housed in. They serve a relatively local population and mostly located in urban areas. Artists will increasingly need access to high quality spaces as the monetary value of land and buildings grow.
A number of spaces work with record companies, promoters, publishers, music management companies, orchestras and opera companies. Sometimes a room hire is on a long-term let or sub-let. However, there is little information or coordinated effort to promote their use. Until now.
Our research
The focus of the Bandspace platform is music rehearsal spaces not recording studios, although many facilities combine both. As far as we know, there has never been significant research in to the role the music rehearsal spaces sector plays in the development of artists and their work. Anecdotally, we know they are important, but what are they precisely, who accesses them, when, how and why?
Our research suggests rehearsal spaces are often run by musicians keen to share their enthusiasm for music with others. The sector is characterised by an un-connected proliferation of these music practice rooms across the world, usually run on a commercial basis. Geographically they are dispersed, with their services shaped organically by demand from their users.
Very few receive public subsidy despite the musical, personal and social benefits derived from participatory group music-making. Indeed, many are subject to local and national taxes, insurances and utility bills like any other business. These costs can put the cost of hiring a practice room out the reach of amateur and semi-professional musicians
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We know they can range from a single practice room to over 300 rooms across multiple sites, employing one part-time worker to many full-timers.
In the UK practice rooms are mostly run on an hourly/session basis, whereas in the US they are predominantly offered as a sub-let where the user rents the room semi-permanently on a monthly basis.
3 By 3 Studios
We have done some work on the where, but there is still much to share with those wishing to know more about the music rehearsal space world.
Aim
Bandspace was set up in 2006 in part in response to upholding high standards for professional music rehearsal spaces for all types and standards of musician. We will publish irregular blogs routed in our research. We hope Bandspace provides a resource from which others can build.
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Bandspace is a procurer and list of music rehearsal spaces, a tell-taler of tantalisingly covert music happenings all across the world - recommendations and advice of what we dig from our obsessive cratedigging. Come play with us and add your voice to this growing community.
