Magic Shop Recording Studio to close

The Magic Shop Recording Studio in Manhattan is shutting its doors after 28 years in business.

The New York spot hosted David Bowie while he record his last two albums, The Next Day and Blackstar, and has worked with acts such as Sonic Youth, Lou Reed and Arcade Fire.

Foo Fighters mainman Dave Grohl, who featured the iconic studio in the band’s HBO travelogue Sonic Highways, helped fund owner Steve Rosenthal’s failed bid to buy the Crosby Street property. Rosenthal, who founded the studio in 1988, has blamed rocketing real-estate prices in the city for the closure.

He thanks his clients, his family and friends, adding: “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.”

It was recently announced that David Bowie had approved a series of Instagram videos to promote Blackstar, which will premiere tomorrow at 8pm EST (February 26 1am GMT).

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.