Recording studio deal
IJ Reporter
The first thing that attracted Dutch software tycoon Eckart Wintzen to The Plant Recording Studios in Sausalito was its earthy, unpretentious feel. This-coupled with having a real work environment for students at his new digital visual media and sound arts training center in Emeryville-prompted Wintzen to buy a substantial portion of The Plant. The 27-year-old studio is the recording home of some of music's most popular and long-lasting performers, including Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Metallica and Santana. Can't you feel it? I feel it," Eckart said yesterday when announcing the deal. It's a wooden building. There's nothing pompous about it. Everyone is nice and warm People are having fun. They aren't here just to produce records to make a lot of money." Eckart shied away from saying how much he poured into the company. But the investment was worth millions and makes him a business partner with The Plant's 10-year owner Arne Frager and his wife, Rose.
The Plant will use some of the money to build a 2,000square-foot mastering studio where final digital masters of CDs are made before being sent off for reproduction. Some of the investment was already used to build The Plant's newest studio, The Garden. The surround-sound studio, which opened three weeks ago, uses new speaker technology that saturates the room with music. Artificial leafy vines spill over the curved, cloth covered walls, and a flip of switch changes the lighting from blue to red to green.
What the idea is behind the lighting in this room is you can change the mood at the drop of a hat to anything you want it to be," Frager said. "It's not about being tricky or cool. We are creating music here. We are creating art. These albums may be around for the next 50, 100 or more years. We want to get people in the mood to be creative. We want the space to be as creative as the technology."
Frager also plans to use the investment to find and develop more talent under PopMafia, a record label Frager owns. The Plant, a funky studio with wood-striped walls and winding hallways, opened in 1972. It jumpstarted the careers of many, including Prince, who recorded the demos that got him signed with Warner Brothers, and the first albums of R&B divas Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
"We have a string of hits that is almost unrivaled by any other studio," Frager said. "We've been here for 27 years and we have had hits every one of those years." For his part, Wintzen wants to use The Plant to help train students from the Ex'pression Center for New Media in Emeryville. Wintzen spent $23 million converting a vacant 65,000-square-foot building into a state-of-the-art multimedia training facility that opened in January. The center teaches students everything about digital visual and sound arts during a 14-month immersion program. Classes include instruction in 3-D and 2-D animation, music recording and editing, and sound effects.
The Plant is a beautiful place," Wintzen said. "It's a special cookie for students to be involved here." They can also rub elbows with some of the hottest new bands recording at The Plant, including San Francisco's Third Eye Blind. "They get to learn everything. It's actual real-life experience," said Warren Latimer, The Plant's chief engineer. "They get to work with clients and with real record labels." The new limited partnership will be called Arex'ion, a combination of Frager's A&R Music Inc., which owns PopMafia and A&R Management, and Ex'tent, a family of businesses owned by Wintzen.
The Plant and Ex'pression are just a few of the projects Wintzen has invested in since selling his software company BSO/Origins in 1996 to Philips Electronics for about $800 million. He also owns Ben & Jerry's European franchise; Ex'perience, a Dutch public relations company; and Source, a business magazine that promotes sustainability.