Hollywood's Grandmaster Recorders studio sells for $6.1M

Grandmaster Recorders—the storied Hollywood music studio that played host to recording artists from Stevie Wonder and David Bowie to Nine Inch Nails and Foo Fighters—has sold for $6.1 million to an investor.

The buyer of the two-story 1920-era building, Cahuenga Investors, plans to turn it into restaurants or a bar, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 9,200 square-foot building at 1518 North Cahuenga Boulevard ceased operation as a recording studio upon the sale, after the death last year of owner and former musician Alan Dickson.

Dickson bought the silent-era Bijou Theater in the 1970s and transformed it into a studio, according to the Grandmaster Recorders official website:

Next Alan partnered up with Billy Nickerson, head of R&B for the famed William Morris talent agency. It was through Billy that R&B’s top talent came through The Bijou, starting with Stevie Wonder. Wonder was writing and rehearsing his classic Songs in the Key of Life here while the control room was still being completed.

By the late '70s and into the '80s, Bijou Studios started seeing more country and rock acts come in and record. From David Bowie and Ringo Starr to Johnny Mathis and Bonnie Raitt. All these artists loved the relaxed atmosphere and unique design that Alan and the Bijou had to offer.

Dickson changed the studio's name to Grandmaster Recorders, Ltd., in the 1980s. Artists who used the studio at that time included Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Crowes (who recorded the debut album Shake Your Money Maker there), No Doubt, Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, and Ben Harper.

Cahuenga Investors plans to incorporate the building's "funky appeal" into its new businesses, which are slated to open by next year, the Times reported.

• Grandmaster Recorders [Official Website]
• Famous Hollywood recording studio Grandmaster Recorders sold for redevelopment [Los Angeles Times]