Warner Music Moves their West Coast Offices from Burbank to Downtown Los Angeles

As Warner Music Group employees look to the future from their new state-of-the-art office building in Downtown L.A.’s Arts District, many have also been fondly reminiscing on the past. Warner Bros. Records spent 44 years in the “ski lodge” at 3300 Warner Boulevard in Burbank, Calif. From 1975 to 2019 such iconic artists as Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, Randy Newman and Neil Young freely roamed the homey, wood-clad hallways, performed on the patio, and, in the case of Young, lit up in conference rooms before it was legal in California.

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“We said: ‘Hey, guys, why not the Arts District? Why not downtown?’” said Jonah Sonnenborn, head of real estate for Access Industries, the holding company controlled by billionaire investor Leonard Blavatnik that acquired Warner Music in 2011.

Sonnenborn said he noticed similarities between the Arts District and reemerging neighborhoods of Manhattan, such as the Meatpacking District, where property values have shot up in recent decades. In choosing the Ford Factory, Warner Music passed on sites in Santa Monica, Hollywood and Playa Vista.

“When you walk around the Arts District you get the same hip, cool vibe where people want to live, work and play,” he said. “Warner wanted to take a leadership position in this neighborhood.”


Warner Music moved in as a tenant last month, and its parent company Access recently exercised its option to buy the Ford Factory and its new garage for $195 million, according to property experts who know about the sale.

Sonnenborn wouldn’t discuss the price but confirmed that the New York company bought the former auto plant from San Francisco developer Shorenstein, which went all out renovating the old manufacturing plant.

The complex is home to several labels: Warner Bros. Records, Warner/Chappell, Atlantic, Elektra, Rhino, WEA, and ADA. Within the building they retain separate identities in offices designed by New York architecture firm Rockwell Group that showcase the history and styles of the different labels.

Atlantic’s offices, for example, are perhaps the most elegant with subdued lighting and plush furniture. On a recent morning, the crescendo of the Spinners’ 1973 hit “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” filled the room with crisp sound as visitors entered.

The label offices surround Center Stage, a two-tier, 250-seat live performance space for showcasing company artists. There are soundproof “writers’ rooms” complete with guitars and pianos where artists can create music, as well as a commissary with Warner-blue chairs featuring the company logo, which was also recently painted on a large old water tower on the roof.

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TheBigA said:

So now we get the rest of the story. When Warner Brothers sold their record label, they gave the new owner the right to use the name for 15 years. That ends this year. So in addition to the label moving out of Burbank, they have a new name: Warner Records:

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/...arner-bros-records-rebrands-as-warner-records

That means they can't use the famous WB shield, or anything else connected with WB.


I remember we used to call them Bunny Music, because of Bugs Bunny. Not any more.

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RadioPatrol said:

https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Warner_Music_Group

Is AT&T also reclaiming the rights of the former Warner Communications Logo from Access Industries the owners of the Warner Music/ Warner Records name.

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TheBigA said:

The Burbank location goes back to the days when the record label was owned by the movie studio, located across the street.

The label was sold about 20 years ago to the heir of the Seagram's liquor fortune.

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WPPCProductions said:

As any biz.They should go where the taxes are cheap.As for Prop,Inventory tax . I doubt the taxes are much cheaper in LA then up the road in Burbank...

They should stick with a simple name and just call it Warner Company.It covers all of its assets...Buggs would be happy over that.LOL.....

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