Music is Great

From hip hop to jazz … from dance to the blues: it’s music, and there’s a style for everyone. Some of the greatest music in the world comes from Britain, and British music is still topping the charts today.

The Premises recording studios are big players in the music industry. Everyone from Lana del Rey to the Arctic Monkeys come here. Let’s find out more.

If you’ve heard of them, they’ve probably played here. The Premises has been one of London’s most popular studios for over 25 years. It has space for rehearsing, recording and mixing some of the best music in the world.

Viv Broughton is the studio boss.

Richard: Viv, tell me about The Premises.
Viv: Well, The Premises is a complex of recording studios and I don’t really think there’s anything quite like it anywhere in the country. It's a mixture of rehearsal studios, recording studios, a lively café, storage facilities, so it's a really busy place. Hundreds of people passing through all the time.
Richard: What sort of artists come here?
Viv: Oh, a mixture of people. I mean, we've been going for 26 years so almost everybody you can think of has passed through the doors one way or another, so I think in the last couple of years people like Rihanna and Adele and Lana Del Rey. Last month we had Ronnie Wood in from the Rolling Stones, so it's quite a mixture of people.
Richard: What is it about Britain that creates such musical talent?
Viv: Ah, that's a good question. It's a bit of a mystery but there just must be something in the water or in the air. Britain produces just so many amazing bands, from The Beatles and the Rolling Stones onwards and it's a melting pot of great recording and writing talent.

Britain has some of the world’s greatest music festivals. This is Bestival in the Isle of Wight. For four days every year, thousands of people come to this award-winning event to listen to and watch some of the greatest music acts around. There’s music here for everyone …