We are delighted to announce that Rafa Sardina will be opening Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles inside the iconic Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. Our new LA campus will be led by the 19-time GRAMMY and LATIN GRAMMY winner and will launch in October 2026.

Sunset Gower Studios: Hollywood’s Historic Studio Lot

Located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, Sunset Gower Studios is one of the city’s most iconic working production lots. Established in 1912 and later home to Columbia Pictures during Hollywood’s Golden Age, the studio hosted landmark films such as It Happened One Night and Mr Smith Goes to Washington. 

This historic studio complex provides a professional, industry-driven environment where students can experience firsthand premier music production and engineering practices within an active studio setting, with access to the legendary United Recording for selected classes and activities. From legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Ray Charles to modern icons such as Green Day, Radiohead, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, United Recording has played host to generations of music legends. Each of the four studios within United Recording is equipped with renowned consoles that, for decades, have captured melodies responsible for over a billion records sold worldwide.

The Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles Diploma in Music Production and Sound Recording provides students the opportunity to learn and practice hands-on in a real-world studio environment at Sunset Gower Studios, directly connecting their education to the standards and expectations required for successful careers in the industry. Through structured access to United Recording, students further benefit from exposure to world-class recording facilities and high-level studio workflows.

Rafa Sardina at the helm of the new ARI LA campus

Rafa Sardina, whose extensive list of award-winning collaborations includes work with Stevie Wonder, Rosalia, Elvis Costello, Alejandro Sanz, Dr. Dre, Camila Cabello, Placido Domingo, D’Angelo, and Lady Gaga, has designed the new campus and studio complex to provide Abbey Road Institute students with a professional experience unique to Los Angeles. The Los Angeles campus will feature Abbey Road Institute’s renowned curriculum, along with a distinguished faculty comprising top LA-based producers, engineers, and musicians, including Alan Meyerson, Barry Rudolph, John Boylan, Vanessa Garde, and many more.

Abbey Road Institute offers an intensive, immersive education for aspiring music producers and engineers in a small, focused learning environment. The program emphasises hands-on, apprenticeship-style training to equip graduates with the skills necessary to thrive in the fast-paced music industry and forge their own career paths.

When asked about the new campus and its programs, Sardina shared: “Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles is the culmination of a long-held dream. I want to share the invaluable professional experiences of my closest musical colleagues and myself with outstanding new generations of mixers, producers, and other music and music business professionals. I can’t wait to welcome our first students and witness the beginning of their exciting career journeys.”

Abbey Road Institute CEO, Luca Barassi, echoed this enthusiasm about the opening of the Los Angeles campus, stating: “We are thrilled to be working with Rafa and his team as we continue expanding our educational footprint in the U.S. Rafa has a strong affinity for how we teach, and an ambition to pass on his expertise to the next generation. Establishing our second U.S. campus in Los Angeles —a creative, dynamic, and globally influential city— will provide students with an immersive experience at the heart of a thriving international music scene.”

As a member of the Abbey Road Institute board, Sally Davies, Managing Director of Abbey Road Studios®, emphasises the impact of the Institute’s graduates: “We are incredibly proud of the success of Abbey Road Institute graduates. Some of them have earned multiple GRAMMY and Billboard awards, along with numerous GRAMMY and LATIN GRAMMY nominations. Bringing Abbey Road Institute’s world-class education to Los Angeles will provide aspiring producers and engineers with the training they need to make a strong entrance into the music industry.”

For more information about Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles, visit the dedicated ARI LA website.

If you’d like to speak with our team about licensing Abbey Road Institute in your city and want to find out more about how to do this, contact us at licensing@abbeyroadinstitute.com

Last week, we welcomed over 400 students and guests into Abbey Road’s Studio One to celebrate the Abbey Road Institute 2026 cohort. This is our Graduation 2026! Many travelled from across the world from our campuses in London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Miami.

Highlights from the day include performances from ‘Stories from the Studio’ and the after-party at Hackney’s Night Tales.

Watch our showreel of our Graduation 2026 highlights below

As part of their final few days at Abbey Road Institute, our graduates are getting a behind-the-scenes experience of a professional recording session with engineer Paul Pritchard as he records the Pete Cater Big Band.⁠ ⁠ A brilliant opportunity to put their knowledge into practice, learn from industry professionals and celebrate the next chapter of their journey in audio. Watch our video below to go behind the scenes of our graduation workshop hosted in Abbey Road’s Studio Two.

Did you know that we were lucky enough to have Paul McCartney say a few words at our Graduation event in 2024? You can watch it here.

If you’re interested in licensing with us and bringing our unique music production education to your city, please get in touch. We’d love to speak with you and tell you more about what it’s like to educate the next generation of music producers, sound engineers and creatives. Contact us at licensing@abbeyroadinstitute.com and if you’re visiting London and would like to meet the team in person and see our facilities, let us know.

Some conferences leave you with a notebook full of ideas. Others leave you with a suitcase full of business cards. The Pan-American Audio Educators Conference and Sound:check Xpo 2026 in Mexico City somehow managed both.

Held alongside Sound:check Xpo, one of the largest professional audio and live production events in Latin America, the conference brought together educators, manufacturers, and industry leaders from across the Americas to discuss one thing we all have in common: educating the next generation of audio professionals.

Representing Abbey Road Institute at events like this is always a privilege, but it was also a reminder of just how global our industry has become. Despite everyone coming from different countries, institutions, and teaching backgrounds, many of the conversations centred on exactly the same challenges. How do we teach AI responsibly? How do we keep curriculum relevant in an industry that’s evolving so quickly? And perhaps most importantly, how do we make sure students leave education genuinely ready for the real world?

Over the course of the conference, there were some brilliant discussions and presentations from people who have shaped our industry. Led by John Krivit, founder of Hey Audio Student and organiser of the conference, legendary engineer Lenise Bent, mastering engineer and Berklee Head of Artistic Technology Jonathan Wyner, immersive audio specialists Michael Romanowski, Claus Trelby and NPR Tiny Desk’s Josh Rogosin, alongside educators from universities and institutions across North, Central and South America. It was one of those events where every conversation seemed to spark another idea.

Being held alongside Sound:check Xpo made the experience incredibly valuable. The exhibition itself is huge and brings together thousands of professionals from across the music, broadcast, live sound and entertainment industries. The opening morning featured a walkthrough of the floor led by a Mariachi band, setting the show off with a bang! Walking the room, seeing the latest technologies and listening to the incredible programme of masterclasses really reinforced just how fast our industry continues to move. From immersive audio and studio design to live production, AI and artist development, there was something around every corner.

One particular highlight was watching Abbey Road’s Mirek Stiles presenting to a packed audience, sharing stories from inside Abbey Road and exploring the history and evolution of recording. With a live connection to Abbey Road and the Audiomovers team, it highlighted the ease of international connection and collaboration regardless of where you’re based and who you’re working with.

Aside from the conference sessions, one of my personal highlights was participating in the SoundGirls Mexico mentoring event. Spending time with young women and students who are building careers across every area of audio was incredibly rewarding, and hearing their experiences, ambitions, and questions reminded me why initiatives like this are so important. Discussing the challenges and encouraging them to build their confidence and take risks is an important conversation to have.

What I probably hadn’t anticipated, as it was my first time, was just how welcoming everyone would be. Within a couple of hours, it felt less like a conference and more like a community. There was a genuine willingness to share ideas, compare experiences and talk honestly about what works, what doesn’t, and what we’re all trying to improve. Those are usually the conversations that stay with you long after you’ve flown home.

Events like this are a brilliant reminder that Abbey Road Institute is part of something much bigger than our own network of schools. We’re contributing to a global discussion about the future of audio education while continuing to learn from and collaborate with educators and industry professionals worldwide.

I came back with plenty of ideas, a lot of inspiration and, admittedly, a slightly heavier suitcase than when I left. A huge thanks to Jorge Urbano and Natalia Urbano, whose generosity in inviting and hosting us was greatly appreciated.

Shout out to John Krivit, Michael Romanowski, Kelly Pribble, Ruth Basurto, Mirek Stiles and Michael Beinhorn for a brilliant night at the Lucha Libre. And to all the brilliant speakers and guests we spent time with, including Lenise Bent, Chrissy Tignor, Andres Mayo, Martin Muscatello, CJ Lewis, Josh Rogosin, Marc Urselli, Ken Candelas, Jonathan Appell, Julio Monroy, John Escobar, Rick Allen, Sean McLaughlin, Barry Rudolph, Carolina Anton, Leslie Gaston-Bird, Ximena Carstensen, Claus Trelby, Rocco DeRosa, and anyone else I forgot to mention.

And to the teams at Sala de Audio, SAE Mexico City, and Tech de Monterrey for welcoming us to your brilliant facilities.

If you’d like to discuss collaborating with Abbey Road Institute at any of our existing locations, working with our team, or licensing in a new city, please get in touch at licensing@abbeyroadinstitute.com, and we’ll be very happy to speak with you.

When we announced Abbey Road Institute Mumbai earlier last year, we knew it would be a really special addition to our global network. Seeing the campus officially open a few months ago and now watching that first intake settle in… it’s been even better than we’d expected.

First Abbey Road Institute in Asia

As our first school in Asia, Abbey Road Institute Mumbai represents a huge milestone for the licensing business. Not just because we’ve expanded into an exciting new territory, but because we’ve found the right people to do it with.

Led by Varun Parikh and supported by the brilliant wider team at Bay Owl Studios, the campus has had a fantastic start. From launch events and open days through to welcoming its first students, there’s been a real energy around the school that you can feel straight away. It’s busy, collaborative and already feels like it’s been part of the Abbey Road Institute family for years. (Even though it obviously hasn’t!)

Tailoring Our Education Model To Different Markets

Students are now working towards our Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering, learning inside the incredible facilities at Bay Owl Studios. They aren’t just sat in classrooms talking about recording techniques. They’re producing, recording, editing, mixing, writing and learning in a commercial studio environment every single day, alongside working professionals. That’s always been the point of Abbey Road Institute, and it’s brilliant to see it translated so naturally into Mumbai.

It’s also another reminder that the Abbey Road Institute licensing model continues to grow in exactly the way we hoped it would. Every new campus brings its own personality, local industry connections and community, whilst delivering the same curriculum, standards and student experience that connects every Institute across the world.

Mumbai is an incredibly exciting market for music, film and audio, and we couldn’t be happier to have such a passionate team representing the brand there. We’re really proud of what they’ve achieved in such a short space of time and can’t wait to see where the first cohort goes next.

Welcome to the family, Mumbai.

If you’d like to bring our unique educational model to your city, get in touch with our licensing team, who will be happy to walk you through the model and curriculum and how you can tailor our education to your market. Contact licensing@abbeyroadinstitute.com

Congratulations to the class of 2025 and all our graduating students. Many of whom travelled from across the world to join us on Wednesday, 11th June 2025 at Abbey Road Studios.

We’re still processing the magical day we had at this year’s ceremony in Abbey Road’s prestigious Studio One! Watch some of our favourite highlights below to get a flavour of the 3 day event.

Graduating inside Abbey Road’s Studio One

This year, we returned to the iconic Studio One at Abbey Road, with over 350 students and guests joining us across the three days to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our students. It was a week to remember.

Abbey Road Institute CEO Luca Barassi set the tone and welcomed graduates and their guests.

“This room has been the birthplace of timeless music, groundbreaking innovation and unforgettable moments in audio history. Today, we add another chapter to that legacy, as we celebrate the remarkable achievement. This year is especially significant. Not only because we gather in the newly refurbished Studio One to celebrate our graduates, but also because we mark the
10th anniversary of Abbey Road Institute!“

Celebrating Success With A Special Performance

We were delighted to host a string quartet, comprising London Symphony Orchestra musicians. They performed ‘Stories From the Studios’, a curated journey through the fabled history of the most celebrated recording destination in the world. Featuring unique storytelling and bespoke live performances of the most iconic songs and film scores from Abbey Road’s history.

Our graduates were delighted to receive many special good-luck wishes and inspirational messages from friends of Abbey Road Institute and music industry figures. Including Andrew Scheps, Sylvia Massy, Alessia Cara and Nile Rodgers.

Browse the gallery below to check out some of the highlights from our ceremony on Day One.

Go behind the scenes of last year’s graduation, where we had a special appearance from Paul McCartney.

This event underscores the worldwide recognition of an Abbey Road Institute education. By becoming a licensee, you align with a globally respected institution known for excellence in music production and audio engineering. Picture your students graduating at the legendary Abbey Road Studios—joining a celebration of talent alongside peers from around the world, united on an iconic stage.

Explore the possibilities of licensing with Abbey Road Institute, home to our flagship campus in London. If you’re interested in learning more about our curriculum, courses, and partnership opportunities—and how together we can redefine the future of music education—reach out to our team at licensing@abbeyroadinstitute.com.

Get ready to experience the unforgettable moments from our Abbey Road Institute Global Graduation Ceremony 2024. Three days of celebrations, in the legendary Studio One at Abbey Road Studios and Studio One at Angel Studios.

Watch the video now and immerse yourself in the celebrations!

Our 2024 graduation ceremony was a testament to our incredible students’ hard work, progress, and determination. This event is a highlight of the year for our team and students and their launchpad into the industry.

In this video, you’ll hear first-hand insights from our recent graduates. Including transformative journeys, witness the celebratory gathering of students, friends, and family, and relive the atmosphere of the day.

We honoured graduates from our global campuses in Amsterdam, Johannesburg, London, Miami, Paris, and Sydney. Each student proudly took the stage in the iconic Abbey Road Studio One to receive their diploma. With over 300 graduates and guests travelling from around the world, the event showcased the global reach and influence of our program.

We are immensely proud of the creativity, perseverance, and achievements of our students and staff. Congratulations to all of our graduating students – your future looks bright!

For licensees, this event highlights the global appeal of an Abbey Road Institute education. By joining our network, you become part of a prestigious institution with a proven track record of success. Imagine hosting your graduation ceremony at Abbey Road Studios. Celebrating your students’ achievements alongside those from across the world on a global stage.

Learn more about the licensing opportunity with Abbey Road Institute and discover our flagship school in London. If you’d like to speak with one of our team and find out more about our course, curriculum and partnering with us to shape the future of music education, contact us at licensing@abbeyroadinstitute.com

We are delighted to announce that Abbey Road Institute is recognised as one of Billboard’s Top Music Business Schools for 2023. As a specialist music production school, we are dedicated to training the next generation of music producers, sound engineers and creatives. Our Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering includes a music business module which is integral to what we teach. Students graduate with the skills needed for the dynamic landscape of today’s music industry.

Billboard states, ‘Those attending any of Billboard’s top music business schools will be solidly positioned to pursue careers in an increasingly complex music industry. The schools listed are selected through executive recommendations, alumni information provided by honorees from our multiple power lists, information requested from each school and a decade of reporting on these programs.’

Training The Next Generation

At Abbey Road Institute, we attract a cohort of talented and highly motivated students. We diligently guide them toward becoming proficient and versatile music industry professionals. Our student body, a diverse group of unique individuals, demonstrates continuous growth and development with each module completed. Our graduates are incredibly successful and have received Billboard recognition, Grammy, Latin Grammy and MPG (Music Producers Guild) nominations and awards.

Learning From Music Industry Veterans

In collaboration with seasoned music industry experts, we deliver a cutting-edge curriculum reflecting the realities of the music industry today. Our guest lecturers include Artist Management, A&R, Copywriting, Sync and Royalties, Licensing, Marketing, and Management professionals representing labels such as UMG, Sony, Warner, RCA, and others.

Carlos Lellis, Programme Director of our Music Production course, acknowledges the significance of our recognition on Billboard’s list. He states, “This nomination is a testament to the dedication and expertise of Yannis Iliopoulos and Ian Ramage, responsible for developing and delivering our Music Business curriculum.”

Being featured in Billboard’s 2023 Top Music Business Schools is noteworthy. We take pride in standing alongside many esteemed educational institutions. They include The BRIT School, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA),  Berklee College of Music, and California Institute of the Arts. 

You can view the complete list and read the Billboard article here for more information.