UMG To Build Studios, Label HQs and More in Midtown Manhattan

New York, NY (May 21, 2025)—Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced plans for a new headquarters and multi-studio production facility to be located in Midtown Manhattan at PENN 2, a new office tower above Penn Station and immediately adjacent to Madison Square Garden.

Aiming to take occupancy in 2027, UMG will occupy the entire fourth through seventh floors of PENN 2 as part of a 22-year lease, and the space will serve as the headquarters of Def Jam Recordings, Island Records, Mercury Records and Republic Records (all part of the Republic Collective); Bravado, UMG’s merchandise company; and Verve Label Group, including Verve, Impulse! and Decca Records US. The building will also serve as the East Coast offices for Universal Music Publishing Group, as well as several UMG corporate functions.

The leased floors include 88,000 square feet of double-height, 23-foot-high, column-free space where UMG will build its studio production facilities and offices, and have exclusive access to more than 3,500 square feet of landscaped outdoor space. The new UMG headquarters will be part of The Bustle, a 430-foot-wide expanse of office space stretching from 31st to 33rd Street on Seventh Avenue, a centerpiece of the PENN 2 redevelopment.

“The new production facilities will bolster UMG’s global network of the world’s leading recording studios that already includes the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London, Capitol Studios in LA and East Iris Studios in Nashville,” according to a UMG statement. UMG previously also announced plans to develop a $250 million music and educational complex in Nashville’s Berry Hill area, where the company will build two large recording studios. There is no word yet as to what this might mean for Republic’s existing recording studio complex located south of PENN 2 in New York City’s Chelsea district; that multi-room facility is still relatively new, having been completed during the early days of the pandemic.

Boyd Muir, UMG’s chief operating officer, said in a statement, “PENN 2 will serve as an ideal nexus for our employees, artists and songwriters. Beyond office space, PENN 2 will house music studios and retail spaces.” Indeed, UMG will also occupy a ground-floor space along Seventh Avenue for a “future premium retail experience dedicated to serving music superfans” and a private lobby on 33rd Street, which will feature a visitor center and direct elevator access to its floors.

Inside UMG’s 21fifteen Studios

While the construction of new recording studio facilities in Midtown Manhattan is a welcome announcement, the location could prove challenging for the production facility designers and acousticians. The Penn District campus is situated directly above Penn Station, the busiest transportation facility in the United States. The rail hub serves more than 600,000 passengers every weekday via 15 subway lines and 21 railroad tracks for Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, PATH and Amtrak, all of which converge in the district. They will be joined by Metro-North commuters starting in 2027.