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| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Nightclub Music Entertainment Events Lifestyle Private members' club |
| Founded | September 21, 1991; 34 years ago (1991-09-21) |
| Founders | James Palumbo Justin Berkmann Humphrey Waterhouse |
| Headquarters | 103 Gaunt StreetLondon SE1 6DP, England, UK |
Key people | Lohan Presencer (chairman) |
| Website | ministryofsound |
Ministry of Sound orMinistry of Sound Group is amultimediaentertainment business based in London with anightclub, shared workspace andprivate members' club, worldwide events operation,music publishing business and fitness studio.
James Palumbo is the co-founder and former chairman and CEO of the Group. He handed over the day-to-day running of the business to Lohan Presencer in 2008. In 2018, Presencer became chairman.
Ministry of Sound began as the idea ofJustin Berkmann. Inspired by New York'sParadise Garage – which he described as "an amazing club. It had lights, darkness, music, quiet – everything you wanted"[1] As opposed to striking a balance between the typical hallmarks of a live music venue, Ministry of Sound was conceived as an arena purely dedicated to sound. Berkmann stated: "My concept for Ministry was purely this: 100% sound system first, lights second, design third (in that order); the reverse of everyone else's idea."[2] According to him, they spent £500,000 on the club's sound system, and the same amount again on soundproofing the club usingmagnesite: they wanted to be able to turn the sound system up as loud as possible without disturbing the neighbours, and tested it to a volume of 156decibels without the sound leaking outside. In addition to drawing inspiration from the Paradise Garage, the club borrowed the idea of using changing set designs from another New York City club,Area, with the first being based aroundBlade Runner, Berkmann's favourite film.[1]
Berkmann was introduced toJames Palumbo, who was working in property finance at the time, by Humphrey Waterhouse to realise the concept.[3] The site, a disused bus garage,[4] is located inElephant & Castle inSouthwark,London. The club opened on 21 September 1991 and has remained in this location since. Having considered "a load of daft names" for the club, including Get Off My Foot and The Ghost and Mrs Chicken, Berkmann came up with Ministry of Sound after walking past theMinistry of Defence Main Building.[1]
With opening sets from American house and garage DJsLarry Levan,David Morales,Roger Sanchez andTony Humphries, as well asPaul Oakenfold,[1] Ministry of Sound grew as a clubbing venue.[5] According to Berkmann, it managed to empty rival nightclubTramp for its first six months by drawing its celebrity clientele, before "they stopped coming and it was more about the dance music community".[1] It now attracts around 300,000 clubbers per year[4] and has hosted sets from popular DJs including:Adam Beyer,DJ Harvey,Dixon,Marshmello, Jozeff andPete Tong. It has won theIDMA 'World's Best Sound System' award four years in a row - every year they ran the category.[6]
The capacity of The Box (the main room) is 600 people, and there are other smaller rooms within the club. There are three weekly club nights: Fridays feature Lock n Load brand The Gallery which are primarilytrance music, whilst Saturdays host a number of club nights which are primarilyhouse music. In 2016, these includedDefected,Glitterbox,Rinse FM, Hospitality and Together. On Tuesday, the club hosts a student session called Milkshake, established in 2002.[citation needed]
Ministry of Sound's existence has been threatened on a number of occasions by nearby redevelopment inElephant & Castle.[7] The most notable concerned the redevelopment of Eileen House, a tower block opposite the nightclub's entrance. From 2009 to 2014, Ministry of Sound fought various public campaigns to save the club from the threat of closure. These culminated in a hearing before then-Mayor of LondonBoris Johnson atCity Hall in November 2013.[8] On 19 December 2013, a legal deal was agreed between Ministry of Sound and the developer Oakmayne to enable Eileen House to be redeveloped without jeopardizing the club's future.[9]
In 2016, Ministry of Sound partnered withDolby Laboratories to bring surround soundDolby Atmos to the nightclub, a first in the industry.[10] The Box, Ministry of Sound's main room, now boasts a 64-speaker, 22-channel sound system, allowing the artists to control where certain sounds are sent across the space.[11]
The Ministry is a new members' club and shared workspace for creative businesses, which opened in 2018 in London. The first building on Borough Road includes four floors of tailored private offices, shared working areas, meeting spaces, soundproof studios, an immersive tech suite, a full-service restaurant, a bar 70 feet in length, an outdoor terrace, a 40-seater cinema and an events space with a diverse events programme.[12]
Under its Ministry of Sound andHed Kandi brands, the business hosts approximately 500 international tour events annually across the world. In 2017, the brand featured as part of the stage line-up at festivals including The Ark (cruise ship),[13] Adria Summer Festival andUltra Europe.
The fitness studio (previously the club's back-of-house vault where the alcohol was stored) opened in February 2017.[14] The concept takes a club-style sound system and lighting rig and pairs it with a bespoke, instructor-led high intensity interval workout. Classes run from Monday to Sunday, and an on-site bar offers a range of drinks fromprotein shakes to alcoholiccocktails.[15]
The music publishing business was established in 2015. It is independent of the record label that was acquired by Sony Music, and is headed up by Ben Bodie.[16] The current roster of artists includesMura Masa, iLL BLU, Will Arcane,KDA and John Calvert.
On 10 August 2016, it was announced that Ministry of Sound's A&R and compilations recorded music business had been acquired bySony Music.[17][18] Rights to all recordings under the Ministry of Sound name are now held and mostly distributed by Sony Music (excludingLondon Grammar catalogue which is distributed byUniversal Music Group in most of the world andBecause Music in France), with the remaining Ministry of Sound businesses retained within the original group.
Ministry of Sound was an independent record label split into two divisions:Artist & Repertoire andCompilations.
The Artist & Repertoire division was established in the early 1990s with releases on a 'Sound of Ministry' label imprint. Sound of Ministry was superseded by in-house labels Open, Data, Substance, Smoove and Rulin', which between them released a string of UK and international chart hits.
In 2009, the artist labels were consolidated under 'Ministry of Sound Recordings'. The firstartist signed wasExample, who achieved twoUK number 1 records, three top 10s, two top 20s, twogold albums and oneplatinum number 1 selling album,Playing in the Shadows. Other notable label signings includeWretch 32,DJ Fresh and, more recently,London Grammar, whose debut albumIf You Wait reached platinum sales status in the UK, gold status inFrance and was number 1 on theiTunes Album Chart inAustralia. In 2014, London Grammar were nominated for 'British Breakthrough Act' at theBRIT Awards.[19]If You Wait was also named iTunes 'Album of the Year 2013'[20]The artist label also continue to release dance singles, achieving three number 1 records in the UK in 2013 withBingo Players feat.Far East Movement's "Get Up (Rattle)",[21]Duke Dumont feat. A*M*E's "Need U (100%)",[22] andStorm Queen's "Look Right Through".[23]
The compilations business was first established in 1993 with the release ofSessions Volume One,[24] a compilation album of dance music mixed by Tony Humphries.[5] The album was a commercial success. The business has now sold more than 55 million compilation albums worldwide.[4]
Ministry of Sound Radio was an online-only service broadcasting 24-hours a day from Ministry of Sound's offices adjacent to the nightclub.[25]
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