Apple Music Hall Could Be the Start of Something Very Familiar

Apple has just opened Apple Music Hall, a brand-new 600-capacity live music venue tucked inside London’s Battersea Power Station.

And, suddenly, I’m thinking about the iTunes Music Festival.

The new venue is built for exactly the kind of thing Apple has historically been very good at: intimate performances, ridiculous production values and a whole lot of technology quietly working behind the scenes.

There’s a 38-foot-wide stage, a 48-speaker Spatial Audio system, dedicated recording and mixing studios, multicamera production and the ability to livestream performances around the world. Apple is also moving its London-based Apple Music Radio shows into the same Battersea space. (Apple)

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Sound familiar?

The iTunes Music Festival — later renamed the Apple Music Festival — ran in London for ten years, bringing artists including Adele, Lady Gaga, Elton John, The 1975, Britney Spears and plenty more to intimate venues, before Apple ended the festival in 2017.

And now Apple has built itself a permanent music venue in London.

Apple even brought up the iTunes Music Festival in today’s announcement, with Apple Music’s Oliver Schusser explicitly referencing the company’s history with the festival when talking about Apple Music Hall.

So… is Apple quietly laying the groundwork for a comeback?

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Apple Music Festival: Battersea Edition?

There’s absolutely nothing official to suggest that’s happening. Apple Music Hall could simply become a home for one-off performances, artist sessions, radio events and globally streamed shows.

But the ingredients are suddenly very familiar.

A permanent London venue.
A global streaming platform.
Spatial Audio.
Apple Music Radio.
Live broadcasts.
And a company that clearly hasn’t forgotten its old festival.

I’m not saying the iTunes Music Festival is coming back.

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I’m just saying: Apple has built the perfect place for it — and that this could be the venue for a whole new age of exclusive concerts for some very lucky fans.