Pirate Studios

Since 2014, Pirate Studios has been on a mission to make affordable, well-equipped, creative spaces accessible to all. Founders David Borrie and Mikey Hammerton started Pirate Studios as a passion project among musician friends, and now they work with an entire international team to ensure Pirate Studios’ 24/7 rehearsal spaces are accessible to professional and novice creators of all backgrounds.

Currently, Pirate Studios manages 750 spaces within 24 cities around the world — including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York; Berlin, Germany; Dublin, Ireland; Edinburgh, Liverpool, and London — plus the company is growing rapidly. They provide rehearsal and creative spaces for DJs, musicians and bands, as well as for recording, podcast, and dance studio use.

Pirate Studios works to provide top-of-the-line audio and performance equipment to give artists a professional grade studio experience. To achieve this goal, Pirate Studios partnered with Pioneer DJ and Pioneer Professional Audio to outfit rehearsal spaces and studios with its industry standard DJ equipment, loudspeakers and subwoofers. “I like to say that our partnership with Pioneer DJ and Professional Audio was pre-destined,” said Liz Regan, Marketing Operations, Pirate Studios, U.S. “Several years ago, DJ rehearsal rooms weren’t a thing. So we responded to customer demand by retrofitting an existing band rehearsal room in Birmingham, England. We equipped the space with a desk, two Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000NXS2s, a DJM-900NXS2, and two XPRS10 monitors — thus our premium DJ rooms were born.”

Pirate operates a very unique business model for artists, offering 24-hour, keyless and contactless, affordable rehearsal studios — which turned out to be a good fit for clients during the pandemic. Customers can simply go to pirate.com to sign up and book a session. The customer is then sent the codes for studio admission. This much-needed, affordable and easy access to rehearsal space lets the artist use the studios at the most convenient times.

”Pirate Studios is changing the way rehearsal and recording spaces are managed. Most rehearsal spaces are based on long-term, expensive, month-to-month rental agreements, and the spaces are usually empty, requiring the artists to load in their own sound systems and back-line equipment,” said David Sullivan, Sales Manager, Pioneer Professional Audio. “We’re very proud that Pioneer Pro Audio and Pioneer DJ has been selected as the manufacturer of choice for professional grade DJ equipment, sound systems and other products to support Pirate Studios’ mission to offer affordable, high-quality, professionally-managed artist spaces.

For economy of scale and client convenience, all Pirate sites are designed around a standard template and include ready-to-use, professional-grade equipment. For most sessions, customers only need to bring a minimum of their own gear, such as laptops, hard drives, or personal instruments. Pirate Studios is constantly working to identify the different types of studios and tools that artists need to rehearse, create and capture their inspirations.

Regan explained that as Pirate Studios opened more facilities across the UK, the range of products offered expanded. The introduction of recording rooms, pro DJ rooms, as well as podcast and dance studios created more opportunities for the Pioneer Pro Audio partnership to thrive. “Not only was Pioneer DJ and Pioneer Professional Audio able to provide industry-leading equipment to help our customers develop their creativity and hone their craft; they also had a unique appreciation for the speed and scale of our equipment and procurement processes,” said Regan. “Both Pioneer Pro Audio and Pioneer DJ were well-positioned to supply gear to 20+ UK sites, Ireland, Germany, and bi-coastal sites in the U.S., all in an efficient and resourceful way.”

By the end of 2019, Pioneer Professional Audio’s XPRS Speakers were installed in all band rehearsal rooms and HDJ-X5 headphones in all recording and podcast studios.

Pirate Studios has designed all DJ spaces around Pioneer Pro Audio and Pioneer DJ products. DJ studios specifically now include:

CDJ-2000NXS2

Professional DJ multi players

DJM-900NXS2

4-channel professional DJ mixers

XPRS Series

High-powered, active speakers and subwoofers

HDJ-X5

Professional, over-ear DJ headphones

“In 2022, we’re already planning to roll out the CDJ[1]3000 at all new Pirate sites. We ran some very successful tests with customers in London, and the global audience cannot wait to get their hands on the new kit,” said Regan. “Pioneer DJ is at the forefront of supplying artists with the tools they need to perform, and by us staying close to new equipment, we make sure we are also staying true to our shared mission. Pioneer DJ and Pioneer Professional Audio are a global leader in the DJ space; what more is there to say?!”

Pirate Studio ambassador, DJ Jubilee, recently had the opportunity to try out Pioneer DJ and Pioneer Pro Audio equipment at a Pirate testing studio and is quite excited about the upcoming additions. “I finally got to play on a Pioneer DJ CDJ-3000, and it’s like a spaceship,” said DJ Jubilee. “It makes me really excited to re-enter nightclubs and festivals. Pirate Studio customers are going to love having access to this level of equipment!”