Amsterdam’s Studio 80 Shuts Down
Acclaimed underground micro-club Studio 80 have announced they’ll be closing in January, claiming in an unusually frank post on Facebook that club founder Duncan Stutterheim decided to sell it after becoming fed up with clubbing.
“It is with great sadness that we must announce that Studio 80 will close its doors in January. This week, we received the news that our club has been sold to a new owner. Therefore Studio 80 as you know it will cease to exist,” said Studio 80. “It’s no secret that the news came as a sudden shock to us all, leaving our team behind devastated.”
“The impromptu choice to sell Studio 80 was a personal one by Duncan Stutterheim, who set up the foundation as a platform for upcoming talent back in 2005,” Studio 80 continued.
“After having dealt with a difficult period earlier this year, mainly due to selling his company ID&T to the now rapidly dwindling SFX conglomerate, Stutterheim’s passion for nightlife culture has been decreasing over the past few months – which led him to the difficult decision to sell the venue before the end of the year.”
The Sensation uber-promoter’s dissatisfaction was made clear earlier this year when he quit SFX because he was spending 80% of this time ‘managing people, budgets, meetings’ rather than operating as an entrepreneur. Speaking to Music Times, he also complained about ‘stupid’ superstar DJs siphoning off too much cash.
“EDM is killing the world, really,” he complained.
“It now is about so much money, that everything has changed. It also comes at the expense of the festival experience. At those high wages remains less over for good sound, lighting and decoration. That makes festivals less attractive.”
