Capitol Studios Case Study | Matli Consulting

Key Results

Money-losing→Cash-positive

Capitol Studios

the Tower saved from sale to an apartment developer — now EMI's crown jewel

New Lines of Business

together out-earning the core studio business

8-figure

Product Licensing

revenue in year one, starting with Ultimate Ears by Logitech

Empty→A-list address

Capitol Tower

offices sought by top producers; Grammy VIP receptions hosted there again, five years running

This Case Study Answers

How do you turn a money-losing asset cash-positive without new capital?
How do you monetize a dormant brand?
How do you unlock licensing revenue from a heritage brand?
How do you increase enterprise value from unused assets?

What Happened

The Challenge

To the artists who consider Capitol Studios hallowed ground — long the symbol of both the music industry and Hollywood itself — losing the Tower was unthinkable. But our analysis revealed a vast disconnect between the studio's reputation and the experience of visiting it.

The engineers and equipment were still world-class. Everything around them had faded: run-down facilities, missing amenities competitors offered, empty offices upstairs and lavish reception areas long since converted into security desks. No new artist walking those halls would feel they had arrived.

Capitol Studios sizzle video

Phase 1

Rebrand & Brand Experience

Research, Segmentation & Positioning

The problem

Capitol operated as one business when it was really two current businesses with three more waiting. Operating costs stayed high while the industry fragmented and new competitors chipped away at market share — with no clear growth plan.

The solution

A brand audit, competitive analysis and quantitative and qualitative research showed why artists chose Capitol — and why they chose competitors. We split the business into an elite masterbrand, Capitol Studios, and a sub-brand for scrappier, up-and-coming artists, Capitol Mastering, under one positioning: the center of the music world, where the best in the world meet to create.

Capitol Mastering campaign concept from the research phase

Identity Refresh

Consumer testing showed most people had never noticed the Capitol Dome art in the original logo. We removed it, simplified the star to a point over the "i" and streamlined the script — modernizing the mark while preserving its recognizability.

Brand Experience at the Capitol Tower

Decades of piecemeal fixes had buried the Tower's mid-century character. We mapped artist journeys through a visit, created new signage and wayfinding, and directed the interior design agency to restore the building's timeless style — turning every session into a VIP experience that matched Capitol's reputation.

Studio A artist lounge before the redesign — Studio A artist lounge — before

Studio A artist lounge after the redesign — Studio A artist lounge — after

Artist lounge and kitchen details, with hospitality design references — Lounge details and design references

Second-floor entrance before and after — Second floor — before and after

Studio hallways and signage before and after — Hallways and studio signage — before and after

Capitol Tower signage and wayfinding — Signage and wayfinding

Photography & Video

We art-directed shoots for both brands and filmed the camera-shy engineers in high-resolution RED video, so one shoot produced both portraits and interview footage for a series of videos — saving Capitol thousands in production costs.

Intro – The Capitol Studios engineers

Brand Guidelines

Capitol's first-ever global brand guidelines distilled 60 years of legacy into a 50-page brand bible — opening with the new positioning and brand manifesto, then codifying both brands for marketers, promotional partners and licensees.

Cover

Welcome

Brand manifesto

Capitol Studios logo

Sub-brands

Capitol corporate color palette — Corporate colors

Capitol complementary color palette with Pantone, CMYK and RGB values — Complementary colors

Capitol Studios photography guidelines — Photography

Capitol Mastering sub-brand

Capitol Mastering logo

Websites for Both Brands

The Capitol Studios site showcased each room, its rare gear and the famous albums recorded there. Capitol Mastering's site centered on engineer profiles, discographies and gear lists — research showed these drove an artist's choice of mastering studio — and cross-sold services such as vinyl cutting and custom equipment builds.

Capitol Mastering website, engineer page

Phase 2

New Revenue Streams

First Licensing Deal: Ultimate Ears by Logitech

Capitol and EMI used Matli Group's pitch materials to land Capitol's first licensing deal: custom in-ear monitors designed by Ultimate Ears and tuned by Capitol's engineers. With no one at Capitol who had run a licensing program before, we stayed on as brand manager — sample packaging, ad creative, messaging and approvals. It laid the groundwork for product licensing to become Capitol Studios' largest growth driver.

Capitol Studios in-ear monitors by Ultimate Ears

Ultimate Ears packaging and carrying case

Custom Pro Audio Gear

Capitol is likely the last studio whose engineers can still build their own equipment. When they prototyped a new compressor, we designed it — balancing Capitol's refreshed aesthetic with the visual language of pro audio — creating gear available only at Capitol.

Partnerships & Live Events

We created sales materials for events, location shoots, brand partnerships, livestreams — even subletting unused offices to an invitation-only list of top producers. The first partnership, iTunes Live from Capitol, launched with a Paul McCartney livestream on the day he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, right outside the Tower. EMI and Universal Music held their VIP Grammy receptions there five years running.

iTunes Live from Capitol with Paul McCartney

Capitol Beacon: First Direct-to-Consumer Business

Aspiring musicians wanted Capitol's expertise but couldn't afford a Hollywood session. Capitol Beacon offered online mastering by Capitol engineers, using unused suite time. We mapped the experience and designed the brand and every touchpoint of the e-commerce service.

Licensing Pitch Deck (spec concepts, not used publicly)

Power of the brand

Brand equity

Pitch deck: specific niche appeal — Specific niche appeal

Partner brand attributes