OUR STORY AND TEAM
OUR STORY
Today | 2024
Crown Lane - a friendly commercial studio complex in Morden, South London. We're home to number-one charting artists such as Dave Rowntree (Blur) and Will Young - and trusted by organisations such as the BBC, CAnva and Tiktok - as well as passionately supporting emerging talent. We can successfully support both ends of the industry because of our values. We care deeply, and treat everyone the same.
Our Values | Community, Accessibility and Sustainability
Values aren't something written - they are lived by the whole team.
If something is beneficial to the community; a sensible business decision and led by a member of the team, then we'll do it. For example, opening Metronome, our coffee and events space.
If a barrier can be removed to make life more universally accessible - we will do our best to remove it. For example, our crowd-funded ceiling track hoist in the accessible toilet and the whole team learning BSL.
And if we can make a sustainable change to ensure the planet doesn't suffer from our creativity, then we'll make that change. For example, for our carbon-neutral releases, we were Presented with a Green Award that took us to 10 Downing Street.
A Very Brief History | Established 2007
After a river-accident made Ruth and John re-asses their lives, Crown Lane was established. From the highs of watching it grow organically from a single room, winning awards and working with some truly incredible people - to the lows of losing Ruth to cancer - the studio is now finally in the strongest growth position it's ever been in. We are grateful to all of our clients for making that the case.
Over the past 12 months we've established our education programme, completed season one of our Crown Lane Live initiative, and continued to open our doors to hundreds of artists for recording, rehearsing, composition, mastering and events. We look forward to you joining us for the next chapter of the journey.
THE TEAM
Chris Cruz | Engineer and Producer
Chris engineers most sessions at the studio, loves to play guitar and is addicted to creating superb lo-fi tracks in his spare time. He heads up the podcasting and Crown Lane Live - our immersive live music experience showcasing emerging and established artists.
John Merriman | Founder and Producer
John founded Crown Lane with his wife, back in 2007, and has ensured the business stays ahead of changes in the industry. He loves eating out and spending time with his boys and foster daughter. (LinkedIn)
Lawrence Bradshaw | Studio Manager
Lawrence invests into others, and encourages everyone he meets. We're so delighted to have him on the team - making sure everything holds together, and we're heading in the right direction.
Bill Sherrington | Mastering
Bill has worked with John since the early days of Crown Lane and retired from regular work at the start of 2023. He's local, and oversees all the mastering here. He keeps thinking he's retired.
Alex Dodd | Marketing
Alex is the newest member of the team. She's a musician and for several years had been working for major record labels in London. Her role is to make sure you've heard of us. So the fact you're here; she's doing a good job!