Ministry of Sound

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Ministry of Sound
Type Public
Founded (1991)
Headquarters London, England, UK
Key people Jamie Palumbo
Industry Music
Products Dance Music CDs, Nightclubs
Revenue £136m
Website www.ministryofsound.com/

Ministry of Sound (MoS) is a nightclub in Elephant and Castle, Southwark, South London, officially opened on 21st September 1991. British MoS initially set itself apart from other London nightclubs of the time with its location well away from London clubland, a non-alcoholic bar with a 24 hour dance licence and the highly-acclaimed sound system; all features designed to attract an enthusiastic crowd of music lovers. DJs mix live sets on Friday and Saturday each week. The MoS contains two dance floors as well as a Sony PlayStation room and Absolut chill bar.

Ministry of Sound was founded by James Palumbo, Humphrey Waterhouse and DJ Justin Berkmann. It is still largely owned and controlled by Jamie Palumbo, son of property developer Peter, Lord Palumbo. Since the club's opening, the MoS brand has been extended to a number of other areas. Profits from the brand put Palumbo on the Sunday Times Rich List 2004, with an estimated worth of £136m.

The club's name and original logo are in the style of executive branches of UK government (such as the Ministry of Defence). The original logo was designed by Marc Woodhouse & Justin Berkman and was based on the portcullis and crown, the symbols of Westminster government.

The current logo is a redesign done as a collaboration from AMP, London who designed the general logo and Vincent Connare at Dalton Maag, London who designed the lettering and finalized the artwork for MOS logo completed in 2002.

Contents

[edit] Franchised clubs

In recent times, the Ministry of Sound brand has expanded with franchise clubs being opened in Asia, and club tours taking place worldwide. MoS parties are often held in various locations around the globe.

  • Ministry of Sound Egypt (Papas Beach Club, Sekalla Hurghada, Egypt), the immensely successful Ministry of Sound Beach Club (the world's only MoS beach-side venue) runs alongside regular parties at Pacha in Sharm El Sheikh
  • Ministry of Sound Bangkok nightclub (Sukhumvit Soi 12, Bangkok, Thailand) (2002–03), the first club outside the UK, is now closed
  • Ministry of Sound Taipei (No. 310, LenQun 3rd. Rd., Taipei, Taiwan) opened March 25, 2004 is now closed
  • Ministry of Sound Singapore (Block C The Cannery, River Valley Rd, Clarke Quay, Singapore 179022) opened December 16, 2005
  • Ministry of Sound New Delhi, India opened on 9 February, 2007[1] and is located at C Block Vasant Kunj.
  • Euphoria by Ministry of Sound in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is due to open by mid 2008[2]
  • Ministry of Sound Shanghai, China is due to open in 2008[2]
  • Ministry of Sound Melbourne, Australia will open in 2010 at the beachfront area of St. Kilda..[3]

[edit] Record labels

Ministry of Sound is also a record label that produces many compilations each year, featuring many artists. These compilations are compiled from many different genres of music, but primarily the dance, house, and trance genres. In January 2006, the company purchased record label Hed Kandi from The Guardian Media Group and plans to continue maintaining the brand. Ministry of Sound (Australia) is an affiliated record label based out of Cremorne, NSW Australia. Its music was released through EMI (Australia) until January 2008, when it changed to Universal Music Australia and has been operating since 2000. In 2008 Ministry of Sound launched HARD2BEAT records with Basshunter's "Now You're Gone" as its first single and Bigtunes 2008 as its first compilation.

[edit] Ministry of Sound TV

Launched in November 2006, Ministry of Sound TV (MoSTV) is an IPTV content offering. The channel is dedicated to dance music and lifestyle programming, featuring music videos, mini-documentaries, interviews with DJs and exclusive event coverage. MoSTV has an in-house production team, but also acts as an aggregator of content. MoSTV can be accessed via the ministryofsound.com website, as well as other sites.

Ministry of Sound TV has signed a syndication deal with IPTV Platform Joost providing two on-demand branded channels.[4]. Ministry of Sound TV also recently signed a similar syndication agreement with Azureus "Vuze", and Babelgum. Users can also subscribe to the Ministry of Sound TV podcast via iTunes.

Ministry of Sound TV will be airing on MTV Dance (UK) throughout the summer 2007, with a weekly slot containing features such as "Clubbers Guide to Ibiza", DJ Diaries and Club/Festival Coverage.

[edit] Ministry of Sound Radio

Ministry of Sound Radio operated on DAB in London and Central Scotland on the Switch Digital multiplex, but closed in December 2002. A radio stream continues via the website.

http://www.ministryofsound.com/radio

MoS radios DJs include Lottie, Alistair Whitehead and Rob Roar, Mutiny, Hed Kandi residents David Dunne and Andy Norman, Matt Jam Lamont, Ross Allen, Jazzy M, Bill Brewster, Jon Gurd, Andy Farley, Darren Tate, Matt Darey, Above and Beyond, Adam White, BK, Guy Ornadel, J00F, and Graham Gold. From March 2007 the station expanded further launching two on-demand channels offering non-stop chill out and underground sessions.

The current team syndicates radio shows around the globe as well as running the online stream and on demand options. Headed by Dave Vega the station has Steve O'Connor and Dave Slade as its main producers. Former Head of Radio, Chris Bailey is running his own media and production business based in South London.

[edit] Electronic goods

The name has also been licensed for use on electronic goods sold by Alba, including MP3 players, home audio systems, DVD players, in-car entertainment systems and an extremely limited edition of a 3Gmobile phone. For a short time a portable DAB player was also available branded with the MoS logo.

[edit] Music compilations

The Ministry of Sound record label produces a large number of CDs. The main compilations which run in a series are:

[edit] References

  1. ^ MOS Invades New Delhi.
  2. ^ a b Licensing Problems Halt MoS' India Party.
  3. ^ Ministry Of Sound Opening In Australia.
  4. ^ MINISTRY OF SOUND TV PARTNERS WITH JOOST, Press release retrieved 2007-03-26.

[edit] External links


Major London nightclub venues

Astoria • Astoria 2 • Electric Ballroom • The End • Fabric • The Fridge • KOKO • Marquee Club • Ministry of Sound • Scala • Turnmills

Coordinates: 51°29′52″N, 0°5′57″W