Moog Music has announced that it’s set to leave its current manufacturing headquarters on Broadway St, Asheville, and move to another building in the city.
The current Moog Music building has become one of the most recognisable in the hi-tech music industry, hosting artist performances in the 'Sound Lab' and being opened up for factory tours. The list of artists who've played there includes Chvrches, Toro Y Moi, Jack Antonoff, Little Dragon and Sylvan Esso.
In a statement shared to local news outlets, Moog says that the move will involve the relocation of product design, development and engineering staff. They will be moving into the second floor of the building at 14 O’Henry Avenue, which is set to be vacated by the Citizen Times newsroom.
The Citizen Times itself reports that Moog Music President Joe Richardson said that the move places the company closer to the city centre, “where so much creativity and musical expression lives.” He also shared his hope that Moog Music will be able to collaborate with Citizen Vinyl, which has the first floor offices in the O’Henry Avenue building.
The move follows the acquisition of Moog Music by InMusic - home to brands such as Akai Pro, Alesis, M-Audio, Denon, Numark and Rane - in June 2023. In September 2023, it was reported that a number of Moog Music staff were laid off.
Discussing these changes, Richardson told News 13 in an interview on 15 March 2024: "With any transition like this, where there is an acquisition, there's a number of roles that become redundant or roles that already existed in the organisation. The workforce had to be rationalised to reflect this new consolidation business model.”
Of the company’s location change, Richardson added: "There was a period of time where we had to rationalise our assortment of products, identify where the most appropriate place to built those [sic] and where the expertise is most required.”
Richardson also says that Moog Music will be expanding its manufacturing facility in Weaverville, a town that sits around nine miles north of Asheville, and that it hopes to take on more staff there. The current Broadway St headquarters are now available for lease.
