An iconic recording studio in Los Angeles claims a nearby homeless encampment has scared away well-known stars and could ‘potentially put them out of business.’
Sunset Sound Recorders studio, located in Hollywood, has been in business for 68 years and has been directly affected by the soaring homeless population that have found shelter on nearby sidewalks.
The president of Sunset Sound, Paul Camarata, told ABC7 that pop star Taylor Swift recorded music at the studio and reportedly had a negative experience.
‘Taylor Swift was down here, and she made the mistake of going out on the sidewalk and going to the 7-Eleven across the street- got accosted, came back to my tenant and told him “I will never come back to Sunset Sound again,”‘ Camarata claimed.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Swift’s team for more information about her alleged visit and comment.
Sunset Sound Recorders studio, located in Hollywood, said a nearby homeless encampment has scared away well-known stars and could ‘potentially put them out of business’
The president of Sunset Sound, Paul Camarata told ABC7 that pop star Taylor Swift recorded music at the studio and reportedly had a negative experience
On Sunday, the recording studio was burglarized. A broken door is seen in the aftermath of the robbery (left). Last year, the studio was set on fire twice. Debris from the blazes are seen on its exterior (right)
Homeless people are seen laying on the sidewalk just outside of the studio in May 2022 from a Google map image
On Sunday, the legendary studio was robbed around midnight and last year it was set on fire twice.
Josh Lawrence, the studio manager, said the group had to cancel bank accounts after robbers broke in and stole blank checks during the recent burglary.
Photos from the robbery revealed a broken door that was forced open, along with riffled-through drawers inside the building.
Burn marks and debris can still be seen along the exterior sides of the studio from last year’s fires.
‘There’s clients that have been come here for, you know 40, 50 years, and they’ve been in Hollywood, and a lot of them are really upset to see how the situation has just gotten worse and worse and worse,’ Lawrence said.
With the large homeless population in the area, drug usage has also spiked as Drew Dempsey, the studio’s marketing producer, said that there are ‘needles being laid in plain sight’ outside of the building.
Dempsey also said that vagrants also frequently use the bathroom where they please and have been ‘destroying property.’
The recording studio itself is surrounded by tented encampments and has made it hard for clients to use the sidewalk to access the building.
‘Our councilman- kind of deaf ears,’ Camarata said about Democrat Hugo Soto-Martinez who has represented the city’s 13th council district since 2022.
DailyMail.com reached out to Soto-Martinez for comment about the homeless encampments in the district.
The studio started its first project in 1958 after Walt Disney’s Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata opened its doors.
The president, Paul Camarata, claimed that Taylor Swift ‘got accosted’ outside the studio and said that she ‘will never come back’
Homeless encampments are seen on Gower Street under the Hollywood Freeway in April. The homeless population has more than doubled in the past decade
Miley Cyrus is seen inside the recording studio (left). Keith Richards is seen taking a break inside studio 1 in 1972 (right)
Well-known tunes from famous Disney movies like Bambi, Mary Poppins and 101 Dalmatians were recorded in the studio.
More than 200 gold records have been recorded at Sunset Sound as famous artists like Prince, Miley Cyrus, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton-John, Lionel Richie and Jimmy Buffett have recorded at the studio.
Parts of Prince’s iconic song Purple Rain were recorded there, along with Idina Menzel’s popular Disney tune Let it Go from the animated movie Frozen.
In the district alone, there are an estimated 3,000 people experiencing homelessness, with just 400 shelter beds available to them, according to Soto-Martinez’s office.
Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, which is just down the block from the recording studio, has also been overrun with homelessness and violent crime, leaving tourists and locals feeling unsafe.
The iconic LA landmark, once the epitome of glitz and glamour, has disappointed visitors with its dirty sidewalks and has gone on to repulse locals who have experienced violent attacks.
Assaults with a deadly weapon, sexual assaults and incidents involving the homeless have all increased, according to data analyzed by KTLA.
One local, Amy Michele, said she was punched in the face when running errands on the boulevard.
‘I’ve seen people with machetes and knives just slicing the air in front of them hoping to get someone who passes by,’ she said in a TikTok video warning others.
‘I’ve seen people sell drugs out of the back of a truck.
‘I’ve witnessed a hostage situation at one of the apartment complexes on Hollywood Boulevard.
‘I’ve been punched in the back of the head by a homeless person’ Michele added.
Drew Dempsey, the studio’s marketing producer said that vagrants frequently use the bathroom where they please and have been ‘destroying property’ outside of the studio
The Hollywood Walk of Fame which is just down the block from Sunset Sound, has become overrun with homelessness and rising violent crime
Lionel Richie and Jimmy Buffett inside the iconic Hollywood studio in 2011 as they recorded vocals for the song ‘All Night Long’
The situation has only been fueled more due to a significant reduction of police patrols on the boulevard.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 60 officers were assigned to just the Hollywood Entertainment District, and now that number has been halved, according to Steve Nissen, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
‘Part of feeling safe is not just that the crime statistics are going down, but also that you’re walking streets that look clean and these streets are not often clean,’ Nissen said.
The boulevard has since undergone a renovation that Nissen said he hopes will be completed in time for the 2028 Olympics.
The homeless crisis in the city of Los Angeles has skyrocketed in the last few years as the population has more than doubled in the past decade.
Mayor Karen Bass has committed herself to tackling the growing issue as soon as she took office last year.
There was a nine percent rise in homelessness in Los Angeles County between 2022 and 2023, with the unhoused population now totaling 75,518 people, according to the latest data from the LAHSA.
The city of Los Angeles saw an estimated 10 percent rise to a total of 46,260 people.