Bleeding Fingers Music, the collective co-founded by legendary composer Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Interstellar), his business manager Steven Kofsky and entrepreneur Russell Emanuel, is expanding its global footprint with the launch of a new London office.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Bleeding Fingers Music has built a reputation as one of the most prolific scoring collectives working across contemporary film and TV, including the BBC’s prestigious Planet Earth franchise.
The London expansion comes as the team prepares for a string of new projects that will be produced in the U.K., including the forthcoming Harry Potter HBO Series, The Dutchess and I, Blue Planet III and more.
The company’s planned move into Maida Vale Studios — a recording complex that’s currently home to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and has previously hosted thousands of performances for the BBC’s radio network — will include expanded production infrastructure designed to scale its composer output.
The BBC sold the space to Zimmer and Kofsky, as well as Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Pictures, in 2023, with the buying parties agreeing to retain the building’s original stucco facade. Upon news of the purchase, Zimmer said that the goal was to “make Maida Vale Studios a place that inspires, teaches, technologically serves the arts and humanity, and gives the next generation the same opportunities I was given: to create and to never give up.”
Also announced on Wednesday (Mar. 18), Bleeding Fingers has welcomed Jesse McNamara as managing director of the London office, while Dario Burns has joined as creative director.
In his new role, McNamara will lead U.K.-based creative development and spearhead the growth of the company’s composer roster while deepening professional relationships throughout the region. Bleeding Fingers will position the London office as a central pillar in its wider international strategy.
In a new statement, Zimmer said: “From the very beginning, Bleeding Fingers has been about creating a collective; a place where composers are mentored, challenged and inspired to push the craft forward. The U.K. has an incredible musical heritage… being closer to that energy allows us to keep reimagining what screen music can be.”
Bleeding Fingers’ growing U.K. slate also includes the recent documentaries Beckham, Molly-Mae: Behind it All, and Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs, in addition to global franchises such as The Simpsons and Chief of War.
