“The best time to build an oasis in the desert is when there’s not another oasis,” Gregg Wattenberg tells Billboard from a spacious recording studio overlooking a bustling lower Manhattan street. Wattenberg, a veteran songwriter and producer, has made hits with Goo Goo Dolls, Train, John Legend, Five for Fighting, Daughtry and plenty of others, but over the last few years, he and fellow industry veteran Steve Lerner (Wind-Up Entertainment co-founder and former CEO) have been focused on Artist House, an oasis that’s both physical and conceptual.

On one hand, the multi-level complex is a gorgeous, state-of-the-art recording studio in Tribeca — certainly something New York City could use more of these days, especially when compared to Los Angeles. On the other, Artist House is intended as a

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