The
Hit Factory was a
recording studioA recording studio is a facility for sound recording. Ideally, the space is specially designed by an acoustician to achieve the desired acoustic properties...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
famous for its clientele. It was officially closed for business April 1 2005.
History
The New York facility was purchased from
Jerry RagovoyJordan "Jerry" Ragovoy is an American songwriter and record producer.His best-known composition "Time Is on My Side" was made famous by the The Rolling Stones, although it had been recorded earlier by Kai Winding and Irma Thomas...
by Edward Germano on March 6, 1975.
From 1989 to 1993, the company also operated The Hit Factory London. This facility is now
Sonyis a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. . Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game...
's Whitfield Street Studios In 1999, The Hit Factory purchased Criteria Recording in
Miami, FloridaMiami is a major coastal city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida. With an estimated population of 424,662 in 2007, Miami is the largest city within the Miami metropolitan area, which is the...
, revamping and reopening the studios under the new name Hit Factory Criteria.
After Germano's death in 2003, the business was taken over by his wife Janice Germano.
Hit Factory was officially closed for business April 1 2005. The business' base of operations moved to the remaining Hit Factory Criteria Miami in March 2005. The New York
Daily News reported:
- Big-name studios like The Hit Factory once had a lock on the recording industry, but technological advances have made it cheaper and easier for stars to build their own state-of-the-art facilities, often in their homes. In a statement, The Hit Factory acknowledged the industry is moving away from large-scale studios to "destination" locations like Miami that offer sunny weather and a hot nightlife.
Troy Germano (CEO and son of owner Edward Germano) told the
New York Post, however, that rumors about the "digital age" or a lack of business were false, and that the studio had closed directly due to the actions of his mother, Janice Germano.
In December 2006 Stribling and Assocs, a New York real-estate broker, began marketing The Hit Factory as a luxury condominium. Twenty-seven loft-style apartments went on sale, including six duplexes. Prices started at about $1 million. The developers have said that there will continue to be rehearsal space for musicians on the ground floor.
Locations
The studios occupied several spaces in and around Times Square and Midtown West after
GermanoGermano Luiz de Figueiredo , commonly known by just Germano , was a Portuguese central defender, considered by many one of the best Portuguese football players of all time...
's purchase. Locations included "Hit Factory Times Square" on West 48th Street, "Hit Factory Broadway," at 237 West
54th Street54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway...
and finally the flagship facility at 421 West 54th Street.
The Hit Factory Broadway, located between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, was a four studio complex which housed a mix of
Solid State LogicSolid State Logic, or SSL is a manufacturer of high-end mixing consoles and recording studio hardware headquartered in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, UK.- Company information :...
and Neve VR-series consoles. The facility at 421 West 54th street was opened in 1992 and all operations moved there, while Hit Factory Broadway studios continued to be booked. To avoid confusion, studio names at the new location were given numbers instead of the more-traditional letters. The Hit Factory Broadway closed in early 2002, as new studios were planned in the main facility.
The main studio facility at 421 West 54th Street was a mega-complex, occupying most of a 100,000+ square foot building. Five dedicated floors (including basement) housed five recording studios, private lounges for each studio, a mastering business Hit Factory Mastering with several suites, numerous production rooms, a full in-house rental company The Rental Company, as well as operations - large offices, tech shop, tape library and storage areas.
Studio 1 occupied the entire top floor of the building. The main studio studios wood floors spanned approximately 50 by 50' feet with a 30' ceiling height, for which the roof was raised from the original structure. It could accommodate a 60 piece orchestra. Four overdub booths of varying size added extra flexibility during tracking. The control room was designed for the comfort of groups, yet similarly equipped as the other studios with a 80-input
Solid State LogicSolid State Logic, or SSL is a manufacturer of high-end mixing consoles and recording studio hardware headquartered in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, UK.- Company information :...
9000J as the centerpiece. The lounge was also a flexible space, with room for a large orchestra or cast party, coat room, green room, office, production room, gym and several storage areas. The large windows faced 54th Street with a clear view of the Hudson River, and Times Square all the way to the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
On July 24, 2002, it opened Studios 6 and 7, complete with
Solid State LogicSolid State Logic, or SSL is a manufacturer of high-end mixing consoles and recording studio hardware headquartered in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, UK.- Company information :...
80-input XL9000K consoles. Each Studio contained a 48-channel
Pro ToolsPro Tools is a Digital Audio Workstation platform for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems, developed and manufactured by Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film...
MIXPlus system, a
Sonyis a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. . Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game...
3348 HR, two
StuderStuder is a Swiss manufacturer of professional audio equipment, founded in Zurich in 1948 by Willi Studer. It is known primarily for the design and manufacture of analog tape recorders and mixing consoles. Studer also produce other technology solutions, such as telephony management systems and...
A827s, Lexicon 960L and 480L reverbs, and outboard racks tailored for surround mixing. Studio 7 was designed as a mix/overdub room, with a small booth adjacent to the control room. Custom Augspurger monitors (dual 15" TAD drivers, horns and 18" hidden stereo subs) were custom painted bright red with matching furniture in the lounge. Studio 6 had a silver color scheme, also with custom Augspurgers and silver credenza ends in the control room, and a circle Hit Factory Studios logo at the back of studio. Studio 6 featured a generous tracking room and overdub booths, all utilizing floor-to-ceiling glass for uninhibited sight lines between rooms. In addition to the views, each room in the studio has floating floors - separated and isolated from one another.
Commercial recordings
In August 1994,
Dr. JohnMalcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer/songwriter, pianist and guitarist whose music combines blues, boogie woogie and rock and roll....
recorded a spontaneous and furious series of jingles for the nascent Crown Casino of Louisiana, a riverboat to be based at
Luling, LouisianaLuling is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,512 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Luling is located at and has an elevation of ....
.
After arriving at the studio, Dr. John wrote lyrics, composed music, and recorded a jingle within two days with a ten-piece group and several backup vocalists, despite a cold acquired in Europe several days before the session.
The working session included vocalist Lani Graves of
Steely DanSteely Dan is an American jazz-rock band centered on core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. The band reached a peak of popularity in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
fame. The recordings were managed and mixed by Brad Broussard of Nexxt Productions, from
Lafayette, LouisianaLafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 110,257 at the 2000 census; a 2007 census estimate put the metropolitan area's population at 256,494. It is the fourth largest city in the state...
.
The Crown Casino Venture failed before the gaming riverboat was opened, and several one of a kind audio recordings of Dr. John made at the Hit Factory are of indeterminate status, presumed in the Crown Casino or Nexxt Productions intellectual property vault.
John Lennon controversy
After the death of John Lennon, on December 8, 1980, the legendary status of the hit-generating Hit Factory became even greater. Mourners and music fans around the world read accounts of the murder in newspapers on the days following the shooting, and the Hit Factory was mentioned in some of these publications. However, there is controversy as to whether he was recording at the Hit Factory or the nearby Record Plant the day he was murdered. Most publications cite the Record Plant as the location. Individuals present with John, including his producer
Jack DouglasJack Douglas may refer to:* Jack Douglas , British actor and comedian associated with the Carry On films* Jack Douglas , American record producer...
, cite the Record Plant as the studio where he spent his time recording and mixing tracks that evening.
Worse yet, some believe he left the 421 West 54th facility before his death. That facility opened as The Hit Factory in 1992, well after Lennon's passing.
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Albums
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.
- The first album recorded in the facility was Songs in the Key of Life
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.
- John Lennon
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and Yoko Ono, , is a Japanese-American artist and musician. She is known for her marriage to John Lennon and for her work as an avant-garde artist and musician.-Early life:...
's album Double FantasyDouble Fantasy is the comeback album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in 1980 initially on the newly-formed Geffen Records, and then from 1989 onwards through EMI. It is notable for being John Lennon's last authorised release, released only three weeks before his murder...
in 1980.
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' album Emotional RescueEmotional Rescue is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1980. Upon release, Emotional Rescue topped the charts in both the United States and United Kingdom.-History:...
.
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.
- Paul Simon
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's album GracelandGraceland is an album released by Paul Simon in 1986. It was a hit in the UK topping the charts at #1. It also reached #3 in the US. The album won the Album of the Year Grammy award, while the title song won the Record of the Year Grammy award, for 1986 and 1987 respectively. The title track was...
.
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.
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's album Ready to DieReady to Die is the debut studio album of American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released September 13, 1994 on Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records as well as the first release of the label. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1993 to 1994 at The Hit Factory and D&D Studios in New York...
.
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.
- The last album recorded in the facility was Octavarium
Octavarium is the eighth full-length Dream Theater studio album, released on June 7, 2005 .It holds the distinction of being the last album ever recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City....
, by Dream TheaterDream Theater are an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Myung, John Petrucci, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, before they dropped out to support the band...
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