Hit Factory Criteria

The Hit Factory was a recording studio in New York City famous for its clientele. It closed on April 1, 2005; the original building is now the headquarters of Music Theatre International. However, other Hit Factory studio locations remained open, such as in Miami, Florida.

The New York facility was purchased from Jerry Ragovoy by Edward Germano on March 6, 1975.

From 1989 to 1993, the company also operated The Hit Factory London. This facility later became Sony's Whitfield Street Studios

In 1999, The Hit Factory purchased Criteria Recording in Miami, Florida, revamping and reopening the studios under the new name The Hit Factory Criteria Miami.

After Germano's death in 2003, the business was taken over by his wife Janice Germano.

Hit Factory was closed on April 1, 2005. The last album to be recorded there was Octavarium by Dream Theater. The business' base of operations moved to the remaining Hit Factory Criteria Miami in March 2005. The New York Daily News reported:

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. In 2011, New York Knicks basketball player Carmelo Anthony and his wife, entertainer La La Vazquez, moved into a penthouse apartment in the W. 54th Street condominium building.

The studios occupied several spaces in and around Times Square and Midtown West after Germano's purchase. Locations included "Hit Factory Times Square" at 130 West 42nd Street, "Hit Factory Broadway," at 237 West 54th Street, and the flagship facility "Hit Factory Mastering" at 421 West 54th Street.

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