Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Hit Factory to Close!
Here's the story
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._hitfactory_dc They basically say the home recording boom did em in. The Miami facility (Formerly Criteria) will be the new headquarters. A lot of great music was created there in New York. I almost feel like the Titanic is going down again. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Noizman wrote:
They basically say the home recording boom did em in. The Miami facility (Formerly Criteria) will be the new headquarters. A lot of great music was created there in New York. I almost feel like the Titanic is going down again. The home recording boom has made for a huge crunch for all of the commercial studios. And to some extent people are hurting because most of the money now is in rap music, which doesn't require a large treated space. But I suspect what did them in had more to do with the way they treated customers and employees. When times are getting tight for studios, and everyone is looking for business, there is that much more of a need to treat customers well because they know they can get a good deal anywhere else in town. And many of their customers did. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Yeah, the big studios in NYC have been hurting for awhile. I got out a
couple years ago when it started getting bad. It's not surprising considering what's been going on with similar facilities. Hip-hop/rap/pop was kind of the bread and butter of the big studios in NY and is the genre most easily ported over to the bedroom environment. Cheers, Trevor de Clercq Noizman wrote: Here's the story http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._hitfactory_dc They basically say the home recording boom did em in. The Miami facility (Formerly Criteria) will be the new headquarters. A lot of great music was created there in New York. I almost feel like the Titanic is going down again. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Although all this is true, the fact was that The Hit Factory NYC remained
extremely busy. There were family issues involved. After Eddie Germano, the studio's owner passed away, there was less and less inclination on the part of his wife to remain in the studio business. Finally, as has been the case with many former great NYC studios, the real estate became much more valuable than the business. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Dorsey" The home recording boom has made for a huge crunch for all of the commercial studios. And to some extent people are hurting because most of the money now is in rap music, which doesn't require a large treated space. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
I like the rather high barb wire fence around the Miami
Hit factory, makes me feel warm all over. I will say one thing, it was a great place 30 years ago! Tom "Scott Dorsey" wrote in message ... Noizman wrote: They basically say the home recording boom did em in. The Miami facility (Formerly Criteria) will be the new headquarters. A lot of great music was created there in New York. I almost feel like the Titanic is going down again. The home recording boom has made for a huge crunch for all of the commercial studios. And to some extent people are hurting because most of the money now is in rap music, which doesn't require a large treated space. But I suspect what did them in had more to do with the way they treated customers and employees. When times are getting tight for studios, and everyone is looking for business, there is that much more of a need to treat customers well because they know they can get a good deal anywhere else in town. And many of their customers did. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Scott Dorsey wrote: Noizman wrote: They basically say the home recording boom did em in. The Miami facility (Formerly Criteria) will be the new headquarters. A lot of great music was created there in New York. I almost feel like the Titanic is going down again. The home recording boom has made for a huge crunch for all of the commercial studios. And to some extent people are hurting because most of the money now is in rap music, which doesn't require a large treated space. But I suspect what did them in had more to do with the way they treated customers and employees. When times are getting tight for studios, and everyone is looking for business, there is that much more of a need to treat customers well because they know they can get a good deal anywhere else in town. And many of their customers did. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." Seems a bit hard to believe that studios at that tier were hurt by the home recording business. Top mics and pres still cost a lot. Mike http://www.mmeproductions.com |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
transmogrifa wrote:
Seems a bit hard to believe that studios at that tier were hurt by the home recording business. Top mics and pres still cost a lot. Everybody was hit by the home recording business... there are some very high end home studios out there. Also, changing styles have changed a lot. Big rooms aren't in much demand any more. When was the last time you saw anyone book a string section date? --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
They said it was home recording but I guess most of the top producers
and engineers have project studios set up with high quality gear. They are guilty of taking business away from the majors as much as anyone. You could put together a damn good project studio for what a good Studer 2" used to cost and you could certainly buy what you need to record an album for what a major label album budget is. The thing is - while the gear has become affordable the ability to use it properly is still a matter of talent and experience. I grew up near Criteria and did sessions there in the late 70's and early 80's (musician not engineer).It will break my heart if they close that place (or Abbey Road). Noizman wrote: Here's the story http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._hitfactory_dc They basically say the home recording boom did em in. The Miami facility (Formerly Criteria) will be the new headquarters. A lot of great music was created there in New York. I almost feel like the Titanic is going down again. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
|
#10
|
|||
|
|||
transmogrifa wrote:
Seems a bit hard to believe that studios at that tier were hurt by the home recording business. Top mics and pres still cost a lot. I think it's a psychological thing as well. Let's say that in the old days a really expensive studio was 5 times as expensive as the cheapest alternative (even if it wasn't really a practical alternative). Then home studios come along, and suddenly the cheapest alternative is 5 times cheaper than the cheapest used to be. Now the top-end studio is no longer 5 times more expensive: it's 25 times more expensive. Even if it's still exactly the same real price (adjusted for inflation, yadda yadda), and even if it's totally worth it, it still *seems* exhorbitant when you look at the numbers on paper. (The 5x and 25x numbers might be off, but you get the idea.) - Logan |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Lines: 34
Message-ID: X-Complaints-To: X-Abuse-Info: Please forward a copy of all headers for proper handling X-Trace: pcpocbcnbdmdhgfgdbdpiflmbcekedmfhojhikkbagflhcbogc kdpjcpbddecbolejgjiijhoejndpjjdijaipammpmgokopgjea bcbaffbemofepnaffidobadcejjoaadbhhlbijbiljlfnaldkl jeplihjnep NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2005 12:50:57 EST Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2005 17:50:57 GMT Xref: number1.nntp.dca.giganews.com rec.audio.pro:1147451 On 2005-02-04 (ScottDorsey) said: transmogrifa wrote: Seems a bit hard to believe that studios at that tier were hurt by the home recording business. Top mics and pres still cost a lot. Everybody was hit by the home recording business... there are some very high end home studios out there. Also, changing styles have changed a lot. Big rooms aren't in much demand any more. When was the last time you saw anyone book a string section date? --scott True enough! tHe thing I lament more than anything is the rooms which had a quality piano. I might not book a string section date as for what I'm doing with strings I can get by with what comes out of synths, but piano is a mainstay of my music. synth stuff just doesn't cut it, dont' care what piano sample or controller you have me play. I can't get the feel adn/or sound from those dfigital fakes. Other than a piano what I want is a good control room with a variety of monitors to listen to and a good osund for mixing/mastering. I might have to go to two different facilities to get all of this. STill the number of rooms with a quality piano has decreased over the years. Richard Webb, Electric SPider Productions, New Orleans, La. REplace anything before the @ symbol with elspider for real email -- |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
|
#14
|
|||
|
|||
On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 19:18:38 -0500, Noizman
wrote: Here's the story http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._hitfactory_dc Not surprised... For a while now it's been evident that there isn't enough business to sustain 2 mega-studios in New York. (Sony is less than 2 blocks away). Another factor is how poorly Hit Factory serviced their customers. Many labels and artists alike avoided that studio, because of their sterling arrogance and inflexibility. I think the Germano's invented the practice of 'Put them on hold until they hang up'. Dealing with them was always unpleasant... A_C |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
As in all biz, it depends who's the customer that's calling you.
Still you are correct, great studio, bad vibes! Tom "Agent_C" wrote in message ... On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 19:18:38 -0500, Noizman wrote: Here's the story http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp.../20050203/musi c_nm/music_hitfactory_dc Not surprised... For a while now it's been evident that there isn't enough business to sustain 2 mega-studios in New York. (Sony is less than 2 blocks away). Another factor is how poorly Hit Factory serviced their customers. Many labels and artists alike avoided that studio, because of their sterling arrogance and inflexibility. I think the Germano's invented the practice of 'Put them on hold until they hang up'. Dealing with them was always unpleasant... A_C |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 13:38:40 GMT, "Tommy B"
wrote: As in all biz, it depends who's the customer that's calling you. In my case, the A&R department of EMI. It's hard to imagine why any studio wouldn't want to good relationship with EMI. Third largest label with very deep pockets. They had a unique capacity to bite the hand that feed' them. A_C |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Agent_C wrote:
They had a unique capacity to bite the hand that feed' them. Starvation ensues. -- ha |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Sorry to see the Hit Factory close - I loved the "A" room - did a whole bunch
of orchestral recording over the years - great staff and great assistants also |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Tommy B wrote: I like the rather high barb wire fence around the Miami Hit factory, makes me feel warm all over. I will say one thing, it was a great place 30 years ago! I know you worked on some great stuff there, like 461 OB, one of my all time favorites. I was there in the '90's, and the fence was there at that time. Tommy, you've seen the Tom Dowd documentary, right? |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
(Scott Dorsey) wrote: When was the last time you saw anyone book a string section date? --scott Only in L.A. on the few big scoring stages. Actually that's not quite true. I see occasional small string dates. They're usually a few players double and triple tracked instead of a large section, but there are a few here and there. Certainly not as commonplace as they once were. Studios need to shrink to survive. This means still having a good tracking space, but not one that can handle a 60 piece string date. You could fit two revenue generating studios into the same space, cutting rent and improving profits. Also, people like being "in the studio," so give them an excuse to come by. Have a couple little writing rooms that cost next to nothing compared to an A room and add a new profit center, and potentially some business for the larger mix room on site as well. Have staff producers manning the little rooms that can attract business. And, as always, treat your customers like gold. The business is certainly changing and rates shrinking, but it's not dying altogether. I'm not as pessimistic as some. It just takes some experimentation to find out what the next generation successful model will be. Adapt or die. I'd rather adapt. -- Jay Frigoletto Mastersuite www.promastering.com |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
"Remixer" wrote: Finally, as has been the case with many former great NYC studios, the real estate became much more valuable than the business. As with Larrabee West in L.A. The property was worth too much to keep. Expensive real estate will kill the business if it rents, and create too great an incentive to sell if it owns. Net effect the same: closed studio. -- Jay Frigoletto Mastersuite www.promastering.com |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
"hank alrich" wrote in message .. . Agent_C wrote: They had a unique capacity to bite the hand that feed' them. Starvation ensues. Sometimes it takes a while... but the wheel turns. |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
I bought the Tommy Dowd doc! I had too.
It was strange watching him listening to "Layla", cause I did the same thing once. We found a safety, put it up and ckecked out the tracks. Duane was amazing!! On 461, I sang backs on two songs, "Let It Grow" & "Mainline Florida". I sang the high parts, even though Yvonne, was there. That always makes me smile. ;-) Tom "Don Cooper" wrote in message ... Tommy B wrote: I like the rather high barb wire fence around the Miami Hit factory, makes me feel warm all over. I will say one thing, it was a great place 30 years ago! I know you worked on some great stuff there, like 461 OB, one of my all time favorites. I was there in the '90's, and the fence was there at that time. Tommy, you've seen the Tom Dowd documentary, right? |
Reply |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Factory Amp | Car Audio | |||
FS: Pro Tools HD3 Accel with 96 I/O and Command 8 and ReVibe and25 other plugins = $12,995 | Pro Audio | |||
FA: iLok with Bomb Factory plugs for Pro Tools and DP | Pro Audio | |||
Free Bomb Factory Plug Ins! | Pro Audio | |||
Bomb Factory demos with Digi 001 Mac OS X | Pro Audio |