FIRE HITS NEW YORK’S
HIT FACTORY STUDIO
Recorded at the Time
No one was hurt in the blaze, though the section of the building that faces West 54th Street appeared severely damaged. According to witnesses who work in the building, the fire was contained chiefly to the fourth-floor offices of performing-rights organization SESAC. The Hit Factory has studios on the same floor.
The recording studios—which have hosted artists ranging from John Lennon to Notorious B.I.G.—initially appeared unaffected by the flames, with the damage, if any, caused by the water firefighters used to extinguish the blaze.
According to police, firefighters and police arrived at the burning building around 5:20 p.m. The fire was extinguished by 7 p.m. It was unknown at press time whether any artists were recording when the fire broke out.
The Hit Factory was founded in 1975 by Ed Germano. In addition to hosting recording sessions by Biggie and Lennon, the Factory also served as the studio for Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to The Bodyguard. The walls of the lobby are adorned with Platinum and Gold plaques honoring recordings by Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Mary J. Blige.
The Hit Factory has an additional New York studio, as well as locations in London and in Miami. It is the Miami Hit Factory where DMX put together much of his 1999 ...And Then There Was X and Jackson laid down tracks for his upcoming Invincible.
