Criteria Studios

Studio A is Criteria's largest live room, designed to be large enough to record a symphony orchestra, with a ceiling outline of 3,000 square feet and a Solid State Logic 9096 J console, multitrack tape decks, and a Pro Tools HD3 system.

[1][2][3] In 1950, musician Mack Emerman, a former trumpet player with the Les Brown-led Duke Ambassadors, relocated to Hollywood, Florida and began recording on location and in his parents' home for release on his own short-lived Criteria Gold Coast jazz label.

Clapton and his manager Robert Stigwood later suggested to RSO label mates the Bee Gees that relocating to the house to record at Criteria may similarly benefit from a change of scene.

[7] In 1975, on the advice of Eric Clapton and Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees rented 461 Ocean Boulevard in Miami to again record with Arif Mardin, this time at Criteria Studios.

Working with Criteria's Karl Richardson, Main Course marked a change of direction that would become the template for numerous successful projects at the studio for the remainder of the decade.

[18] The Bee Gees' next album Children of the World and its hit single, "You Should Be Dancing", was the first to feature the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team consisting of Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten, and Criteria's Karl Richardson.

[20][21] The Bee Gees recorded at Criteria again for their 1979 album, Spirits Having Flown,[22] and utilized the studio for successful production and/or songwriting collaborations following 1979's disco backlash, including Barbra Streisand's Guilty, and Dionne Warwick's Heartbreaker.

In 1981, Criteria utilized John Storyk's design expertise to expand the original location, adding Studio E, a large space with 27-foot peaked ceilings, decorated with Cuban tile, stained glass, and even a waterfall.

[24] It was in the brand-new Studio E that Criteria staff producer-engineer Don Gehman helped John Mellencamp record "Jack & Diane" during the sessions for his 1981 commercial breakthrough album, American Fool.

[29] Other artists recording at the studios in the 1990s included David Coverdale and Jimmy Page,[28] 2 Live Crew, Noreaga, Malevolent Creation and Julio Iglesias.

In 2005, Lil Wayne relocated to Miami and established semi-residency at Hit Factory Criteria, doing production work on numerous projects for various artists and recording his own material at the studios, including his 2008 commercial breakthrough Tha Carter III.