West Dixie Music CorridorStreet Economics® · Detection #1, the network map · 1958 to 2026
Anchor: Criteria across its eras · studio

Criteria Recording Studios

recording studio, six rooms (A to F) plus M7 · Unincorporated Miami-Dade

Open on the mapDirectorySuggest a correction
Founded
1958
Address
1755 NE 149th St · Unincorporated Miami-Dade
From the anchor
0.0 miles · inside the 1.5 mile ring
Status as of 11 September 2026
Active. Six studios, 17 staff and a freelance engineer roster; Studio D refitted with an SSL Origin in December 2022; hosted the VIVA Spanish Audio Bible sessions in September 2025; no signage on the building.
Evidence class
publicly verified: own site, current listing, press, public calendar or planning filing
Connections
108 edges, 106 distinct neighbours · betweenness 0.352 (rank 1 of 236) · people and production 0.114 (rank 1)
Confidence
High · sources: [CRW] [CRC] [W] [MIX50] [FLM] [MNTE] [BTR] [MDB] [MIXD] [CDA] [BWV] (register)
Site
https://www.criteriastudios.com/

The anchor. Mack Emerman opened a 30 by 60 foot building at the corner of NE 149th Street and West Dixie Highway in 1958 and the studio has occupied the same site since. The parcel sits in unincorporated Miami-Dade a few dozen metres west of the North Miami city line, per the county's municipal boundary layer, and the tax record lists its city as Miami: the anchor of the corridor is inside no city at all. James Brown's I Got You (I Feel Good) (1965) is its first gold record; Atlantic used it so heavily from about 1969 that it was called Atlantic Studios South; the Bee Gees, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers made records here in the 1970s; The Hit Factory owned it from 1999 as Hit Factory Criteria; the name reverted to Criteria in 2017 and the current owner is not disclosed. Within this dataset it is the node every other lane connects to.

Connections

People, ownership and staff

  • founded or owned byMack EmermanBuilt with a loan from his father; owner to 19911958
  • founded or owned byThe Hit FactoryOwner; Hit Factory Criteria name in use to 20171999 to 2017
  • founded or owned byEd GermanoBought Criteria from Joel Levy1999 to 2003
  • founded or owned byJoel LevyOwner between Emerman and The Hit Factory1991 to 1999
  • staff / residentCharles C. Reed Jr.Architect of the original 30 by 60 foot building1958
  • staff / residentGrover (Jeep) HarnedTroubleshot the first console1958
  • staff / residentTom DowdAtlantic engineer working freelance at Criteria for decades1969 to 2002
  • staff / residentJerry WexlerBrought Atlantic's sessions south1969 to 1975
  • staff / residentArif MardinProducer and arranger on the Atlantic and Main Course sessions1969 to 1975
  • staff / residentGrant Gravitt Sr.Financed the Studio A expansion1966
  • staff / residentRon AlbertEngineer, then primary engineer, co vice president and partner1967 to 1983
  • staff / residentKarl RichardsonFrom mastering engineer at 75 dollars a week to co producer1967 to 1980
  • staff / residentHoward AlbertEngineer and producer, co vice president and partner1969 to 1983
  • staff / residentChuck KirkpatrickStaff engineer1969 to 1970s
  • staff / residentLewis HahnEngineer on the Spirit in the Dark sessions1969 to 1970
  • staff / residentThe Dixie FlyersHouse band in residence1969 to 1972
  • staff / residentSteve AlaimoClient and producer on the Alston sessions1971
  • staff / residentBill SzymczykSeventeen years at Criteria per Mix1973 to 1990
  • staff / residentAlbhy GalutenMusician, arranger and co producer1975 to 1979
  • staff / residentAlex SadkinTape operator and assistant engineer before Compass Pointmid 1970s
  • staff / residentEddie KramerAbandoned Highway to Hell sessions1979
  • staff / residentMartin BirchHeaven and Hell sessions1979 to 1980
  • staff / residentJohn StorykDesigned Studio E1981
  • staff / residentDon GehmanProduced American Fool in Studio E1981 to 1982
  • staff / residentJack DouglasRock in a Hard Place1982
  • staff / residentTrevor FletcherGeneral manager from 2000, vice president from 20051983 to 2026
  • staff / residentEric SchillingFreelance engineer and mixer across four decades1970s to 2026
  • staff / residentRoli MosimannPortrait of an American Family, first sessions1993
  • staff / residentRodney JerkinsInvincible tracks1999 to 2001
  • staff / residentTroy GermanoDesigned the Miami rebuild completed in 20011999 to 2012
  • staff / residentTimbalandThe Black Album, Loose, Chris Cornell sessions2003 to 2008
  • staff / residentScott StorchRun It!2005
  • staff / residentBob LanierGeneral manager, Hit Factory Criteria2008
  • staff / residentSimon SoongChief technician2008
  • linked ventureCriteria Studios, 2017 to presentThe current identity of the anchor2017

Lineage

Records made or mixed here

  • sessionsThe Jackie Gleason ShowTelevision sessions after the show moved to Florida1964
  • sessionsJames BrownI Got You (I Feel Good), 6 May 1965; the studio's first gold record1965
  • sessionsBrook BentonRainy Night in Georgia1969
  • sessionsAretha FranklinSpirit in the Dark sessions; five tracks of Young, Gifted and Black1969 to 1971
  • sessionsThe Allman Brothers BandIdlewild South (from March 1970, with Capricorn Macon and Regent); Eat a Peach studio tracks (September to December 1971)1970 to 1971
  • sessionsIdlewild South (1970)Sessions moved from Macon in March 1970; credited as Atlantic South, Criteria Studios1970
  • sessionsDerek and the DominosLayla and Other Assorted Love Songs, sole studio, 28 August to 1 October 19701970
  • sessionsLayla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)Sole studio1970
  • sessionsStephen Stills and ManassasStephen Stills 2 and Manassas1971 to 1972
  • sessionsBetty WrightClean Up Woman1971
  • sessionsYoung, Gifted and Black (1972)Five tracks at Criteria, the rest at Atlantic New York1970 to 1971
  • sessionsEat a Peach (1972)All studio tracks, September to December 1971; live sides from the Fillmore East1971
  • sessionsAverage White BandAWB, with Atlantic New York1973 to 1974
  • sessionsEric Clapton461 Ocean Boulevard, April and May 19741974
  • sessions461 Ocean Boulevard (1974)Sole studio1974
  • sessionsElvin BishopFooled Around and Fell in Love1975
  • sessionsBee GeesMain Course (1975); Children of the World (1976, with Le Studio); Saturday Night Fever completion and mix (1977); Spirits Having Flown (1978, sole studio)1975 to 1978
  • sessionsMain Course (1975)Criteria, 6 January to 21 February 1975, with Atlantic Recording Studios New York1975
  • sessionsEaglesHotel California, with the Record Plant, March to October 19761976
  • sessionsHotel California (1976)Studio C; partial credit with the Record Plant1976
  • sessionsFleetwood MacRumours, Criteria first among seven studios; Go Your Own Way guitar solo cut here1976
  • sessionsBlack SabbathTechnical Ecstasy, June 19761976
  • sessionsTechnical Ecstasy (1976)June 1976; the reference source lists no other studio1976
  • sessionsBlack SabbathHeaven and Hell, with Studios Ferber in Paris1979 to 1980
  • sessionsAndy GibbFlowing Rivers (1977); Shadow Dancing (December 1977 to February 1978, with Wally Heider)1977 to 1978
  • sessionsRumours (1977)Partial credit, first of seven studios1976
  • sessionsCrosby, Stills and NashCSN; sessions placed here by the Criteria and Albert Brothers articles1977
  • sessionsLynyrd SkynyrdStreet Survivors, first version sessions with Tom Dowd, April 1977; the released album credits Criteria with Studio One and Muscle Shoals Sound1977
  • sessionsJulio IglesiasEmociones (1978), Momentos (1982), Non Stop (1988), each among several studios1978 to 1988
  • sessionsSpirits Having Flown (1979)Sole studio, March to November 19781978
  • sessionsAC/DCAbandoned Highway to Hell sessions with Eddie Kramer; no credit on the album1979
  • sessionsHeaven and Hell (1980)Criteria and Studios Ferber; Neon Knights cut in Paris in January 19801979 to 1980
  • sessionsJohn MellencampAmerican Fool, Studio E, with Cherokee1981 to 1982
  • sessionsAerosmithRock in a Hard Place, among its studios1982
  • sessionsGloria Estefan and Miami Sound MachineLet It Loose (1987), recorded and mixed here, the sleeve's only studio; Cuts Both Ways (1989) per the reference source1987 to 1989
  • sessionsLet It Loose (1987)Recorded and mixed at Criteria; sole studio on the sleeve1987
  • sessionsCoverdale PageVocals and overdubs1993
  • sessionsMarilyn MansonPortrait of an American Family, first sessions, August to December 19931993
  • sessionsAir MiamiMe. Me. Me., May 19951995
  • sessionsMichael JacksonInvincible, the Rodney Jerkins tracks1999 to 2001
  • sessionsJay-ZThe Black Album, among its studios2003
  • sessionsChris BrownRun It!2005
  • sessionsShakiraOral Fixation Vol. 2; Hips Don't Lie, among their studios2005 to 2006
  • sessionsNelly FurtadoLoose, among its studios2005 to 2006
  • sessionsManaAmar es Combatir, February to May 2006, per the reference source; no studio field in the album credits reproduced on Discogs2006
  • sessionsAlicia KeysNamed by the studio as a recent Studio D client2022
  • sessionsRod WaveNamed by the studio as a recent Studio D client2022
  • sessionsAnuel AANamed by the studio as a recent Studio D client2022
  • sessionsYandelNamed by the studio as a recent Studio D client2022
  • sessionsShenseeaNamed by the studio as a recent Studio D client2022
  • mixed hereBob Marley and the WailersRastaman Vibration mixed at Criteria; recorded in Kingston1976
  • mixed hereSaturday Night Fever (1977)Bee Gees tracks recorded at Chateau d'Herouville; timbales, Miami strings and the mix at Criteria1977
  • mixed hereLynyrd SkynyrdLegend remixed at Criteria, with July 1987 overdubs1987
  • mixed hereR.E.M.Reveal mixed at Hit Factory Criteria, completed 31 October 20002000

Labels, collaborations, adjacency, plans