History

Avatar Entertainment Corporation was founded in May of 1996 and opened its doors as Avatar Studios in July of 1996. Located in midtown west of New York, the company operates a 33,000 square foot facility dedicated to providing the highest possible quality audio recording services to the recording industry.

The building where Avatar Studios is currently housed was a former Consolidated Edison plant located in what was then the deserted stretch of 53rd Street between Ninth and 10th Avenues, squarely in Hell's Kitchen.

The building was then turned into the sound stage for the popular television game show, Let's Make a Deal with Monty Hall, run by LewRon Television. You can still read the faint company name on the glass above the front door of the building.The recording studio was designed and built in 1977 as Power Station by Tony Bongiovi, a respected producer and an acoustical genius. There are four main studios, which were custom designed with acoustics and usability in mind and built with the utmost care. Studio A, the largest recording suite, can fit a 60-piece orchestra. As Power Station, the studio won five TEC Awards from 1985 to 1990 in the Recording Studio category and a Les Paul Award for Special Lifetime Achievement in 1991. As Avatar, the studio has won five TEC Awards in the last six years for Diana Krall's The Look of Love in 2002, Sheryl Crow's C'mon C'mon in 2003, Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat in 2006 and John Mayer's Continuum in 2007.

Many artists, producers, and engineers have passed through the doors of this studio. This facility served as Madonna's home when she recorded "Like a Virgin" and played host to luminaries including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Barbara Streisand, the Ramones, and Mariah Carey. More recently, artists such as Eric Clapton, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Franz Ferdinand, Sheryl Crow, Trey Anastasio, Peter Cincotti, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall and The Mars Volta recorded their music at Avatar.

Acoustically, this is undeniably one of the great recording facilities in the world. As proof, Sony and Yamaha both recently took sound samples for their reverb box products as they sampled from the best acoustic environments of the world. The acoustical and technical aspects of Avatar are always of primary importance, but equally important is the emphasis we place on the uniqueness of each individual artist's and producer's needs. One major change the facility has made is to reach out to as wide a range of artists and music as possible, from unsigned bands to up-and-coming producers and engineers.

The staff members here have worked hard to protect and carry on the tradition of technical creativity and excellence.  A combination of experienced staff and room design make up this unique, comfortable, and creative sanctuary many artists and producers seek when they come to Avatar Studios. This special environment has attracted and continues to attract the cream of the crop in the recording industry in the fields of rock, pop, and jazz.