Studios 301 is an Australian
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
and is both the longest-running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere and the largest studio complex in Australia.
History

The studio was founded in 1926 under the
Columbia Graphophone Company
Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom.
Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a managem ...
as the Columbia Graphophone Studios. In 1954, the studios relocated from their original Homebush site to
301 Castlereagh Street in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, and
were renamed
EMI Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music compan ...
.
In 1957,
Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...
recorded his hit "
A Pub with No Beer" at Studios 301, was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, the first Australian single to go gold and the first and only 78 rpm record to be awarded a gold disc.
[Dave Laing]
"Slim Dusty: Country singer famous for A Pub With No Beer"
''The Guardian (UK)'', 20 September 2003
In 1978, the studios were again completely re-equipped and renamed as Studios 301. In 1996, Studios 301 was purchased by its own management team. Two years later, the studios were purchased by producer/engineer and
SAE Institute
The SAE Institute (SAE) and SAE University College (in Australia), formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College and badged SAE Creative Media Education, is a network of colleges around the world that provides creativ ...
founder Tom Misner, who relocated and rebuilt the studios at 18 Mitchell Road, in the Sydney suburb of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
. Studios 301 was part of SAE from 1998 until early 2011, when Navitas bought SAE Group from Misner, who retained ownership of the studios.
In 2017, Studios 301 relocated to a new studio complex located at 3 Ellis Avenue in Alexandria. The new 'Tier One' facility, designed by Misner and Jochen Veith, nearly doubled the size of Studios 301's previous location, with 4 recording/mixing rooms, 3 mastering studios and 4 pre-production room.
In 2020, Studios 301 and audio engineer
Simon Cohen launched their 'pay it forward' initiative, allowing musicians to gift a free online
audio mix to an artist of their choice.
In 2021, the studio partnered with
Abbey Road Institute as a site of the school's music production program.
References
External links
Studios 301 official website
{{Authority control
Recording studios in Australia