Factory Records

Factory Records
Founded	1978; 46 years ago (1978)
Founder	Alan Erasmus Rob Gretton Martin Hannett Tony Wilson
Defunct	1992; 32 years ago (1992)
Status	Defunct
Distributor(s)	Pinnacle Distribution (in the UK) Warner Records (in the US) WEA International (worldwide) Rhino Entertainment (Reissues) Virgin Music Label & Artist Services (select)
Genre	Post-punk, alternative dance
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Location	Manchester

Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.

The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside, and (briefly) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and James. Factory also ran The Haçienda nightclub, in partnership with New Order.

Factory Records used a creative team (most notably record producer Martin Hannett and graphic designer Peter Saville) which gave the label and the artists recording for it a particular sound and image. The label employed a unique cataloguing system that gave a number not just to its musical releases, but also to various other related miscellany, including artwork, films, living beings, and even Wilson's own gravestone.^[1]