Factory Records was a
Manchester based British
independent record label, started in 1978 by
Tony Wilson and
Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as
Joy Division,
New Order,
A Certain Ratio,
The Durutti Column,
Happy Mondays,
Northside, and (briefly)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and
James. Like the label
4AD Records, 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 to artwork and other objects, as well.