For the first time since the Universal Studios building in Hollywood was burned down in 2008, Universal Music Group have officially revealed 19 artists whose recordings were destroyed in the blaze.
The details of damages caused were only revealed in a New York Times report last year, confirming Universal Music Group artists including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Mary J. Blige and Billie Holiday all lost recordings in the disaster, plus revealed over 700 artists’ works were affected.
More information on the Universal fire (or “the biggest disaster in the history of the music business”) has been revealed, with even more artists affected.
Following a class-action lawsuit filed against the music mogul demanding “a complete list of damaged recordings,” documents have been obtained listing 19 artists including Beck, Nirvana, Bryan Adams, and Sonic Youth.
A UMG spokesperson released a statement to Rolling Stone on the lawsuit and the group’s efforts to locate high-quality sources for reissue projects.
“Over the last eight months, UMG’s archive team has diligently and transparently responded to artist inquiries, and we will not be distracted from completing our work, even as the plaintiffs’ attorneys pursue these baseless claims.”
The New York Times report released last year revealed approximately 500,000 master recordings to have been destroyed in the Universal Music Group fire, describing the loss as “the biggest disaster in the history of the music business”.
