Universal confirms the destruction of masters by 19 artists

For the first time, Universal Music Group was forced to recognize the loss of priceless treasures for the history of music. Pieces of Elton John, REM, Beck, Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow, or Nirvana were destroyed in the fire of a warehouse in 2008. The case was only revealed last year, thanks to a New York Times Magazine investigation.

We learned that several thousand original masters, stored in the music giant's warehouses, had been affected by the fire. Until now, Universal had not officially recognized anything, but according to Rolling Stone , after filing a group complaint from several of the musicians concerned, the company admitted that 19 groups or singers had indeed lost original recordings in flames.

Forever lost

Universal claims that in some cases, such as REM or Sheryl Crow, replacement recordings exist and could save the works.

Unfortunately for the most part, we will never again find traces of these songs. Badmotorfinger , for example, cult album by Soundgarden, whose original stereo recording has disappeared forever.

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