The Day The Music Burned (UMG Archive Fire June 1, 2008)

dcp3y

Very depressing read for a music fan - 500,000 songs master tapes lost to a fire back in 2008:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/the-day-the-music-burned/ar-AACIbo2

Condensed version:  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nirvana-tom-petty-aretha-franklin-recordings-lost-in-2008-universal-music-group-fire-847104/

Nirvana and Soundgarden both mentioned in first article as having master tapes lost to the fire.  

dcp3y

And artists are starting to figure out and assess the damage done to their respective catalogs.

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/universal-music-fire/

Article mentions Krist from Nirvana and several others (REMHQ, Steely Dan, Hole, Questlove).

I think it is further sad that by preservation, UMG sends master tapes off to Iron Mountain sites where they can withstand a nuclear blast but are also unlikely to ever surface again.  I think they should return the tapes to the artists instead of basically burying them.

dcp3y

Story continues as lawsuits begin.   https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/soundgarden-tom-petty-tupac-lawsuit-universal-music-vault-fire-851401/

Tim Simmons

 I think they should return the tapes to the artists instead of basically burying them.

Though not every artist has the means to preserve them.