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Topic: The staggering loss of master recordings in the UMG vault fire (Read 2503 times) previous topic - next topic
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The staggering loss of master recordings in the UMG vault fire

Have a missed a post about this article from June 11th in the NYT about the 2008 UMG vault fire? Haven't seen any yet.

Apparently UMG (Universal Music Group) did not want to admit to the massive loss of master recordings for fear of public ridicule and lawsuits from many artists.

It's unbelievable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/magazine/universal-fire-master-recordings.html

Some of the artists whose recordings were lost:

Chuck Berry,
Nirvana,
Soundgarden,
Hole,
Beck,
Sheryl Crow,
Tupac Shakur,
Eminem,
Buddy Holly,
John Coltrane,
Duke Ellington,
Count Basie,
Coleman Hawkins,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Max Roach,
Art Blakey,
Sonny Rollins,
Charles Mingus,
Ornette Coleman,
Alice Coltrane,
Sun Ra,
Albert Ayler,
Pharoah Sanders,
Benny Goodman,
Cab Calloway,
Louis Armstrong,
Duke Ellington,
Al Jolson,
Bing Crosby,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Judy Garland,
the Andrews Sisters,
the Ink Spots,
the Mills Brothers,
Lionel Hampton,
Ray Charles,
Sister Rosetta Tharpe,
Clara Ward,
Sammy Davis Jr.,
Les Paul,
Fats Domino,
Big Mama Thornton,
Burl Ives,
the Weavers,
Kitty Wells,
Ernest Tubb,
Lefty Frizzell,
Loretta Lynn,
George Jones,
Merle Haggard,
Bobby (Blue) Bland,
B.B. King,
Ike Turner,
the Four Tops,
Quincy Jones,
Burt Bacharach,
Joan Baez,
Neil Diamond,
Sonny and Cher,
the Mamas and the Papas,
Joni Mitchell,
Captain Beefheart,
Cat Stevens,
the Carpenters,
Gladys Knight and the Pips,
Al Green,
the Flying Burrito Brothers,
Elton John,
Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Eric Clapton,
Jimmy Buffett,
the Eagles,
Don Henley,
Aerosmith,
Steely Dan,
Iggy Pop,
Rufus and Chaka Khan,
Barry White,
Patti LaBelle,
Yoko Ono,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,
the Police,
Sting,
George Strait,
Steve Earle,
R.E.M.,
Janet Jackson,
Eric B. and Rakim,
New Edition,
Bobby Brown,
Guns N’ Roses,
Queen Latifah,
Mary J. Blige,
Sonic Youth,
No Doubt,
Nine Inch Nails,
Snoop Dogg,
50 Cent and
the Roots.
--  tung  --
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Re: The staggering loss of master recordings in the UMG vault fire

Reply #1
Yet they're the same idiots that like to watermark the stuff they sell among other bad practices.  I hope they get sued to hell and back by the artists.

Re: The staggering loss of master recordings in the UMG vault fire

Reply #2
I hope they get sued to hell and back by the artists.
Over what? They most certainly have the law on their side - rich enough lobbyists can buy their own laws.

If anyone tried to file a complaint that (publicly traded, AFAIK) parent company Vivendi should have disclosed value-sensitive information and written down assets in their financial statements - then I guess they will just shrug it off by saying that these were not material assets: who needs the old master tapes when people happily listen to wobbling watermarks?

Re: The staggering loss of master recordings in the UMG vault fire

Reply #3
 :o Overly long copyright periods get my vote as a contributing factor in this story, music, and other art, should be in the public domain sooner.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?  ;~)


 

Re: The staggering loss of master recordings in the UMG vault fire

Reply #5
> music, and other art, should be in the public domain sooner
definitely this.
4 years is more than enough.
a fan of AutoEq + Meier Crossfeed