Thousands of master recordings were destroyed in a fire that blazed through Universal Studios in June, 11 years ago
So, the burning question on everyone's minds is "why are we just finding out about this now?"
Thousands of master recordings were destroyed in a fire that blazed through Universal Studios in June, 11 years ago
So, the burning question on everyone's minds is "why are we just finding out about this now?"
At the time, however, Universal was able to sugar-coat the situation, limiting the public's grasp on the severity of the situation.
But as we're finding out now, there was a bit more to the story.
They managed to keep it under wraps, but the fire destroyed a lot more than the "King Kong" exhibit.
It was a day like any other.
But after Universal Studios locked up for the day, the overnight maintenance staff used blowtorches to repair the roof.
But the fire ignited shortly after they left, around 5 am.
The video vault contained treasured video tapes, film reels, and most importantly, a library of master sound recordings by famous musicians dating back to the 1940s, owned by Universal Music Group.
A master audio recording is essentially the official recording of a song. It's the only one of its kind, and is considered to be extremely valuable — especially amongst famous artists.
And before the digital era took hold, masters were considered to be an even bigger deal.
Cherished works by Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, were presumed to be destroyed.
But it wasn't just older classics that were turned to ash — masters from famous artists from all decades leading up to 2008 were burned as well.
The list goes on: Neil Diamond, Sonny and Cher, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, the Eagles, Aerosmith, Patti LaBelle, Tom Petty, and more.
Great question.
The fire itself made worldwide news at the time. But Universal's publicists were able to perform major damage control — downplaying the severity of the incident and avoiding public embarrassment.
But the actual story has recently come to light, and we're finding out that the loss Universal faced is considered to be "historic".
This wasn't the first time in history, however, that record companies had lost masters — it was just the largest and most significant loss.
Accidents do happen, but hopefully, they never experience one of this caliber again!