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Universal Fire Smoke

Neil Young, Weezer, and hundreds of others also lost master tapes in Universal Studios 2008 fire

26 June 2019, 10:54 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

Hundreds of other artists including Neil Young and Weezer also lost master tapes in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.

Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that artists such as Nirvana, R.E.M., Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Sonic Youth, No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails, and more had lost master tapes stored in the "video vault" during the 2008 fire that ripped through Universal Studios in LA.

Yesterday (25 June), The New York Times updated their list, and revealed hundreds of other artists that have lost master tapes in the same fire.

Artists such as The Who, Dolly Parton, Blink-182, Boston, Jawbreaker, Cher, Jimmy Eat World, Busta Rhymes, Barry Gibb, Tom Jones, Olivia Newton-John, and more were named in the list of artists who also lost archive material.

The New York Times reports that it's unclear if Neil Young was affected by the fire, having published his discography on his archive site, which is "presumably sourced from the original masters".

According to the report, lawyer Howard King has requested a full list of the "inventory of all master recordings" on behalf of Hole, Soundgarden, No Doubt, Joe Walsh and Buddy Guy and the estates of Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker and Tupac Shakur.

Speaking to BBC, Sheryl Crow revealed "all her masters" were destroyed in the fire, adding, "It absolutely grieves me. It feels a little apocalyptic...I can't understand, first and foremost, how you could store anything in a vault that didn't have sprinklers. And secondly, I can't understand how you could make safeties [back-up copies] and have them in the same vault. I mean, what's the point? And thirdly, I can't understand how it's been 11 years. I mean, I don't understand the cover-up."

Read the full report on nytimes.com.
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