Today, a New York Times investigation revealed that a blaze at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2008 destroyed an enormous number of master tapes by artists throughout the decades, including Nirvana, Eminem, John Coltrane, and many more.
Hole were among the artists who lost master recordings in the incident. After being contacted by Pitchfork, the band’s representative confirmed that Hole was never made told by Universal that their tapes were destroyed. The band was “not aware until this morning,” states the rep.
Another band who lost their recordings in the fire, R.E.M., took to Twitter to address the news. “REMHQ is receiving inquiries from many people concerned about the New York Times article on the Universal Music fire 11 years ago,” the band wrote. “We are trying to get good information to find out what happened and the effect on the band’s music, if any. We will detail further as and when.”
Questlove also commented on the revelation that the Roots lost recordings in the fire. He shared the link to the Times report, adding, “For everyone asking why Do You Want More & Illdelph Halflife wont get reissue treatment.” He added, “I been dying to find all the old reels and mix the 8 or 9 songs that never made DYWM. My plan for both DYWM & IH was to release all the songs and instrumental/acapella mixes on 45.”
Steely Dan’s manager Irving Azoff released a statement on behalf of the band. "We have been aware of ‘missing’ original Steely Dan tapes for a long time now,” he wrote. “We’ve never been given a plausible explanation. Maybe they burned up in the big fire. In any case, it’s certainly a lost treasure.”
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This article was originally published on June 11 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on June 11 at 11:41 p.m. Eastern.
