Universal Music Sued In Class Action Lawsuit Over Recordings Lost In Fire

Universal Music Group has been slapped with a class action lawsuit by several prominent musicians over master recordings lost in fire.

Soundgarden and estates representing Tupac Shakur and Tom Petty are among those suing Universal Music Group seeking $100 million in damages for the destruction of their master recordings in a 2008 fire.

In the lawsuit filed this week in federal district court in Los Angeles, the artists accuse Universal of failure to protect their music and inform them of the full extent of the fire’s impact.

The lawsuit claims that Universal breached its contract with the affected musicians as works were kept “in an inadequate, substandard storage warehouse located on the backlot of Universal Studios that was a known firetrap.”

The 2008 fire destroyed hundreds of thousands of master recordings and unreleased music and other materials. The music company had not revealed the full extent of the destruction caused by the fire, but an investigation by the New York Times discovered the actual damages.

The suit claims Universal made insurance claims valued at $150 million, a part of which musicians are entitled to share.

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