Top artists filed a class-action lawsuit against UMG, seeking at least $100 million in damages for master recordings said to be destroyed in a 2008 fire.
Musicians Courtney Love and the estate of Tupac Shakur are parties to a lawsuit filed Friday against Universal Music Group.
“UMG concealed its massive recovery from plaintiffs, apparently hoping it could keep it all to itself by burying the truth in sealed court filings and a confidential settlement agreement,” the suit states. “Most importantly, UMG did not share any of its recovery with plaintiffs, the artists whose life works were destroyed in the fire — even though, by the terms of their recording contracts, plaintiffs are entitled to 50% of those proceeds and payments.
The suit, filed jointly by King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, McPherson LLP and Susman Godfrey, all Los Angeles-based firms, alleges that UMG did not take “all reasonable steps to make sure [master recordings] are not damaged, abused, destroyed, wasted, lost or stolen” and “it did not ‘speak up immediately [when it saw] abuse or misuse’ of assets.”
“At this point, it appears that the fire consumed no irreplaceable master recordings, just copies,” a. “The studio and the record company both are fortunate enough to have the resources to preserve multiple copies of their source materials around the country. They’ve also been duplicating their recordings in high-quality digital formats, creating additional backups in the event the originals are lost.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Universal Music Fire Will Have ‘Zero Impact’ on Company’s Value, and Artists Will Have a Tough Time Suing: AnalystsDespite the anguished reactions from musicians, fans and even the company’s chairman over the estimated 500,000 Universal Music master recordings lost in a 2008 fire, multiple analysts and experts …
Read more »
Universal Music Fire Scandal Is ‘Just Noise,’ Says Vivendi’s Arnaud de PuyfontaineBacking up comments made yesterday by Yannick Bolloré, CEO of Havas and chairman of Vivendi, Universal Music Group’s corporate parent, Vivendi CEO and chairman of the management board Arnaud …
Read more »
Universal Music Fire Will Have ‘Zero Impact’ on Company’s Value, and Artists Will Have a Tough Time Suing: AnalystsDespite the anguished reactions from musicians, fans and even the company’s chairman over the estimated 500,000 Universal Music master recordings lost in a 2008 fire, multiple analysts and experts …
Read more »
Faith No More's 'The Real Thing' at 30: How They Switched Singers & Delivered a ClassicWhen Faith No More were about to begin work on their third album in late 1988, they knew they had plateaued creatively with their original frontman, the late Chuck Mosley.
Read more »
‘Paul Shaffer Plus One’ Music Interview Show Gets Premiere Date On AXS TVEXCLUSIVE: AXS TV has set a September premiere date for Paul Shaffer Plus One, starring the Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated musician, composer, author and TV personality. The weekly 30-minute pro…
Read more »