Universal Music Group has requested an urgent dismissal of the lawsuit filed over master recordings that artists claimed were lost in the 2008 fire at the major’s Californian vault facility.
Following Hole’s withdrawal from the lawsuit, UMG has since provided evidence that three other acts – Steve Earle and the estates for Tupac Shakur and Tom Petty – did not lose masters in the blaze. The company said that affected recordings were either tape copies or secondary material.
UMG attorney Scott Edelman has now filed papers refuting the claims of Soundgarden, the final artist participating in the legal action against the major. It has requested dismissal within 24 hours.
In the documents, the major said that only 21 of 1,301 Soundgarden assets were affected and none of them were multi-track masters. It was able to reissue the Badmotorfinger album using a digital audio tape safety copy.
Chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge has pledged transparency on its internal investigation, but noted that the impact was not as severe as reports suggested.
