UMG Says Tom Petty Masters Weren’t Lost in 2008 Fire

The drama around the 2008 Universal Music Group (UMG) fire burns on with UMG's attorney filing a declaration in a class action lawsuit that says the masters of Tom Petty, Tupac Shakur and Steve Earle did not suffer "irreparable damage."

Per Billboard, the declaration was filed by attorney Scott Edelman, who questions the complaint from those artists and their estates. This class action lawsuit was filed in June and also featured Hole and Soundgarden. Hole has since removed themselves from the lawsuit after it was determined their masters weren't damaged after all. Soundgarden and their masters, however, are still being investigated to determine the extent of the loss of their tapes.

This lawsuit is the result of a  New York Times Magazine piece that claims over 500,000 song recording master tapes were lost by UMG in a fire in 2008 and that the company covered up the losses for years. UMG has denied the fire destroyed 500,000 master recordings.