Universal Studios fire investigation reveals thousands of recordings were destroyed, including Elton John and Snoop Dogg hits

Works by famous artists since as far back as the 1940s were destroyed

(AFP/Getty Images)

One-of-a-kind master recordings of worldwide famous artists were lost in a 2008 fire at Universal Studios, according to a new investigation by the New York Times.

Works by famous artists since as far back as the 1940s were destroyed, including almost all of Buddy Holly’s masters, as well as songs by Elton John, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and many more.

Reports stated that the fire on 1 June 2008 only destroyed a video vault that contained copies of old works and the theme park’s “King Kong” attraction.

However, New York Times Magazine have found that the fire also destroyed an archive of revered artists’ audio recordings. The article describes this as “the biggest disaster in the history of the music business”.

A confidential report in 2009 by the Universal Music Group actually estimated that roughly 500,000 sing titles had been destroyed.

“Lost in the fire was, undoubtedly, a huge musical heritage,” an internal assessment reads.

Jody Rosen, the writer of the New York Times Magazine article, has referred to the efforts by Universal to play down the scope of the loss as a “triumph of crisis management”.