iStock/DaveAlanHole has been dropped as a plaintiff in the lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the reported loss of master recording tapes lost in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.
According to docs obtained by Variety, Courtney Love and company were removed from the suit “based upon UMG’s representations that none of Hole’s masters was destroyed (subject to confirmation).”
Hole was listed as a plaintiff on the initial lawsuit, which was filed in June. The other plaintiffs — Soundgarden and Americana musician Steve Earle, as well as the estates of the late Tom Petty and Tupac Shakur — still remain.
Variety reports that, in response to the amended complaint, UMG says, “We have already determined that original masters for many of the artists named in the lawsuit were not lost in the 2008 fire.”
The alleged extent of the fire’s damage was revealed in multiple articles published in The New York Times Magazine in June. Among the artists who reportedly lost their masters: Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses, R.E.M., The Eagles, Aerosmith, Chuck Berry, The Police, Janet Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Eminem.
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