The 2008 fire at Universal Studios Hollywood that destroyed thousands of original recordings from many of the giants in the music industry was reportedly downplayed. from New York Times contributor Jody Rosen revealed that a 2008 media storage vault fire on the Universal Studios Hollywood lot resulted in well over 100,000 music master tapes being lost forever.
The 1 and 2 inch multitrack tapes contain anywhere from 3 track to 4 track and 8 track to 16, 24 and 48 track . If these are lost, a huge potential opportunity goes with them, as new alternate mixes or remixes can't be done. Plus, future technologies may make use of the multitracks in ways that we can't yet conceive, as what happened in the case of the hugely populargame a few years ago.
It also means that there are dozens of safety masters out there for most of the big hits from the 60s through the 90s . This has also been Universal's ace in the hole. You've probably been listening to the result of them for many years now and haven't taken any notice. That's because if the safety master was made with care, it sounds pretty close to the original, but there is still a natural sonic degradation that takes place with each successive copy.It may be all well and good that at least some form of the original hit songs are available, but that doesn't tell the whole story.