There is the well-known (in folk circles anyway) of the great Dave
Bulmer disaster (RIP).
He bought up many ailing folk record companies and then claimed
copyright on their artistes recordings.
Bulmer had hundreds of master tapes of folk artists from the 1960s /
70s mouldering away due to his perceived arrogant refusal to release
them or digitise them. These included the renowned Leader Records.
One artist affected was one Nic Jones - see Penguin Eggs - a
definitive folk album from that time. Nic Jones had a serious car
accident on the way home from a gig, and was hospitalised for many
years. In his hour of need Bulmer reportedly refused to release Nic's
recordings to raise funds for his rehabilitation.
The saga is here:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?ThreadID=35698
Bulmer passed away a few years' a go. His survivors appear to also be
reluctant to release the master tapes - which by now are likely
unplayable anyway.
CJB.
On 01/04/2015, Joel Bresler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Friends:
>
> I would like to assemble a short list of disasters (and near-disasters)
> that
> have befallen multimedia archives. Any help building a short list would be
> much appreciated. To get us started:
>
> MGM and Atlantic labels lost holdings in a fire
> In 1996 a movie lot fire almost demolished the MCA audio archive
> RCA bulldozed a warehouse in Camden, NJ in the 1960s, with master
> recordings
> and other materials still inside
>
> (These examples from: "Arts, Inc.: How Greed and Neglect Have Destroyed Our
> Cultural Rights" by Bill Ivey
>
> Destruction of Odeon masters at the end of WWII.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Joel
>
>
> Joel Bresler
> 250 E. Emerson Road
> Lexington, MA 02420
> United States
>
> 1-781-862-4104 (Telephone & FAX)
> www.joelbresler.org
> [log in to unmask]
> IN CASE OF VERIZON EMAIL PROBLEMS, PLEASE USE MY BACK-UP EMAIL:
> joelbresler-at-gmail.com
>
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