Turns out that irreplaceable master recordings from top artists may not have been lost in the destroyed video vault at Universal Studios. Nikki Finke was the first to report there were major losses, based on an unnamed source, but she posts now that Universal Music says otherwise:

Universal Music just gave me a "clarification" on my report regarding UMG’s vault and the Universal Studio fire on Sunday: "Thankfully, there was little lost from UMG's vault. A majority of what was formerly stored there was moved earlier this year to our other facilities. Of the small amount that was still there and waiting to be moved, it had already been digitized so the music will still be around for many years to come. And in addition to being digitized, physical back up copies of what was still left at that location were made and stored elsewhere. So thankfully, smart care, administration and preparation of these gems prevailed."

Finke is skeptical: "What was left, Universal Music contends, was only 'more obscure artists from the '40s and the early '50s.' My final thought: the public may never know the truth.