In statements made public for the first time, more than 100,000 master recordings owned by Universal Music Group were lost in a 2008 fire on the Universal Studios backlot, including works by Elton John, the Eagles, the Police, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana and Tom Petty.

The new information comes courtesy of The New York Times Magazine, which cites internal company documents and interviews with UMG employees among their sources. One document, used in a 2009 company meeting, declares that “lost in the fire was, undoubtedly, a huge musical heritage.”