Complaint Desk: On a (Tiny, Telling) Erosion of Standards at TIME Inc.

How a short term corporate alliance tramples factchecking

I somehow missed this May 4 release from the TIME pressroom about Deep Dive, a television show produced by TIME Studios, the venerable print magazine’s film and TV arm. The ten-part documentary series is being created in collaboration with Universal Music Group. The aim: To tell stories about recordings made by important artists (Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley are among the mentioned names) from the Universal vaults.

The promise is “exclusive access” to “untold stories” spun by an “insatiably curious host” of notable works and long-neglected titles. TIME Studios is described this way: “From one of the most globally iconic brands, TIME Studios is an Emmy Award®-winning television, film and immersive studio focusing on the development, production and distribution of truth-based premium unscripted and scripted storytelling that moves the world.”

Lofty goals! But, of course, there’s an agenda behind the agenda, and the TIME pressroom makes it plain: “While a 2008 fire at Universal Studios backlot led to wild media speculation and unfounded rumors about what might have been lost, UMG initiated a massive, multi-year effort to inventory the vast collection of musical recordings and artifacts.”

The “wild media speculation” jab likely refers to this methodically researched and often quoted 2019 story by Jody Rosen in the New York Times Magazine. Unlike other legacy media – like, oh, whatever remains of TIME magazine – the Times adheres to rigorous factchecking protocols. There are no unfounded rumors in the piece, which describes the painstaking work of archivists and shows how Universal’s stewardship of prized master recordings was a wee bit on the lax side.

The second half of that sentence contains more news. It suggests that the fire – a long-term image problem for UMG – prompted executives in charge of the “world’s largest collection” of sound recordings to undertake a proper inventory of the holdings. What a surprise! They acted not because it was the right thing to do, but because Rosen and other journalists brought what can only be described as negligence to light.

This documentary series, which will feature footage from within the Iron Mountain vault where Universal’s masters are kept, might become brilliant. Here’s hoping. (My fearless predictions: The focus will be on mega-star artists who have instant name recognition and can be celebrated for their sales figures and Grammy awards; the producers will use lots of isolated “stems” from multi-track recordings to spotlight singers at work, with accompaniment removed.)

Still, as the press release unwittingly makes plain, this effort was borne out of damage control. No wild speculation on that, because the stench of the fire lingers. The lawsuits over related losses are ongoing. And while music culture as a whole has begun to recognize the importance of preserving audio artifacts, the leaders of these large companies are still thinking short-term, and conscripting others (hi there TIME Studios!) in the cleanup effort. Which could make this Deep Dive a shallow exercise. (Sorry!)