Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer as in digital sampling. Sampling is also possible with tape loops or with vinyl records on a phonograph.

Legal issues

Sampling has been an area of contention from a legal perspective. Early artists simply sampled and used bits of previous recordings; once rap and other music incorporating samples began to make significant money the original artists began to take legal action, claiming copyright infringement. Some artists fought back, claiming their samples were fair use.

Related Topics:
Copyright - Fair use

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One of the first major cases of illegal sampling was "Pump Up The Volume" by M/A/R/R/S, released in 1987. As the record reached the UK top ten, producers Stock Aitken Waterman obtained an injunction against the record due to the illegal use of a sample from their hit single "Roadblock". The dispute was settled out of court, with the injunction being lifted in return for an undertaking that overseas releases would not contain the "Roadblock" sample, and the disc went on to top the UK singles chart. Ironically, the sample in question had been so distorted as to be virtually unrecognisable, and SAW didn't realize their record had been used until they heard co-producer Dave Dorrell mention it in a radio interview.

Related Topics:
Pump Up The Volume - M/A/R/R/S - Stock Aitken Waterman - Dave Dorrell

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In the early 1990's, Vanilla Ice came under criticism for the unauthorized use of a sample from the Queen/David Bowie hit "Under Pressure". Vanilla Ice's case rested on the addition of one grace note not present in the original. No lawsuit was filed, but it is likely that Vanilla Ice agreed to pay Queen and Bowie if they agreed not to sue.

Related Topics:
Vanilla Ice - Queen - David Bowie - Under Pressure - Grace note

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More dramatically, Biz Markie's album I Need a Haircut was withdrawn in 1992 following a US federal court ruling (Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Brothers Records, Inc.) that his use of a sample from Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" was not merely copyright infringement, but criminal theft. This case had a powerful effect on the record industry, with record companies becoming very much concerned with the legalities of sampling, and demanding that artists make full declarations of all samples used in their work. On the other hand, the ruling also made it more attractive to artists and record labels to allow others to sample their work, knowing that they would be paid - often handsomely - for their contribution.

Related Topics:
Biz Markie - 1992 - Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Brothers Records, Inc. - Gilbert O'Sullivan

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Cases have still emerged since then involving uncleared samples. In the late 1990's, The Verve was forced to pay 100% of their royalties from their hit "Bittersweet Symphony" for the use of an unlicensed sample from an orchestral cover version of The Rolling Stones' hit "The Last Time". The Rolling Stones' catalogue is one of the most litigiously protected in the world of popular music - to some extent the case mirrored the legal difficulties encountered by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine when they quoted from the song "Ruby Tuesday" in their song "After The Watershed" some years earlier. In both cases, the issue at stake was not the use of the recording, but the use of the song itself - the section from "The Last Time" used by the Verve was not even part of the original composition, but because it derived from a cover version of it, Jagger and Richards were still entitled to royalties and credit on the derivative work. This illustrates an important legal point: even if a sample is used legally, it may open the artist up to other problems.

Related Topics:
The Verve - The Rolling Stones - Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine

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Today, most mainstream acts obtain prior authorization to use samples, a process known as "clearing" (gaining permission to use the sample and, usually, paying an up-front fee and/or a cut of the royalties to the original artist). Independent bands, lacking the funds and legal assistance to clear samples, are at a disadvantage.

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A notable case in the early 1990s involved the dispute between the group Negativland and U2 over Negativland's extensive use of U2 samples. More recently, in 2004, DJ Danger Mouse with the release of The Grey Album, which is a remix of The Beatles' White Album and rapper Jay-Z's The Black Album has been embroiled in a similar situation with the record label EMI issuing cease and desist orders over uncleared Beatles samples.

Related Topics:
1990s - Negativland - U2 - 2004 - DJ Danger Mouse - The Grey Album - The Beatles - White Album - Jay-Z - The Black Album - Record label - EMI - Cease and desist

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Public Enemy recorded a track entitled "Psycho of Greed" for their album Revolverlution that contained a continuous looping sample from The Beatles' track "Tomorrow Never Knows". However, the clearance fee demanded by Capitol Records and the surviving Beatles was so high that the group decided to pull the track from the album.

Related Topics:
Public Enemy - Revolverlution - Tomorrow Never Knows - Capitol Records

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Recently, a movement - started mainly by Lawrence Lessig - of free culture has prompted many audio works to be licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows for legal sampling of the work provided the resulting work(s) are licensed under the same terms.

Related Topics:
Lawrence Lessig - Free culture - Creative Commons

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