Have you ever heard a song on the radio that sounded familiar? Or heard a song that clearly ‘stole’ an old songs melody or beat? It’s very common to hear this and it’s called sampling.
Sampling music is a technique widely used across all genres. Especially when it comes to Hip Hop. The Hip Hop genre was created by taking two samples and putting them together.
Many producers use the technique of sampling old records. The technique comes with a list of benefits for producers. The main benefit is to help producers overcome beat block ( the process in which a producer is lacking inspiration to begin creating a new track from scratch)
However, sampling music can be dangerous. It seems like almost every year there is a new law suite surfacing from sampling. Producers, artists, and labels get sued for millions when they’re caught using illegal samples.
So what’s the difference between legal samples and illegal samples? How do producers get away with sampling and how can you start sampling legally?
How to Legally Sample a Song
If you’ve created a beat around a sample from a song and you want to use the beat it’s not as easy as just uploading the beat to youtube. Youtube has adopted a strict algorithm to prevent sampling copyrighted work. If you upload a beat to youtube with a sample from a song your video will be taken down.
In order for producers to legally sample a song and release the beat they need to go through a process called ‘clearing’ the sample.
For this process you’ll need to reach out to whoever owns the rights to the song. That can either be the artist or the label. Once you come in contact with the rights owner you need to get their permission to use their song as a sample.
9 times out of 10 if they are a major artists or label they will want a percentage of your profit from the beat or song. You’ll then proceed to negotiate a contract for the use of the sample.
So when you hear a song on the radio that sampled an old popular song you’ll know that that sample was cleared.
Some artist and labels won’t clear samples for various reasons. If this is the case you won’t be able to use the sample.
The Fastest Way to Get Legal Samples
If you want to use samples in your beats but don’t want to go through the process of clearing there is another way. You can do this by purchasing royalty-free sample packs.
Sample packs are folders full of music samples you can legally use instantly. When you purchase a sample pack from us your purchase comes with the rights to use these samples in your promotional and commercial projects. You won’t have to reach out to anyone to get the sample cleared because you already hold the rights to use it.
This is by far the easiest, quickest, and safest ways to sample music. Many producers notice this and take advantage of it by purchasing sample packs on a consistent basis.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, sampling can be dangerous. Luckily there are easy ways to sample music now. If you want to start browsing through sample packs you can visit our catalog here.
