Hey team. Just curious. Has anyone looked into the legalities of sampling? I’m yet to get my OP-1 and noticed that lots of people used lots of stuff pulled from the radio or albums etc.
I had a look at this article on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_surrounding_music_sampling
Anyhoo, if you were interested too.
yeah you gotta be actually making money from music for that stuff to matter.
i’d hazard a guess that only a very small percentage of folks who frequent these boards garner sufficient income from physical sales to enter the awareness of individuals who have legal teams that could potentially prosecute.
Thanks for your comment. I reckon the same. Nice to be aware for those who would bother to read it though.
Sample clearing is a big business for artists and labels. Even here in Australia (relatively small market) there are teams of lawyers dedicated to sample clearing for songs at the top end of town. As @speckdrum said, it really only becomes a big issues if you’re moving serious units - that said if you are an up-and-comer and use a looped sample in a single or something then you can get a C&D, which can really spoil even small orders of 1000 CDs or whatever.
General rule of thumb that I was told is to just not use a clearly defined loop or anything unless you’re either willing to pay the clearance or willing to risk it getting pulled. Using tiny snippets here are there (a single note, a drum hit, a stab) are much easier to get away with. Anything melodic (say a three or four note vocal line) then you open up a world of potential pain. And yes, this is exactly why all the “big boys” get the pants sued off them, when they lift a full loop of a song and just put new drums under them etc etc
Cheers for that Mill. I used to be in an originals rock band, I’m glad I’ll have a bit to play with once I finally get my OP-1.
@stupidrobotifighting no worries - I came from the same background! Been producing hip hop/electronic for the last 4 years now, really opened up my creativity beyond what I could with a guitar
Just do it and use it. No one is going to care until you start making serious, real money on a track.
And get the op-1 asap.
Just do it and use it. No one is going to care until you start making serious, real money on a track.And get the op-1 asap.
Ha. I’m on back order… 
@stupidrobotifighting no worries - I came from the same background! Been producing hip hop/electronic for the last 4 years now, really opened up my creativity beyond what I could with a guitar
Ever wander about with a field recorder?
@stupidrobotifighting no worries - I came from the same background! Been producing hip hop/electronic for the last 4 years now, really opened up my creativity beyond what I could with a guitarEver wander about with a field recorder?
Yeah, I usually just use my phone though, haven’t had a H4 for a few years now. Field stuff is great for ambient/textural sounds, but it’s really hard to get distinct sounds for sampling use unless you’re really close up. Check out Amon Tobin’s “Foley Room” for some great twisting of field recordings
TBH I actually really like sampling from the radio - first experienced it with a Zvex Fuzz Probe that used to pick up AM stations, I’d loop it through my DL4 and mess it up with my pedalboard. Actually it was one of the things that got me into electronic production/sampling - there’s something really interesting about re-purposing/contextualising something into something else.
BTW sampling is highly encouraged in the visual art world (they just call it Appropriation), but for some reason becomes a legal pickaxe in music. Strange that.
Thanks for that. I’ve got 2 Zoom H2’s. They are good fun.
Once I get my OP-1 I plan to do the following…
1) Make music entirely from fart sounds.
2) Record some intro/outro music for Stupid Robot Fighting League.
3) Cover some of my old music.
4) Something with bagpipes… maybe…
Well if they’re your own fart sounds there is nothing to worry about. Mr methane recorded a whole album just using his turd valve. You could even just sample mr methane and chop it up, that way you won’t get shit particles all over your mic. In the worst case, if you go to court for samlping the sound of faecal residue mixed with gastrointestinal pressure passed through the anal cavity modulated by the rectum, it would be a landmark case fought by lawyers on skidrow
You are mean. I have a cough.