The document discusses copyright law around sampling music. It notes that unauthorized sampling of another artist's work is illegal, though the exact boundaries are unclear. It provides examples of artists who were penalized for sampling, sometimes losing 100% of royalties. The document then traces the history of sampling from the 1970s to modern digital editing, and discusses how to clear samples legally by identifying the song's copyright owner.

1. Copyright Law
How can you make and use samples ?
By Sammi Issa, Tom Taylor and Magnus Andrew
Mccusker Romo
Saturday, 18 February 12

2. Samples, Break Beats
and Riffs
The exact law on the subject of sampling is that no
unauthorised element of another song should be used or
copied in anyway, but the actuality of this in blurry and polar in
cases.
There has been occassions whereby artists have paid dearly for
sampling other artists work. The Verve lost 100% of the
royalties for the use of a sample taken from a Rolling Stones
song, ‘The Last Time’ , in their song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1KKwC74
Saturday, 18 February 12

3. Creating a Sample...
It seems that once again, technology advanced far quicker than
the law could accommodate for, and in turn the law will flail.
This is a sample of the massive attack song, ‘Tear Drop‘.
Saturday, 18 February 12

4. Breakbeats & Sampling in since the 80’s
Apparently the first use of sampling or breakbeats occurred in
the late 1970’s. A technique based on using 2 turntables
playing the same track, and the Dj would alternate from deck
to deck repeating the beat section on each, 1 at a time.
Once digital editing had emerged in the 80’s, sampling was rife
in music, and used in a lot of well known songs. Taken almost
entirely from a funk and jazz repetoir, and maybe more
accurately about 20 seemingly arbitrary 1960’s/1970’s songs,
a whole sub-culture was created based on the mish-mashing
of elements and the splicing and piecing together of bits of
other songs.
Saturday, 18 February 12

5. Vanilla Ice was also penalised for the use of a sample taken
from the David Bowie song ‘Under Pressure’, again, 100% of the
royalties.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE&ob=av2e
Saturday, 18 February 12

6. Rap Music and RnB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrQtOoQRpc
Saturday, 18 February 12

7. Cont...
Companies such as Zero G began producing and selling
breakbeats taken from songs, some well known and well used,
some not. This raises an interesting point: If Zero G should
release the breakbeats without proper licensing from the artists
of the original songs, but they were sold commercially and
apparently legally, this would mean Zero G must have attained
some sort of copyright for their product, and so there would
technically be 2 separate copyrights on 1 piece of work.
Saturday, 18 February 12

8. How can you clear a
Sample?
You must find who owns the copyright. If
you sample the original sound recording you
must ask the owner of it. The recording
should tell you who owns it.
For example, C EMI Music 2008
Saturday, 18 February 12

9. Cont..
Your first point of call would be EMI. If you
did not want to show your hand to soon you
could get your lawyer to do it on a no name
basis.
Saturday, 18 February 12

10. Saturday, 18 February 12

11. Cont
Saturday, 18 February 12

12. Saturday, 18 February 12

13. Is that a sample or not ?
Since the development of digital format music and more
recently computer based music editing, sampling has grown
and evolved and dug its heals further and further in to the
mainstream. With the added ease of computerised music
composition and editing, a sample from a song can be
manipulated, distorted and changed to a point of complete
transformation. The sample may be so unidentifiable that
trying to sue for it would be farcicle.
Saturday, 18 February 12

14. The End
Saturday, 18 February 12