The document discusses sampling in music and how it has become more prevalent. It notes that sampling is a cornerstone of genres like urban and electronic music over the last 30 years. Approximately 50% of recent US number one hits incorporated sampling. The document also discusses the legal issues around sampling, how the music industry can learn from how tech companies embrace and promote APIs to distribute content. It suggests record labels could similarly embrace fan mashups and release stems for remixes to promote new albums.

1. Exploring and Discussing the DNA of Music
Mixcloud 2nd Birthday Party
September 23rd, 2011
Nadav Poraz, Founder
nadav@whosampled.com

3. Sampling is Everywhere
• Cornerstone of Urban and Electronic
music of the last 30 years
• In today’s mashup culture, sampling is
more vibrant and ubiquitous than ever
• Nearly 50% of the US #1 hit singles of the
last two years were sample-based

4. Explosion of Sampling and Mashups
• Awesome results with little effort
• Fueled by the ever-decreasing cost of
music production and ever-increasing
power of software
• All art evolves by citation and imitation
• http://www.everythingisaremix.info/

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Growth of Sampled Music
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6. Legalities of Sampling
• Notoriously litigious
• Ways to release sampled music:
• Clear samples
• Release low-volume, low-profile records
• In recent years: free mixtapes, mp3 mashup
downloads
• Sample clearance still a concern for some artists

7. Sampling is Good!
• Can benefit both the sampling artist and
the sampled artist – exposure,
acknowledgement, royalties
• Music is just out there. Sampling is a
keystroke away. Incredible results can be
achieved easily.

8. Sounds familiar?
• Website content is just out there – can be
copied, pasted, scraped and downloaded
• Cheap and easy to do, can create
awesome experiences
• But in the last few years, the tech industry
understood the value of legitimising
mashups by way of APIs

9. Mashups in Tech
Tech giants and startups almost fighting over
developers to use their APIs… for free!

10. What Can the Music Industry Learn?
• Record labels can embrace mashups and
release music in an API-like way
• New album releases would be accompanied by
stems for fans to play with, remix, distribute and
share
• Benefits: distribution and promotion are
outsourced, virality, creation of ecosystem,
dependence
• …While retaining commercial interests

11. Thank You
Nadav Poraz
nadav@whosampled.com