Legal question about using samples from tunes

[DJ Cubano]

So if I use a portion of a song i.e. a small clip of a break down, or reproduce some of the keys from a song. Do I have to go through a bunch of legal shit to get it done or can I use it and not have to report to anyone?

I just want to make sure I am going about this the right, I don't have the money or lawyers to protect my ass .

[Ih8FishrPryce]

if you get caught you can get into trouble

replaying the keys to a song is called making an interpolation, its not all the way sampling, but the artist owns the rights to the music and you would have to pay for that. Dr Dre does that alot he pays for the music not the sample and has it replayed in house.

for straight taking a breakdown you better clear the sample or hope no one finds out

[Adam D]

Well, the legal standard works like this-

You can legally sample audio from copyrighted material so long as you do not infringe upon the recognizable sound of the artist being sampled. (I think that's the right phrase for it.) It's really vague because it's meant to protect the artists as much as possible. Essentially, it means if you can listen to the sample, and detect where it came from, or if it is the trademark sound of that artist, then it's illegal sampling and you'll need to clear it. That means most vocals are really out of the question, especially if it's something recognizable like the chorus of a track. As far as music, it's especially vague. It really focuses on what's the trademark sound for the artist. Say you wanted to sample Jimi Hendrix playing the guitar, that would probably be illegal sampling since he's known for his guitar playing. However, if you wanted to sample out some of his drum player's parts, then that would be acceptable because that's not what Hendrix is known for.

For electronic music, if you want to sample some keys or a pad from a breakdown, go for it. It would be impossible to say that sound came from any one person 99% of the time. If, however, you have the midi for a track and you're trying to reproduce the hook, I wouldn't recommend doing it if you're afraid of legal recourse.


There's also a time limit on legal sampling, but I forget what it is.

[NVS]

Originally posted by Adam D
Well, the legal standard works like this-
Say you wanted to sample Jimi Hendrix playing the guitar, that would probably be illegal sampling since he's known for his guitar playing. However, if you wanted to sample out some of his drum player's parts, then that would be acceptable because that's not what Hendrix is known for.

i really dont think it would matter..u could still get in trouble for sampling drums from the hendrix song because it is still hendrix's recorded work...the label owns the rights to the music...the drummer owns the rights to the drum beat...piano player owns the rights to any piano parts...so either way its illegal sampling...

[Adam D]

Originally posted by NVS
i really dont think it would matter..u could still get in trouble for sampling drums from the hendrix song because it is still hendrix's recorded work...the label owns the rights to the music...the drummer owns the rights to the drum beat...piano player owns the rights to any piano parts...so either way its illegal sampling...

That's just the way the law is set up.

I was wondering the same thing cuz there was some DJ Rap stuff I would like to sample.

Sample it, send it a label, let them know and let them handle all the legal work

[Adam D]

yeah, if you're going to submit it to a label, tell them and let them deal with it.

[Soccer Mom]

Originally posted by zen2k
Sample it, send it a label, let them know and let them handle all the legal work

Most labels are more apt not to pick up your stuff if they have to go through red tape to get it cleared.

[DJ Cubano]

hmmmm o.k. I'll try to figure something out. Thanks for the feedback. I mean this isn't a widely popular song, hell I wouldn't be surprised if alot of people even knew what it was.

Maybe I can change the tone of the keys , but I really want the original.

But the thing that would suck, is if someone was just sitting at home and made an awesome chord per say. Then put it in a song which becomes hugely popular to later find out that it was used somewhere else and now you're getting sued.

We'll see what happens, I'll keep you posted.

You think if played dumbass they would let me off?

[Driller]

I saw this in a magazine, I think its interesting reading material:
__________________________________________________
"Clearing Samples-
"With online resources and a little extra work, you can often obtain your clearances without spending a whole lot of money and time doing it,"Cecily Freyermuth, an attorney is San Francisco, says. "There can be up to three copyrights in each musical work: first, the holder of the copyright in the sound recording (usually a record company); second, the copyright holder of the musical work (the musician that composed the song or his or her publisher); and third, the copyright holder of the lyrics (if you are using a sample with lyrics and only if this is a different person or entity than the owner of the copyright in the musical work).

"You can pursue clearances or nonexclusive licenses in a number of ways: Seek it on your own, have your record label do it, hire a cleearance agency or get an attorney to do the deed for you," Freyermuth continues. "To obtain the license on your own, you will need the title of the original recording and artist, the name and address of the record companyand publisher (look to ASCAP or BMI for assistance in getting current addresses, names of contact people and so forth) and information about the sample you wish to use (song title, length, and content). When you write the record company and publisher of the song to request a license, identify the song that you are sampling and how much is used. It is also standard practice these days to include a copy of your song containing the sample and copy of the original song. The important part of this correspondence is your polite request for a quote for a clearance fee.

"When you get a quote from a record labe, it should be one of the following: 'Go ahead. We could make money off of you, but we are a nice record company/publisher' (unlikely, but it happens.); a request for a flat fee of anywhere form $1,000 to $50,000; or an advance against your royalties-either a few cents per album royalties or a rolling payment, a flat amount determined by number of sales (for example, $10,000 for every 500,000 records sold). Publishers, on the other hand, are more likely to demand a property right in your final work. The percentage generally depends on how much of their copyrighted material that you use but generally ranges from 10 to 50 percent!"
__________________________________________________

Just something I thought would be interesting.

[physix]

Originally posted by NVS
i really dont think it would matter..u could still get in trouble for sampling drums from the hendrix song because it is still hendrix's recorded work...the label owns the rights to the music...the drummer owns the rights to the drum beat...piano player owns the rights to any piano parts...so either way its illegal sampling...

it's not as simple as that.


court cases have already set precedent that you can
sample a certain amount of another record.

i think it's like 4 measures (typically 4 counts of
4 beats)

now that's alot...

1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4

BUT if that sample is your PRIMARY HOOK and people
construe it as the ORIGINAL (ie P Diddy's songs, kids
think his is the original), then you have a problem.

Sampling like P Diddy requires prior approval and payment...
Sampling like MC Hammer or VAnilla Ice... same

Sampling like Public Enemy is considered an artform
and is usually protected... but it depends on how
your judge feels, b-c it's up to the courts to determine
if copyright infringement happened and, if so, how much
the original holder can claim as punitive damages...

also, copyright infringment is a criminal offense, too.

so, if you get sued and lose in a civil case, then you
can rest assured you may get slapped with a
criminal suit as well.

Again, if you're talking about edm... you're talking about
peanuts... taking you to court over the sales of, say,
1000 copies isn't very cost-efficient...

in fact, even with bootlegs, if you sell 5000 copies, you'll
get a CEASE AND DESIST letter at worst.

[physix]

oh, by te way

NO ONE OWNS A CHORD PROGRESSION.

if that was the case, there'd be no punk or rock music
as they primarily use the same progressions over and
over again.

nor can you sue over a series of notes that are
similar.

IF, however, your "reproduction" of the track
extends BEYOND the chord progression and
goes deeper (drums, guitar licks, vocal snippet, et al.)
then that's dif't.

IN FACT, when EAST COAST BOOGIEMEN couldn't get
cleareance for their MOONSHINE release for the bassline
from QUEEN's "another one bites the dust", they siply
re-played it live with a live bassist and paid for performance
fees... which are considerably cheaper.

If you can play it yourself, do it. Make sure you keep
your original recoridng in case you DO need to prove
it in court that you PLAYED it and not SAMPLED it.

[physix]

Originally posted by Soccer Mom
Most labels are more apt not to pick up your stuff if they have to go through red tape to get it cleared.

but a label is more likely to get sample clearance
before the artist in most cases.

Case-in-point: that I FEEL STEREO... that track had
been out on white label for about a year... the original
remixer couldn'tget the sample clearance from Chaka Khan
nor could they get clearance from Warner Bros and Prince
(who originally wrote I FEEL FOR YOU)

But, once Yoshitoshi and the Deep Dish boys got involved,
they got clearance from Warner Bros and Chaka Khan's label
and released it... sold well... everyone got paid.

So, yeah, some smaller labels would shy away from it, but
that' s not true with all labels.

[djredeye]

i don't know the legal aspects, but this is my own personal exp.:
it seems that it all depends on who you sample and how big the song gets. i've used parts from a lot of artists (some more disguised than others) and granted, they're usually artists from the 80's (depeche mode, abc, the cure, siouxsie and the banshees, etc.) and nothing has happened. It's actually been a while since i've heard of anyone getting in trouble for sampling.
Adam Freeland told me he didn't get any flack at all for his White Stripes bootleg and that was a HUGE track. In this era of everybody taking from everybody you can never tell. I would say "just do it"...but that's just me. But dance and hip-hop artists don't usually sue each other for that shit.
Like i said, it all depends. Nothin to it but to do it.

my .02 worth

p.s.- on my Yoshitoshi rmx, i flat out used the whole intro to depeche mode's "Blasphemous Rumours" (there were no effects, filters, or any disguises on it at all, straight off the original song) and used it for the whole 9 minutes of the track. In yoshi's contract it states that any samples that get legal are all the responsibility of the artist, and it comes out of the artists pocket.
Nothing was ever said. And it sold thousands of copies. But D.M. get's sampled all the time, and they've never gone after anyone for doing it....unless you have some huge, worldwide, 10,000 copy selling track i wouldn't worry about it....and even then the most you would have to deal with is a "c and d" order.