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Legal Sampling

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  • August 4, 2014 at 5:02 pm #2047775
    Marco Solo
    Participant

    If a track is not under a creative commons license, you can assume it’s copyrighted. At least under US law it makes no difference how long, short, old or new the sample is. Technically, you could be sued for singing “happy birthday to you” in a public space.
    This stuff is all locked down I’m afraid.

    August 4, 2014 at 5:08 pm #2047776
    deathy
    Participant

    In fact, in the US, if it is not explicitly open license in some way or another, then it is implicitly copyrighted by law, and fair use (which is what used to allow for covers and sampling) has been almost completely eliminated from copyright law in the US.

    August 4, 2014 at 5:51 pm #2047779
    Nacho Ruiz
    Participant

    And what happens if you are not in the US? Is there any kind of International Law?

    August 4, 2014 at 5:58 pm #2047780
    deathy
    Participant

    The Berne Convention is the international copyright law, and the US is a signatory and its copyright laws are within the Berne Convention. However, this is only a rather broad definition… it defines more the minimums than anything else. Fair Use is not a requirement under the convention, and it defines the MINIMUM length of a copyright.

    Unfortunately, what this means for you is that every country’s approach to the legality of sampling/remixing, i.e. whether or not it is considered Fair Use, is their own call to make. You will need to find out the legality in your own jurisdiction.

    However, it is important to note that theoretically (though generally not in practice), this could result in you not being able to play in the US or post your songs on an American website such as SoundCloud or YouTube.

    The US has increasingly been using its political muscle to become the world’s COPYRIGHT police as well.

    August 4, 2014 at 7:47 pm #2047789
    Marco Solo
    Participant

    If you’re talking about the internet then it almost becomes irrelevant where you live. You can expect a DMCA takedown or the location of your track will be omitted from any google search.

    September 11, 2014 at 7:41 pm #2055831
    Nacho Ruiz
    Participant

    Do you know if these people called Crooklyn Clan are “legalizing” their remixes with this formula? On their webpage, where they sell their remixes, have that message:

    “CrooklynClan.net is a re mixing service designed for use mainly by performance DJ’s. The re mixes contained on CrooklynClan.net are produced by professional DJ’s and music producers from around the globe for the sole purpose of enhancing A DJ’s overall performance.

    By clicking “I Agree” you certify that you are a working DJ and will use the material obtained on CrooklynClan.net for the sole purpose of enhancing your DJ performance and will NOT sell, resell, or redistribute any of the files acquired within this web site.

    Furthermore, before purchasing any of the re mixes on CrooklynClan.net, you certify that you are already in possession of the original works contained within the remixed composition(S) respectively.

    BY CLICKING “I AGREE” BELOW, YOU ARE AGREEING TO THE TERMS SET ABOVE”

    Thanks

    September 11, 2014 at 9:59 pm #2055961
    Marco Solo
    Participant

    I don’t know, but there is kind of a double standard going on anyway. Some companies get away with selling samples (in sample packs none the less) that are clearly taken from an existing track. And some poor bloke in his bedroom trying to make a cool remix and even giving it away for free gets sued from every angle. I don’t really know what to believe anymore.

    September 11, 2014 at 11:20 pm #2056021
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    It’s illegal in both cases and yes, it would be fairer if both got busted in a timely fashion, but it is often easier to find remixed tracks (as they will have the original title and/or artist mentioned) than it is to find 1 sample in a 1000-sample pack.

    That the sample pack seller got away with it is his luck, but doesn’t automatically mean others should not be busted for doing something that is illegal.

    For the record, I think the focus of the industry is on the wrong things. All the countless hours being spent on finding “violators” who are usually 10-50 followers DJs making remixes (which in the end hopefull let’s more people hear that music), would be spent way better in a manner that produces new fresh ideas on the distribution and logistics chain.

    Spending much money on getting all remixes out of the air is not gonna make them sell a single track extra (my opinion).

    September 12, 2014 at 9:22 am #2056102
    deathy
    Participant

    I would go so far as to say that I believe eliminating remixes would probably hurt sales, because additional vectors of getting attention for your music helps people to notice it more, and gives them a greater chance of getting that hook stuck in their ear.

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