Where is that sample from

These MCs were already highly competitive with one another; they hoarded their favorite albums and masked the identity of their favorite tracks much easier to do in the pre-Shazam days.

That competition was taken to another level after the NYC blackout of The oft-told story goes that widespread looting of electronic shops led to a proliferation of otherwise prohibitively expensive turntables and other audio equipment into poorer neighborhoods in the Bronx and Brooklyn; as a result, the number of DJs multiplied overnight.

MCs looking for an edge had to dig even deeper into the archives of rock, funk and Motown records that supplied their beats. Attempts to reach Bambaataa, who has recently been accused of having committed sexual abuse in the s , through his lawyer were unsuccessful. Artists can expect to need at least two separate licenses when trying to clear a sample: the publishing and the master.

This means that artists need to have a contract for a song's words, music, and melody—all of which are covered by the publishing license—and also one for the specific recording being sampled. In many cases, these licenses involve contacting the same artist. Sometimes artists know exactly what song they're sampling, and have a solid idea of who they need to reach out to for clearance. However, that's not always the case. Producers might sample a song from YouTube or SoundCloud without knowing its origins, and have it unwittingly end up on another artist's tune.

When a sampled song has multiple songwriters—who often are represented by multiple publishers—or when a track being sampled doesn't have the same songwriter and performer, clearances are also complex. Kuge also cautions that even if an artist gets verbal consent to use a sample say, from a friend , that's not good enough in a court of law.

On top of these fees are back-end costs associated with royalty splits—in other words, the percentage of future royalties a sampled song's publisher is taking in exchange for approving the sample. Though Mannis-Gardner notes that her dedicated music-rights clearance company sometimes handles securing clearance rights without the input of a lawyer, she often works in tandem with attorneys and paralegals such as Jensen when negotiating deals.

Jensen stresses that artists who do get a lawyer should get an experienced music-business attorney to look over agreements. For example, he says major labels and publishers issue standard legal forms, but indie labels and publishers, who might not deal with sample clearances as much, might not have paperwork that's as clear-cut or legally airtight.

Clearing a sample doesn't give artists carte blanche to use the song anywhere and everywhere, especially if the approving body is a major label or publisher. Want to clear and release a sample you use? We make it fast, easy and affordable — royalty-fair, not royalty-free.

Learn more. From Classical masters to Isaac Hayes multi-tracks, explore and sample an ever-expanding collection of unique songs, specially curated by our expert crate-diggers. Get extensive and detailed information about the sample, including what part of the song it was taken from. You can also do a side-by-side comparison of the two songs and listen to the originals on YouTube, SoundCloud or DailyMotion. If you don't find your song in the exhaustive WhoSampled library, you can create an account on WhoSampled.

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