Can you get in big trouble for...

...selling sampled beats online without clearing them? Like on Soundclick or Rocbattle?

just make sure you make it clear you don't clear samples when you sell them and if they want to that's fine
but you don't do it make that clear in any contract you have with them

and no

Just make sure you give the buyer a list of terms of sale here is mine for an example

I look at uncleared sample beats as kinda like the same as paid for dj mixes it's still technicall copyright infringement yet everybody does it so it seems

I highlighted in bold the parts that deal with your question

*PLEASE READ THE TERMS OF THE FOLLOWING BGBEATS.COM LICENSE AGREEMENT


1) The BG BEATS available for sale as mp3 download and non exclusive license remain the property of BGBEATS.COM and are licensed, not sold, to you for use in a new recording with vocals added. *Any BG BEATS that contain samples from copyrighted works are "uncleared” and it is the licensee's responsibility to obtain sample clearance if so is desired/needed for commercial release.
2) The Licensor (BGBEATS.com) grants the licensee (buyer) permission to alter any BG BEATS related to this agreement to suit the individual needs of the new song recorded with the licensed beat.

3) This license does not authorize the distribution of any BG BEATS WITHOUT VOCALS added on the recording being sold/distributed.
Vocals of some sort must be recorded onto the BG BEAT prior to distribution whether free or sold.

4) The licensee *may use* the BG BEATS in compositions such as, making demos,mixtapes, records, remixes, and live performances. The licensee may sell up to 2,000 cd's or downloads of the new recording at which time the licensee is asked to renew the non exclusive license.

5) The non exclusive BG BEATS price gives the buyer an untagged mp3 file of the BG BEAT/s purchased and permission(license) to record vocals on the beat and sell or give away in cd form for promotion as well as display online and sell the final product on own site or itunes store etc etc.

6) The BG BEATS are licensed 'as is' & The Licensor can not be held responsible for any direct, indirect, or consequential loss arising from the use of Beats licensed from BGBEATS.com in mp3 form.

7) Completion of a BGBEATS.com mp3 download/non- exclusive license means acceptance of these terms of the BGBEATS.com Non-License Agreement.

Your Pay Pal receipt acts as proof of your non exclusive BG BEAT/s license purchase so be sure to save your Pay Pal receipts.

9) You are requested to list credits as : "BEAT PROVIDED BY BGBEATS.COM" on any cd track listing or mixtape/ liner notes/websites.

10) Questions/concerns can be sent to the permanent e-mail address : [email protected] include "BGBEATS.COM" in subject.

yo thanks a lot peoples!!

To be honest, it is actually very hard to clear a sample in a project like that. It is not easy to clear a sample when the artist is unknown and the label it will get released from is unknown. You would usually have to clear the sample each time you sold the beat as well (if you do leases) further complicating things.

It is the responsibility of the the entity releasing the music to clear the sample traditionally.

BG beats, man you are something else. one relentless, shining mfuca that answers every question flawlessly.

i truly love this guy, maybe i also need to be in my avatar with a t-shirt saying that very thing.

just thought i'd let you all know.

Yo BG, we all know you're familiar with the biz, but how much have you actually made from your mini empire? Beats sold etc... ?

Coz wrote:Yo BG, we all know you're familiar with the biz, but how much have you actually made from your mini empire? Beats sold etc... ?

Might as well ask him how low his chain hangs... I doubt he'd give out any information to divulge how much he may or may not make. Bad business practice unless you are required to by law.

It was a general question relevant to the constant biz advice he doles out. A ballpark figure or even a reply might actually back up all the talk, but he obviously doesn't want to divulge what he makes or hasn't made. I'm guessing it's peanuts.

The chain comment's a bit...

The better questions I'd figure are if this is a full time gig (so you could get an idea if he could support himself) and if he feels it has been worth the effort. It's not just about money, but meeting people, making connections and getting yourself out there.

Nobody gets 'discovered' out of no where, and if I had to guess then I'd say BG has a much better chance making it, whatever that is than just about anybody out there. Wether you respect what he does or how he does it he's out there, got the presence and the attention of far more people than what most people around here have done.

Even if what he's doing doesn't pan out, the experience he's gaining is very valuable and can definitely lead down a related career path. However you slice it though, if he's getting out of it what he wants then all the more power to him.

NearTao wrote:Nobody gets 'discovered' out of no where, and if I had to guess then I'd say BG has a much better chance making it, whatever that is than just about anybody out there.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

Selling $50 beats isn't making it. Creating 'help threads' to generate google hits isn't making it. Viewing music solely as a product isn't making it. It's plastic, artificial and soulless in my opinion.

Whatever happened to artistic integrity, or producing for the love of being creative?

Shout if you've got something worth shouting about... that's all I'm saying.

I've got nothing against anyone trying to grind out a living from music, but I'd rather see a million kids untap their creativity by downloading FL Studio for free rather than being sold throw-away 'club beats'.

And I'm sure ImageLine would prefer to see a million kids untap their parent's wallet and buy FL Studio instead of pirating it.

To each there own I suppose .

I'm sorry but if I'm not getting paid I'm not doing it...period. Cant keep the lights on with "love for the music".