sample clearing

how long can a sample be so you don`t have to clear it ? and if you have to, how do you clear a sample ? what are the restrictions ?

or is this a very stupid question ?

every sample has to be cleared legally.
there is no under 3seconds rule or anything.
now if i sample a kick drum from a break can anyone tell me where it came from, no. but as far as legality goes you can not use any amount without clearance. my rule of thumb is, if the original artist would be able to spot it if they heard my song, it would need to be cleared if i was releasing it commercially.

brainwashcloth wrote:every sample has to be cleared legally.
there is no under 3seconds rule or anything.
now if i sample a kick drum from a break can anyone tell me where it came from, no. but as far as legality goes you can not use any amount without clearance. my rule of thumb is, if the original artist would be able to spot it if they heard my song, it would need to be cleared if i was releasing it commercially.

that really sucks........

yeah if you are making only sample based music it can be a problem. i mostly use individual drum samples for beats, or slice up breaks and melodies to the point that I can make my own stuff with them, that no one would ever know the source. usually the melody in my stuff comes from me and my friend playing stuff on guitar or my midi keyboard to use, sooo it just depends on how you are making music I guess.

thx for the info, guys. thing is, i just discovered sampling fromn records as a possible sound source. normally i would just tweak away on synths. but with the mpc i start to get into combining things. so it will just be a sample here and there, not the majority. still, i`d like to know what you have to do if you need a sample to be cleared. and does´nt that always cost money ?

i wouldnt worry about trying to clear stuff until you are ready to release it commercially (charging money for an album or cd it is on). it will cost you money to clear the sample. it will also cost you some percentage of every unit you sell that contains that sample to pay to the original artist.

brainwashcloth wrote:i wouldnt worry about trying to clear stuff until you are ready to release it commercially (charging money for an album or cd it is on). it will cost you money to clear the sample. it will also cost you some percentage of every unit you sell that contains that sample to pay to the original artist.

unless you can take enough so they won't know it was them who played it.....

Someone had told me if a sample is more than 30 years old than you don't need clearance. Now I doubt this is true...if anyone knows about this please speak your piece.

Now in terms of money...Isn't it possible to clear something without money up front as long as points are negotiated agreeably via contract with the sampled artist's publishing?

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Someone had told me if a sample is more than 30 years old than you don't need clearance. Now I doubt this is true...if anyone knows about this please speak your piece.

Now in terms of money...Isn't it possible to clear something without money up front as long as points are negotiated agreeably via contract with the sampled artist's publishing?

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there is a fee for using a clearance agency, so yes and no, it still costs sometihng upfront, just like copyrighting a song does.

it is something along the lines of 50 years after the copyright holder dies.
you can read up at the copyright office
http://www.copyright.gov/faq.html
keep in mind though, that doesnt mean you can sample all the mozart you want. there are mechinical rights too with a copyright and those are usually owned by the performer and producer of the song. for example, i could record a mozart song with my symphony (if i had one) and even though mozart's copyright on the song is long gone, i would own the mechanical rights for that recording which you would still have to clear with me. for example the band the virve pipe (whoever richard ashcroft sings for) used a rolling stones sample on their first hit single bittersweet symphony or whatever it was called. they had cleared it with the band and the producer and engineers that were listed in the album. unfortunately the listing in the album was wrong and it turned out they had hired some symphony to play that part (that virvepipe sampled) and that guy popped up and owned rights on the song, and sued them and basically won all of their money they made off of that album. copyrights are some crazy ish.

I saw something differnt about that on tv.

it said they asked the rolling stones guy (agent manager, something) if they could sample this orchestral rendition of a stones song. they said no, and verve used it anyway.

not sure whats true.

Big up on the Link Wicker. Do you know how much their fees are?

I dunno i read it in computer music they had a big article on sampling and copyrights about 2 years ago. cited all the big cases. biz markie and all that.