Sample clearance and scratch records

Do they clear every little sound bite on the record? And when the DMC releases videos of the comps, do they have to worry about sample clearance?

Anyone?

who knows

this is off point but i never really followed the dmcs since craze blessed that ish

Good Question, I'm working on a Cover/rip off version of "Rockit" for a "Florida" Sports Network.
And I was wondering about scratchin' the "Fresh" off the most over used scratch phrase "Ahhhhh... This Stuff is Fresh", it was what was used in "Rockit" for one part.
Where would I go to get that info about that particular copyright.

You'd have to check the record for who owns the publishing rights. I think there are companies that specialize in helping you.

My friend's band recorded a Black Sabbath song. They obviously had to fill out a form and ask permission. I'm not sure how much everything cost.

That "fresh" sample is from "Change La Beat" by B-Side and Fab Five Freddy. It's a Celluloid release.

Grandmixer D.ST, did the scrathin' on "Rockit". Incidently, he has ties with Celluloid records. A few releases and guest appearences.

Maybe someone on the DMC messageboard will the answer to my question?

I always hear conflicting info when it comes to copyrights.

I just spoke with a paralegal who works for a copyright lawyer. She said that they would most definitley have to get copyright clearance.

I kind of thought they would have to. But, if you have fifty samples on one reocord, that must cost a fortune.

And does that mean that people at the DMC comps have to go through every sample used on the DVDs and get clearance?

this topic has been covered over and over on here... and the same advice is given....

here is the link to the main topic:
http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=38104


If yall can, check out a back issue of SCRATCH Magazine from a few months ago, it talks about clearing samples, and the process

The question in the magazine was asked, "I know Kanye West samples pretty much everything, but how does he get his stuff cleared? Does he have to pay the original artist or what? How do I get Permisison for sampling other people's songs"
Answer-"Most record labels handle the clearance of samples. They use independent companies such as DMG Clearances Inc. and Sample Clearance Limited to handle the clearances. They charge about $500 or $600 per song to negotiate the use. On top of that, the owner of the master recording will want to be compensated as well as the publishers. These fees can range from $500 to as much as $100,000. In addition they usually ask for a percentage of the publishing and revenue from the album and/or single sales."

hope that helps

Final Advice would be to contact a copyright Lawyer or Entertainment Lawyer before selling or buying anything...if you cant afford one, why are u even trying to use or sample someone elses music at your current financial state?

Thanks for the Info, I'm gonna have to record something myself and Scratch it.

no problem, i just read something in the New Scratch magazine again, a lot of producers talk about sampling on and off in there, yall should check those books out

I don't my question was fully answered in that forum. I know you have to pay for sample clearance.

So that does mean that DMC comps have to find out who has the publishing rights and the recording rights to every scratch performance on the video?

Nevermind. If someone doesn't know the answer just don't reply.

I'm going to pretend that I'm releasing a video with DJ comps on it and talk to a lawyer. Most of them give free initial consultation. I'll find out the answer.

Since everyone give conflicting answers. I think I just need to speak some industry people.

Half those scratch records haven't been cleared. Hence why you have a zillion samples on there for you to cut up.

As for DMC. I'd imagine they don't clear anything for the videos as it's a competition. In principal the competing djs can use any records they wanted for their routines. It'd be near impossible to try and clear some records/sounds because you'd haveto know where it came from in the first place.

That and I think from memory (some mates have entered) that the DJ's have to fill in entry/waiver forms.

I'm specualting some of this so don't take it as gospel though.

craigone wrote:I don't my question was fully answered in that forum. I know you have to pay for sample clearance.

So that does mean that DMC comps have to find out who has the publishing rights and the recording rights to every scratch performance on the video?

Nevermind. If someone doesn't know the answer just don't reply.

I'm going to pretend that I'm releasing a video with DJ comps on it and talk to a lawyer. Most of them give free initial consultation. I'll find out the answer.

Since everyone give conflicting answers. I think I just need to speak some industry people.

ask your question into more detail?
and the final thing i told you, was the best advice anyone could give you, GO SEE AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER, any advice on here can be either right or wrong, whether its what u wanna hear or not, that answers everything about the business of music
good law site: http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectI ... 0/238/ART/

by the way a few of us do industry work, but lawyers of different advice about the sampling law, u have go wit a dependable lawyer

When Sample Clearance Is Required
In general, sample clearance is required only if you're planning to make copies of your music and distribute the copies to the pub­lic (it's not required for sampling at home).

Use of samples in live shows usually poses no problems either, since you're not making copies and the usage will be covered by the blan­ket license fees the owner of the venue pays to performing rights organizations such as Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) or American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).

There are also a few instances when you may legally sample without permission even when you plan to distribute copies to the public: when you sample an inconsequential amount of material, when an average listener would not notice the similarities between your end product and the sample, and when your use of the sample falls under the "fair use" doctrine. For more information, see "Defending a Lack of Sample Clearance," below.
Defending a Lack of Sample Clearance
In the event that you intend to proceed without clearance, you should be familiar with some legal principles. Under the copyright law, you may be in the clear in the following situations:

If your use of the sample isn't considered infringing. If you altered a sample so that an average listener comparing the two works (your composition and the source) can't hear any sub­stantial similarities, then there's no violation of the law. For example, a court determined that Run DMC's use of a drum sample from the 1973 Honey Drippers recording of "Impeach the President" was not infringing.

If your use of the sample is inconsequential. When the Beastie Boys recorded the song, “Pass the Mic,” they repeated a six-second sample from a song entitled “Choir” from an album by the award-winning flautist James Newton, Jr. The sample consisted of a three-note pattern: C, D-flat, C. Newton simultaneously sang and played these notes, a method known as vocalization. The Beastie Boys obtained permission to sample from the owner of the sound recording copyright (the record company) but not from Newton, the owner of the musical composition copyright. Newton, sued, and in 2002, a federal judge ruled that the three-note pattern from “Choir” was not, by itself, a protectible composition and that permission from Newton was not necessary. In other words, the three-note pattern, even though it included Newton’s rare vocalization skills, was not original enough to merit a payment and it was labeled “de minimis” (too small to matter). Newton v. Diamond, 204 F. Supp. 2d 1244, (N.D. Cal. 2002).

Note that according to a Sixth Circuit ruling (Bridgeport Music Inc. v. Dimension Films, No. 02-6251 (6th Cir. 2004)), this "de minimis" argument may apply only to musical copyrights, not sound recording copyrights. In the Bridgeport case, the appeals court held that using any identifiable musical sound recording segment without permission -- even as small as two seconds -- was a violation of copyright law.

If your use of the sample qualifies as a fair use. Fair use is the right to copy a portion of a copyrighted work without permission because your use is for a limited purpose, such as for educational use in a classroom or to comment upon, criticize, or parody the work being sampled. For example, the rap group 2 Live Crew's recreation of the musical tag and the open­ing lyric line from Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman" was considered to be a fair use because it was limited (they only used the riff once) and it was for purposes of parody.

There's a widespread myth in the sampling community that "less than two seconds is fair use." Don't believe it. What a judge and jury will feel is fair use depends on a number of factors other than the length of the sample. Generally, when reviewing fair use questions, courts are looking for three things:

You did not take a substantial amount of the orig­inal work.
You transformed the material in some way.
You did not cause significant financial harm to the copyright owner.
Also, some courts only apply this fair use rule to the musical composition copyright, not the sound recording copyright.

In principle, it's good to know these defenses, but the obvious difficulty with all of them is that they are defenses. The time you'll use them is when someone is coming after you. There is no predictable way to guarantee that you'll win your court case based on these defenses (assuming you can even afford to hire attorneys to fight the case).

You'll find yourself on safer legal ground if you seek permission. This is especially true if you're signed to a record label and your record contract puts the burden of sample clearance on your shoulders. Your contract probably contains an indemnity clause, which means that if you and the record company are sued, you must pay the record company's legal costs. Ouch!

Nice Info, and a Great site.
Thanx "4dahaterz" , Good Lookin' out.

no problem...

craigone, what exactly are you trying to do, like, what is a DMC Comp in your opinion, and are you going to be using it to sell or what... if its like a demo or not for sale, you should overall be fine, until money comes into play, unless u are using it at a club where they pay fees to BMG and ASCAP