It's
not really a case of being uppity... we all sample to some extent - but the
question at hand is how much can we expect to get away with without getting
busted. *Technically*, using any sample, no matter how large or small,
from a copyrighted work without permission from the copyright owner is a
violation of that copyright. But in reality, because drum n bass is so
underground and generally put out by independent (i.e. poor) labels, there is
usually a pretty low risk of 1. getting caught and 2. getting sued.
Because drum n bass is so independent, people get away with a LOT of
things that would never fly if they were on a major label. This includes
everything from Dylan'&Loxy's Cali Curse sampling NWA to the absolute
plethora of house accapellas showing up in every other release these days.
(Im actually a bit surprised
that Defected hasnt started to go after people. Either they have a very liberal
policy or else no body over there listens to drum n bass at all.) But because
everyone in dnb is generally so poor it's not really a profitable strategy to
litigate, so generally the worst you can expect to happen is a cease and desist
and perhaps forfeiture of all proceeds from the
release.
For
drum n bass, the main thing you will need to watch out for is vocals. 99%
of drums, riffs, keys, fx, etc. you can get away with sampling, unless they are
really obvious, the samples are very well known and you didnt change them
whatsoever. However, anything that could be considered a "remix" is
generally not going to fly. This probably includes Andy's "On and On"
remix as well as all you cats that love to drop hip hop accapella's over dnb
beats. (There is a reason that all those hip hop remixes come out on white
labels even though we all know who did them.)
In
some rather well known recent examples - FSOL got wind of the Papau
New Guinea remix that High Contrast did and put the kaybosh on it. Kemal's
"Fucking Hostile" tune suffered a similar fate due to the Pantera sample in
it.
Even tho you can generally get away with quite a
lot, be wary that if you sign your track to a label, they will probably have you
sign a contract stating that your tune doesnt infring on any 3rd party
copyrights and that you will indemnify them from any culpability if they do
not.
Personally i sample just about anything and
everything with reckless abandon. But by the time the material has been
chopped, tweaked, twisted and worked in the tune the resemblance is so slim that
i dont spend much time worrying about it. However a couple of my recent
tunes have used some rather obvious vocal parts that may cause issues if they
end up being released. One used a small, but recognizable recent hip hop
sample and the other used large phrases from an old, but well known house
accapella. These are the types of things you need to be most wary
of.
peace and happy sampling
=)
trust
--------Original Message-----In a message dated 2/14/03 8:23:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 8:10 PM
To: Drum & Bass Arena Discussion List
Subject: [dnb-prod] Re: Copyright/sampling issues
I think people on this list trip a little too much about copyright.
damn straight. It always cracks me up to see producers here get uppity about copyright, when the whole foundation of dnb is in sampled funk beats. A little wierd. :) ---
Drum&Bass Arena Producers Discussion List http://www.breakbeat.co.uk
You are currently subscribed to dnb-prod as: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Drum&Bass Arena Producers Discussion List http://www.breakbeat.co.uk
You are currently subscribed to dnb-prod as: [email protected]
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
