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thread starter

I know sampling is a tired subject but I have some..well legal type questions I guess. Anyway I could use some advise.

Basically the deal is that I was all set to sample some classical and musique concrete albums for this album I'm doing when I realized that my record label is kind of picky about sampling. But in a good way -as in the tracks could end up in some other sort of media like a video game or a commercial. So obvious samples need to be cleared. But what is obvious? Would some Xenakis drums ever be recognized?

So far the label has had to clear one sample for an artist which was no problem but now I'm a little bit scared to sample the likes of Walter Carlos or John Cage without letting them know. Sure I could sneak this stuff past the label easily enough because these are obscure records or whatever but with my luck John Cage himself will be settling down for the evening, climes into bed and turns on the TV only to see some Isuzu commercial with his music being toyed with in the soundtrack!

Of course some stuff will be so cut up and processed that it wont matter but some samples might have a length issue. Like a string section or a drum break.
I know that it is extremely unlikely that any one would ever spot these samples I'm thinking of(or that my music would end up in a commercial) but my label has got me quite paranoid.

All thoughts appreciated.
Replies

I'll just come right out and describe the exact sample I'm mostly concerned with so we can have our own legal battle right here for fun. I'm going to try and clear the sample even before composing with it just so everyone knows.

It's a Stockhausen piece called Zyclus pour un Batteur performed by Sumire Yoshihara released by RCA Japan in 1977. Recorded live. Basically I want to sample the very first notes of the recording which consist of a drum roll and then silence followed by some seemingly random tom hits.

So you see. Who the hell would ever spot that? Just some drums right? Heck it's not even Stockhausen himself playing. It's not even an American release -but he did compose the piece so...yeah better seek permission.

can you duplicate it yourself or do the drums have a lot of character?

well you have to clear it now you said what it is on the interwebs

ha ha thehydrax! well I'm at least going to try. but what if they want a lot of money or something? we shall see.

dkarma-the drums have a lot of character. recorded live in this big hall. can't reproduce it really.

I've been using this record for years in various ways so I've grown quite close to it. I still think I could jack the sample (it's basically just a snare roll) but I'm going to try the legal way:

from musiclawupdates.com-
In general terms, one would almost always need to obtain permission and a licence from the copyright owner for use of a sample. Neither the 'substantial use', 'substantially similar' or the ‘fair use’ tests, are ‘get out of jail free’ cards! The established maxim, ‘If it's worth copying, it’s worth protecting,’ still holds true. Samplers beware!

those hippies in the 1960's were so high out of their minds they didn't even know they were playing instruments. Go ahead and jack it. If you get caught then you must be doing something right.

I agree there should e no limitiation as to sampling thersmusic. Yet something completely new should be done with it. So depending on what style you make ,
sampling Xenakis and Cage is a bit weird to me. I mean i dontknow what you want to do with it but to me it feels like samplig aphex twins beats if you make IDM. Sure that buddy rich drum solo can go truh a slicer, and yes that Debussy organ can be used and re pitched. But sampling people who are in the same field is a bit lame i think. Besides the legal issues.

yeah if i was making a concrete album and i sampled concrete i would wonder about myself.
sampling drum hits is fine imo.

i been making a track that samples nik kershaw and i think thats completely out of order.
but then its the end result that counts. where you got the source material from is up to you.

What happened to the guy who sampled sugar and bread? I think he was from estonia?

Those tracks were brilliant!

quip said: "yeah if i was making a concrete album and i sampled concrete i would wonder about myself.
sampling drum hits is fine imo.

i been making a track that samples nik kershaw and i think thats completely out of order.
but then its the end result that counts. where you got the source material from is up to you."


i'd be the last to deny that...hehe. 50% of my tracks are from ripped vynil or cd's

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