>Releasing music is fun, but there’s a serious side to it too. Music law is a dense area that’s full of potential pitfalls, so although it might seem boring, don’t release anything until you’ve made sure you’re not stepping on any copyrighted toes.
Sample clearance
While sampling has become a widely used technique in music production since its tape-based beginnings in the 1940s, the law around the practice is still often misunderstood. The bottom line is this: if you intend to distribute and make money from music which contains other people’s music, you must first gain written consent from the relative rights holders. This is usually the owner of the copyright of the song and/or the owner of the master recording. Getting the correct approval is known as sample clearance, which not only means other musicians retain control of their work, but also has the added benefit of keeping you out of troublesome court cases.
Failure to gain proper consent could land you with a hefty lawsuit, and may make it difficult for you to advance your career in the future. “My track won’t be heard by the original musician,” we hear you say. Well, it does happen! And there are plenty of examples of artists failing to get the proper clearance for tracks which have gone on to blow up, then having to pay the price. Baauer’s 2012 viral hit Harlem Shake contained vocal samples from artists Héctor Delgado and Jayson Musson without their approval. Ultimately, the case was resolved thanks to the financial backing of Mad Decent, the label that released Harlem Shake. However, Baauer’s failure to seek proper clearance for the samples cost him huge amounts of royalties.
FAILURE TO GAIN PROPER CONSENT FOR A SAMPLE COULD LAND YOU WITH A HEFTY LAWSUIT.
So, how do you avoid allegations of copyright infringement? The easy way is to avoid using samples of other people’s music in your productions! But for those producers who rely heavily on sampling (as many of us do), there are a few workarounds.
Use royalty-free samples
There are countless resources out there for finding samples which are free to use within your work. One resource is the evergrowing selection of subscription services such as Splice or Loopcloud. While it’s worth carefully checking each of their terms and conditions, generally these services license the use
