#Old school sample beats license

вЂњOnce a song is on WhoSampled, it doesnвЂ™t matter how popular it is. вЂњIf IвЂ™m the lawyer who represents James BrownвЂ™s publishing, I can go to, put in James Brown, and IвЂ™ve got millions of dollarsвЂ™ worth of lawsuits that I can now strike,вЂќ says the aforementioned label owner. But some in the rap industry have their suspicions about fan chatter online. In the case of DillaвЂ™s 10cc sample, the text of Music Sales CorporationвЂ™s lawsuit mentions the use of вЂњWorkinonitвЂќ as theme music in a pair of Dave Chapelle comedy specials on Netflix. ItвЂ™s difficult to know how any particular rightsholder found the information that led to an eventual lawsuit. Producers can request takedowns of listings related to their work if there is information that вЂњthey would prefer was not publishedвЂќ on the site, he added. Chris Read, the London-based companyвЂ™s head of content, said that using the website as a fact-finding tool for potential lawsuits is a violation of its terms of service, and that the practice вЂњstands in opposition to the reason WhoSampled was created, which is to provide a place for music fans to discover the origins of the music they love and celebrate sampling as an artform.вЂќ He acknowledged that the site does not distinguish between cleared and uncleared samples in its listings, because information about sample licensing is not always made publicly available. It is a useful resource for rap listeners, despite its complicated role in sampling culture. WhoSampled, which bills itself as вЂњthe worldвЂ™s most comprehensive, detailed and accurate database of samples, cover songs and remixes,вЂќ compiles information about samples submitted by users and verified by a team of moderators.

вЂњWe were working to get a record out in the most economical and efficient way possible.вЂќ He added that they made вЂњhandshake agreements with a couple of people.вЂќ вЂњWe werenвЂ™t working to clear samples at the time,вЂќ explained Alapatt in a 2019 Red Bull Music Academy interview about Donuts. Such discussions could delay a release significantly or derail it altogether.

In the U.S., thereвЂ™s no legally mandated standard dollar amount or percentage that rightsholders receive under such deals, and producers and labels have little leverage for negotiating favorable terms.

#Old school sample beats license

Negotiating with rightsholders for a license to legally use a sample can be a challenge. But he offered an opinion: вЂњDo I think that some unnamed corporation that purchased intellectual property from some other corporation should be shaking down J DillaвЂ™s estate?вЂќ he asked rhetorically. I contacted Eothen вЂњEgonвЂќ Alapatt, former label manager for Stones Throw, which released Donuts, who declined to discuss the lawsuit in depth. The conspicuous timing, coming 14 years after the 2006 release of Donuts, may be related to the fact that the plaintiff is not a 10cc member or songwriter, but Music Sales Corporation, a company that acquired the right to administer the copyright for вЂњThe Worst Band in the WorldвЂќ in 2019. In March 2020, the rightsholders of 10ccвЂ™s вЂњThe Worst Band in the WorldвЂќ sued over the late J DillaвЂ™s вЂњWorkinonit,вЂќ a crucial track from his masterpiece Donuts, which samples the British pop-rock bandвЂ™s cheeky 1974 single. When you do illegal shit, you should probably not talk about it too publicly on the internet.вЂќ

The anonymous label owner put it just as bluntly: вЂњUncleared samples are illegal, so youвЂ™re enjoying this illegal music. Though sampling old records is no longer the only or even the primary means of making rap beats-its popularity having receded perhaps as a consequence of the legal risks-the lawsuits persist. The very first hip-hop hit, Sugarhill GangвЂ™s вЂњRapperвЂ™s Delight,вЂќ was the subject of a legal challenge (settled out of court) from the members of Chic, whose вЂњGood TimesвЂќ bass line the pioneering rap song interpolated. вЂњWeвЂ™ve already had to pull records because people had named the source in YouTube comments and then it ended up on WhoSampled and the rights holders saw it, smh.вЂќДЇor nearly as long as hip-hop has existed, there have been lawsuits from copyright holders about the genreвЂ™s use of samples, snippets of pre-existing songs and recordings repurposed as elements of the beat. вЂњDo your best to refrain from mentioning them by name unless you know theyвЂ™ve been cleared,вЂќ the label owner wrote. Last summer, I received an email from an independent rap label, promoting one of its new releases.