Sampled beats

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Big Zay

New member
How do I not get sued for making a sampled beat? I mean I'm not a known beat maker or anything so I know it's a low risk. I also don't plan on selling the product. I'm just trying to make sure I know how to avoid getting sued for making it. Also I apologize if I just answered my own question but I tend to overthink things.
 
You can sample drum loops, there is always a royalty free option for it.

If you want to sample loops directly from a song, make sure you process them so they sound very different from the original.

And yes, you answered your own question: being a small producer lower the risk of a legal action from the big guys up there (namely the producers/artists or labels), but only that. You won't be risk free.
 
I was going to sample just like a beat leading the vocal I was going to sample. What if I'm not selling the beat?
 
The best way to not get sued for using a sample is to pay for clearance.
The cost of clearance can be anywhere from a couple hundred to a few thousand (insert your local currency) depending on the sample; it's owners; you and your expected sales...

The second best way is to not get caught.

If you're selling your beats you need to put the onus of responsibility for sample clearance on the artist (or his/her label) as part of your lease contract. To do this you wil have to disclose your samples so that they can seek clearance.

If you're releasing via a label or distributor then you need to have a conversation with those holding the purse strings to make sure (as part of your contract with them) that they have your back covered in the event of legal disputes of that nature; or intend to seek clearance on your behalf.

If you're releasing independently and expect a lot of sales, you need to get clearance (or not get caught)

If you're releasing independently and on a small, limited run/pressing then I wouldn't worry about it.
 
BeatBassBanger said:
I wanted to sample eventually, but it sounds risky....How did Kanye get away with all that sampling lol
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He (his label) paid for clearance.

I don't see sampling as risky at all... I see it as a nessessary part of my creative process... You just have to be sure you've got yourself protected from litigation should your beat be released.
 
once again - if you sample and you do not obtain clearance to use the sample, the owners of the copyright work can and often do pursue you to take down the work; they may not pursue you through the courts for damages but then again they might.

ImNoGuru is right in saying that it is the labels/artists duty to obtain clearances for any works that contain samples, but it is also your duty to declare these to them so that they are purchasing with full disclosure.
 
All I want to do is upload a sample beat to soundcloud without making any profits off of it. Is that illegal?
 
All I want to do is sample some vocals from a song and upload it to soundcloud for nonprofit and entertainment purposes. How do I get permission for it or avoid getting sued without the permission?
 
you could reach out to the original artist and get permission in writing if they control the rights, however it is likely that their publishing or their label controls the rights. If you get rejected then it is not advisable to move forward as they will use the refusal to point to your intent in any subsequent legal proceedings

and the position that some take of "it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission sometimes" doesn't hold - you may end up paying more for the forgiveness than you ever would for the permission
 
Big Zay said:
All I want to do is upload a sample beat to soundcloud without making any profits off of it. Is that illegal?
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Technically, yes...
Are you likely to receive a court summons over it? HIGHLY UNLIKELY.

IMO it's really not worth worrying about...

Be Nike.
 
theres a new service that offers recreation of samples i think its a group of musicians that learn the music and record it for you. long as its not the original sample its fine
 
BillGatez said:
theres a new service that offers recreation of samples i think its a group of musicians that learn the music and record it for you. long as its not the original sample its fine
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I'd guess that in some cases a service like this would cost more than getting clearance of the sample...
It's academic in the case of the OP anyway as he is very, very unlikely to have a legal problem with his stated usage of sampled material.
 
You can still be sued if it's free. The copyright holder can order a cease and desist. Or like with Mac Miller they can sue you for money you made from gigs where you played the song with the copyright material. So as someone else stated. If you think it's gonna do big then get it cleared, If you don't then don't worry about it. I will say if it's a real noticeable sample then don't put it on Soundcloud it actually says on the website to not put sampled music on the site. I will say that they don't always catch people. I have sampled music on my old soundcloud that was never caught.
 
Soundcloud is literately littered with sampled beats.............There is some risk I suppose......I guess you could win powerball too.
SP404, and MPC users are such terrible offenders haha.
With that said. If I thought I was going to sell 50-100k copies of something I would revert to making my own samples, and using synths.
The underground samplist's are fearlessly samlping away like always though.
 
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