Samples samples samples

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Spektor

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What is a CEASE and Desist letter? and how does a producer get one?

I mean there are som many producers..and pleople who sell sampled beats and artist who use sampled beats...that it will be very hard to recieve one right?

Im using samples in my album.....and Im selling it online for 9.99......but in know way I expect to sell even 100 copies..........Im out of radar....

At what point shud a producer...or artist be considering clearing a sample?

If u give the person credit whos song used ...in the credits.........soes that help?
 
Unless you are moving enough units to become a well known act then don't worry about it for the most part sample clearance is only about money anyway. The sample owners just want a cut since you took a piece of their song. And in some ways I agree with that
 
That's really bad advice X... you should always be weary of the sample police coming after you... I would say if its something from the big 3 (Sony, Atlantic or Capitol) within the last 20 years watch ya back... the way they are cracking down on piracy leads me to believe that they aren't very far from layin the smack down on us small time samplers as well
 
BeatComMusicGRP said:
That's really bad advice X... you should always be weary of the sample police coming after you... I would say if its something from the big 3 (Sony, Atlantic or Capitol) within the last 20 years watch ya back... the way they are cracking down on piracy leads me to believe that they aren't very far from layin the smack down on us small time samplers as well
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Dude, X is 100% on point, this been talked about it million times. Unless you shifting MAJOR units, and is a well known fact then you are safe. Even if you sell 10 k copies , you are SAFE. The lawyer cost more in hour then 10k copies you sold. You think they care about 'us' small time tiny tiny fish selling pity numbers? It is not even financially feasible.
 
Ya logic is flawed... they said the same thing about napster before they got sued, that they were too small for the Recording Industry to take notice, you see what happened with that right?... not clearing samples is going to become tantamount to piracy... the majors are 'losing' money every time someone downloads one of their songs from a file sharing network, they've sued actual individuals for downloading, its only a matter if time before they start tracking down and pursuing people like the producers on this website for using un-cleared samples in their production... and they'd win every single case they brought, because we don't have the right to publicly distribute anything that contains a sample that we don't hold the copyright to... It's just the logical progression, they have the money to do it, they just haven't started yet... Im not saying that every producer on here should contact a lawyer every time they make a beat, im saying you need to be cognizant of what you do and don't release publicly... If its samples from the BIG labels don't put it on the internet or on your latest mixtape, more obscure stuff, go for it... but even there its tricky, cause some big labels own obscure catalogs...
 
right, let me explain even tho I am rubbish at explaining stuff.


I think we can agree that the company sues one entity(producer, company, organisation etc) in order to gain something, recoup something. The main and only goal of any company is to make profit, agree? Agree.


Now, it takes a company 'A' amount of resource to make 'B' amount of profit.
Or spend 'A' amount of resources to minimise the 'C' amount of losses to increase 'B' amount.


'B' should always be greater than 'A' or 'A'+'C' to be financially sustainable. That means that you spending should less then earning.


Now, how much do you a good lawyer costs ? plus the court proceedings? and how much realistically do you think they can get out from a bedroom beatmaker who probably earns the same amount in have a year as what a good lawyer makes in an week?


I think one needs common sense to understand this, but if you still think you gonna get sued then stop sampling I guess. simple as.

And when napster got sued, they were not small by any means, and it was worth quite a lot of money actually, and they were one of the first p2p sharing apps , it is totally irrelevant
 
on the album....I got some snippets from KEVIN HARTs stand up.......that I used in a song.
 
You're misunderstanding the napster reference... napster wasn't an attempt to circumvent copyright law, it was a small project that exploded very quickly... Thus on second they were too small to be relevant to the RIAA and the next too big to be missed... A sampling producer faces the same quandary, one second he's getting 10,000 hits the next he's a sensation and everywhere and too big to be ignored for his early days of un-cleared sampling...

Another thing I think you're unclear on is the size and wealth of the recording industry... any big label has lawyers on staff and those lawyers have a team that does nothing but sniff out copyright infringement, and those lawyers are on million plus dollar retainers... meaning that they have all the means to take it to anyone, if the company says Get 'Em

And the whole 10k sold doesn't hold weight anymore, 10k what? Downloads? Singles? Whole Albums?

Even if you made an album comprised completely of samples and gave it away you would still be infringing because you're basically pirating they're music to make yours. There hasn't been a case yet where fair use was successfully used as a defense for sampling... and it won't happen any time soon, the companies have this on lock, thanks in part to Sonny Bono...

Also your whole A+B not greater than C thing totally confused me... In short Im not saying dont sample at all... Im saying if you sample from HUGE labels save that for when you can actually clear the samples and not worry about repercussions later... if its some obscure electro jazz bassline from a record that was like a promo or something of the like, no one will know, throw it out on the internet...

Another thing... The RIAA made YouTube start muting the sound on videos containing copyrighted music... Google owns YouTube, they rich as hell and they don't want no parts of 'em... that should tell us all something
 
ok, I try to get on the same page as you man.


BeatComMusicGRP said:
Another thing I think you're unclear on is the size and wealth of the recording industry... any big label has lawyers on staff and those lawyers have a team that does nothing but sniff out copyright infringement, and those lawyers are on million plus dollar retainers... meaning that they have all the means to take it to anyone, if the company says Get 'Em
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I totally agree, but does it make sense to go after a beatmaker and spend x amount of money and in return get nothing because the beatmaker in question has nothing?

Has anyone actually got sued from this site for not clearing the samples? I dont know but I greatly suspecting that the answer is no. Why? because it is not worth it.

BeatComMusicGRP said:
Another thing... The RIAA made YouTube start muting the sound on videos containing copyrighted music... Google owns YouTube, they rich as hell and they don't want no parts of 'em... that should tell us all something
Click to expand...

You partly answered the question here. Exactly because google has tons of money that's why they muting and taking videos down. Because those videos do infringe the rights and google is responsible for hosting them not the user. So Google is liable and it would make a lot of sense to sue Google coz you guarantee a slice.
 
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Record labels have sued individuals who they know can't pay and they end up

---------- Post added at 09:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 AM ----------

Labels have sued individuals knowing full well they would never get the amount of the levied fine... They use it as a scare tactic... So strong-arming every sampler into submission it's not out of the realm of reality... In the end those who can't afford it come to am agreement
 
Its a **** you letter that says stop selling this or we will sue you. Don't worry about clearing the samples. Put the joints out.
 
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