Copyrighting Beats with Samples?

[ego killer]

alright so i wanna do the whole thing where you send a cd to the copyright office and they copyright it for 50 dollars or whatever amount it is. i have samples in 90% my music though, none of which i've cleared. some is chopped beyond recognition, some have loops. is this possible? i'd pretty much cripple someone if they stole my beats so i'd rather have legal means to keep people from stealing them rather than have to do some ignorant ish. right now i'm paranoid to even post my beats online because of beat jacking.

[Bittah Watcher]

Well I think if the sample is recognizable by anybody savvy in the sort of music you sampled, I'd say you should probably get it cleared, if you have the means to do so. That's what the sixth circuit court of appeals said back in 2004 (actually they said you should clear all samples, but more on that later) and, even though I believe that to be BS, that's what you should do if you want to guarantee yourself to stay out of court.

If some of them are unrecognizable like you say, as long as you keep your mouth shut about it, then you could probably go without getting those cleared. Court of appeals says you should get every sample you use cleared but if you don't acknowledge the sample and no one would be able to tell otherwise, then who really gives a damn?

[ego killer]

ya i'm probably gonna use beats with funk loops just to rap on with friends, that ish is too obvious. a lot of the time i chop individual instrument and drum hits and short licks though.

[Bittah Watcher]

Oh and if you're using Amen or "Think About It" or some other really commonplace drum break, then no one really cares anymore, even though that stuff can clearly be picked out through its many years of usage. No need to get it cleared.