Selling Beats Exclusive with samples!?

The likelihood of you getting busted for it is next to nothing. People do it all the time, look at Girl Talk and Pretty Lights. I was just saying that if you didn't clear the sample, it's technically illegal whether you charge $1 or $10,000.

pretty sure Girl Talk has gotten into a lot of trouble about his sampling. but yeah, it's unlikely you're gonna get busted
 
just do it, theres a certain amount of units the record has to sell before its illegal, unless your buyer is going to be heard on the radio tommorow i wouldnt worry
 
Unless you loop like 8 bars of the song your sampling, chances are no ones gonna find out. The best thing to do is creatively chop the sample and filter it down so doesn't sound exactly like the original.
 
... or you can just use music that had been released before Copyright Act of 1976 and is not protected by law, if you want to be sure.
 
Get as much as you can for the beat and its his responsibility to clear it. Write it in a contract. Most likely itll never take off to the point where hell get a C&D from the publisher. Most sample based music goes under the radar. Now if you looped Ozzy... thats another story. Chop, chop, chop & Flip well.
 
just do it, theres a certain amount of units the record has to sell before its illegal, unless your buyer is going to be heard on the radio tommorow i wouldnt worry

that's the stupidest thing I ever heard. 1 unit is illegal its copyright infringement. I don't think its right but it is what it is.
 
Before I write the following, keep in mind that this is in legal terms and not necessarily practical.

As soon as you sample a song, you are breaking the law. This doesn't mean that people don't do it, but legally, you're not supposed to use any part of a recording for your work unless you have clearance. Of course, how do you know you can sell it before you even make it? You probably can't, so most major releases have samples cleared once they have plans to actually use a song. In general, if you're not selling a lot of units, no one that matters will know that you're using their work without permission.

When you sell something, make it clear that the samples are not cleared and that you are not liable for clearance. Even better, get it in writing. If you tell someone that a sample is cleared and they go on and they get a cease and desist order, you're probably going to be liable for the expenses.

... or you can just use music that had been released before Copyright Act of 1976 and is not protected by law, if you want to be sure.

This is incorrect. Many older releases are copyrighted and protected by copyright. With major recordings, if the label didn't retain ownership, then there is an artist or writer/composer/etc... that owns the rights to the recording or other aspects of the production. If the person has passed, copyright can be renewed by the estate, and that's often what happens. Not that there aren't obscure recordings out there that have expired copyrights but it's not the case for just about all popular music.
 
It doesn't matter what 9th Wonder said. Sampling without clearance has _always_ been illegal, and still is. It doesn't matter if somebody "Didn't make any money/only made a little money/made a lot of money" or whatever. The record label owns the rights to the master recording, _separate_ from the song copyright itself, unless the recording has somehow fallen into the public domain (highly unlikely if the song came out in the 1970's or later).

The label has the responsibility to clear the sample for _release_, but that doesn't change copyright law regarding "derivative works." You as a producer can still be sued for infringement if the original (sampled) label decides to do so. What the law says and standard practice are not always the same; this doesn't change the law.

As far as having the connections to clear a sample, it's pretty easy nowadays. There are organizations handling this stuff that you can find right on the web.

MINIMUM, you need to disclose to your client that your track has un-cleared samples. But be advised that you could also be named in a future lawsuit.

GJ
 
Yeah I've been trying to find an answer for like a year now from someone with some knowledge about selling / clearing samples. So many people say "its up to the artist if you put it in a contract" but i still think that since you're selling something made without permission it can't be legal. Anyway charge what you want and dont worry about getting caught... Although, I stopped selling sampled beats myself for this reason...
 
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