Sampling
The practice of incorporating portions of existing recordings into new music.
Definition
Sampling is the practice of taking a portion of an existing recording—a drum break, melodic phrase, vocal snippet, or other element—and incorporating it into a new composition. Sampling has been fundamental to hip-hop, electronic music, and pop production since the 1980s.
Legal sampling requires clearing both the master recording (owned by the label) and the underlying composition (owned by publishers). Clearance costs vary wildly from affordable fees to percentages of the new song's income, depending on what's sampled and from whom.
Why It Matters
Uncleared samples create serious legal and financial risks. Major releases have been pulled or blocked by sample claims; artists have lost substantial portions of their income to retroactive clearances. Clearing samples before release is essential risk management.
Understanding sample clearance helps producers and artists make informed creative decisions about when sampling is worth the cost and complexity.
Examples in Practice
A producer clears a obscure funk sample for a modest fee, creating a hit that generates far more than the clearance cost.
A major release is held up for months while a sample from a famous song is negotiated, costing the label significant momentum.
An artist's uncleared sample results in the original rights holders taking 100% of the song's income in a settlement.