Jordon Draper

Brandon Schembri

ENGL1010

View-Point Synthesis

This view-point synthesis is based on an issue that

grows more and more popular. The issue is about music sampling,

and if it is stealing or not? This is a topic that has increasingly

become more popular since sampling music became popular in the

1980’s. Today sampling music is a frequently used format of

creating music. Artists have explored new ways to create music by

other means than through traditional instruments. The issue with

this is that when an artist samples music from a different song from

a different musician there can and have been copyright, and legal

issues that come into play.

In this situation there are primarily

two positions on this case. First are those that believe that

sampling is stealing. This is mostly record label companies,

producers, and artists that have had their music sampled by

 another artist. For various motives there have been a lot of

legal cases regarding the issue. These companies and artists

do not appreciate their music being taken and changed into

something else, or they would like to profit off of the

success that their sampled piece of music will make. On the

David Andrew Wiebe, “Is Sampling Legal? How to

Legally Sample Music for Producers”, Music Industry How

To, Date N/A

other side are those that sample music and see it as creative, and

innovative. This side is mostly artists and producers that rely

heavily on sampling to create their music.

RollingStone released an article titled “Songs on Trial:

12 Landmark Music Copyright Cases”, written by Jordan Runtagh, June 8,

2016. This article is more of a factual report based off the issues that have

occurred due to sampling music. Many cases were reported including

copyright infringement claims targeted towards artists such as Robin Thicke,

Mark Ronson, and Dona Del Rey.

This side of the stakeholders are those that consider

sampling as stealing. Many of these issues have arisen from

Label Record Companies, and artists that have their music

used as a sample. For the Record Label Companies it is

mostly about the sales and rights to the songs that are being

sampled. The music industry is a business so it always

makes sense for a company to want to produce the

maximum amount and profit that they can. David Andrew

Wiebe, of Music How To, wrote an article titled “Is

Sampling Legal? How to Legally Sample Music for

Producers”. In this article he explains the process of

sampling music. He states that sampling music requires a

“mechanical license.” This allows a musician to have a

certified platform to enter the process of obtaining the

permission to sample a song. Yet the process is rather

complicated and sometimes grueling. To acquire the rights

to use the sampled music an artist must first receive

authorization from the Label that has the rights to the song,

and the musician that created the song also needs to give

authorization for their song to be sampled as well. There is

also the point that the artist and Label company will also

like to receive revenue for these samples as well. But from

a legal standpoint this point is very valid because the songs

that are sampled are the property of the musician and the

label company.

The other strong stakeholders are the samplers. As

stated by Mark Ronson, in a TED Talk, “How Sampling

Transformed Music” states that sampling music is not

simply “hijacking nostalgia wholesale” with the songs that

 are sampled, but it is about “Inserting yourself into the

narrative of the song while also pushing the story forward.”

This is a great summary of how artists view the benefit of

sampling. Many artists sample music these days. It is not

because they are too lazy to compose a song with the

traditional instruments, but it is because sampling is an

innovative, and creative way of making music. It allows an

artist to explore other depths of sound and rhythm from a

more technological standpoint that would not be attainable

from using a composition of instruments. Many artists feel

overwhelmed with the tedious process of obtaining the

sample of music. Allison Sharpe of BandZoogle lists the

benefits of sampling in “Music Sampling: To Sample Or

Not To Sample?” She states that some of the benefits of

sampling include finding that missing piece to the puzzle of

a song that you are creating. Sampling a certain melody,

instrumental, or affect can complete the song in a way that

only sampling can.

Through the various court cases and sampling issues and

debates that have arisen there is another stance on the situation that

acts as a middle ground for both of the stakeholders. This stance is

for fair use. Melissa Eckhause states in “Digital Sampling v.

Appropriation Art: Why Is One Stealing and the Other

Fair Use? A Proposal for a Code of Best Practices in

Fair Use for Digital Music Sampling” that fair use is

the ability to use a form of media for educational,

critical, and research purposes without needing the

permission or consent of the copyright holder. Again,

David Wiebe states on “Is Sampling Legal? How to Legally

Sample Music for Producers” about fair use as well. It truly is a

format that will keep both Stakeholders at an even balance.

Through this form artists are able to produce the music they would

like with sampling, and label companies have the rights to their

music if an artist does not follow the fair use guidelines.

I have had the opportunity to analyze this topic and see a

variety of opinions for the issue. Entering into this topic I had a

very strong opinion that artists should have the right to use

whatever sample they please to create their music. I personally am

fascinated with sampling and the creativity that it brings to music.

After researching these topics from each point of view I can say

that while I do still wish for sampling to become an easier process

I have come to the understanding and importance of copyrighted

music as well. In the end this is an issue that does not seem to be

resolved yet.
 Work Cited

David Andrew Wiebe, “Is Sampling Legal? How to

Legally Sample Music for Producers”, Music Industry How

To, Date N/A

Jordan Runtagh, “Songs on Trial: 12 Landmark

Music Copyright Cases”, RollingStone, June 8, 2016

Melissa Eckhause, is “Digital Sampling v.

Appropriation Art: Why Is One Stealing

and the Other Fair Use? A Proposal for a

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for

Digital Music Sampling”, Missouri Law

Review, April 1, 2019

Mark Ronson, “How Sampling Transformed

Music”, TED.com , March, 2014

Allison Sharpe, “Music Sampling: To

Sample or Not To Sample?” The BandZoogle, October 5, 2012