A Catholic (who Happens To Be An Emcee) Needs Help

[GuillotineYo]

I wouldn't be sampling Dre's beats- I'd be straight up using them. I won't sell my mixtape, so its not so much a big deal I guess..

When I mean sampling, I mean actually making music by like sampling a drum from a rock song, a break from a funk song- you know what I mean, producing beats. I just don't feel like that could be wrong, otherwise underground hip hop would be dead (including these righteous dudes rapping on this site)... You need to sample. I doubt they clear their samples.

[Kiddkapps]

[quote name='GuillotineYo' post='1196213' date='Feb 15 2007, 04:37 PM']I wouldn't be sampling Dre's beats- I'd be straight up using them. I won't sell my mixtape, so its not so much a big deal I guess..

When I mean sampling, I mean actually making music by like sampling a drum from a rock song, a break from a funk song- you know what I mean, producing beats. I just don't feel like that could be wrong, otherwise underground hip hop would be dead (including these righteous dudes rapping on this site)... You need to sample. I doubt they clear their samples.[/quote]


i know what you mean by sample the point of that was saying if it's for personal/private use you can do it...and you can still sample an 808 hit from a neptunes or Dre beat (not just your dad's old soul train records, right?).

I'm just telling you what the law says bro.

That's why I say...what is legal isn't always what is moral. If by underground hip hop you're referring to people like Little Brother or Suakrates or stuff you hear on college campus radio (yes they do clear it)-->anything in the commercial realm (being sold, not commercial like black eyed peas sound) gets clearance because like I said before once money gets involved you have a greater prospect of someone wanting to enforce their rights....what do you think the delay in Mars Ill's Pro Pain album was about? Clearance issues.

but the point of my post - the point of me coming out of my hiatus, is that I wouldn't want you making a decision that something was appropriate because you thought it was legal when it wasn't...which is why I clarified some myths about copyright law and pointed out what happens realistically in the practical and real world....and I'll say it again..."whether it's right or wrong...benh...depends on what you define right and wrong as."

don't let your creativity be stifled when it doesn't need to be.

Edited February 17, 2007 by Kiddkapps

[Seven77]

Kiddkapps?!?

Where on earth have you been?

[Kiddkapps]

[quote name='Seven77' post='1198230' date='Feb 17 2007, 04:20 PM']Kiddkapps?!?

Where on earth have you been?[/quote]


locked in a room listening to endless supplies of CDs - getting paid by clients to enforce their right not to be copied

Been busy - plus other circumstances. Not sure if I'm really staying or just passing through though. Good to hear from you - add me to your msn if you haven't yet....ask the JMJ sisters to PM it to you if you don't have it.

Take care.

[GuillotineYo]

Yeah... I'm confused and stuff but that's life...


Anyways, I'm coming out with a mixtape which I won't be selling, but will be passing out... Featuring industry beats (hot beats! As in probably some of 'em were downloaded illegal style off the net... Or something, I dunno) as well as some excellent beats from some awesome cats I know personal...

"Strictly 4 the Kids" mixtape by Guillotine coming out soon... Probably available for upload on the internet....


God bless emcees, DJs, you and me and all of us!

[Guest]

bump

[abercius24]

Here's what I learned in my own research:

Individual samples and music tracks ARE covered by copyright laws. Somebody spent time and money working out the music for the drums, the guitars and the vocals. Using one or more of those tracks separately from each other (in part or in whole) doesn't give you permission to make money off of someone else's creativity. If you're gonna use a sample without paying royalties and licensing fees, you've gotta change it so that it is recognizably different from the original. I've heard some people say that the common law standard for an altered sample is a 25% difference. I think that's a bit too liberal and not very reliable to go by. It's better if the majority of your listeners would agree that your sample sounds "like" the original, but is clearly different enough not to be confused with the original. You can easily change a sample by changing the sound with a processor, speeding it up, slowing it down, chopping it and changing the time signature, or changing a few pitches here and there. Maybe even put a few extra beats in each measure. It's best to use a good combination of alteration methods. The bottom line: you're creativity must alter the sample so that it is clearly your own creation in the end.

The are TONS of license-free/royalty-free samples out there, too. I believe there is another thread in this same forum devoted to free samples on the internet. If you're gonna buy unaltered samples, its best to buy them in bulk through large CD collections. Keep in mind there are TWO fees involved, here. You must first buy the license to use the sample in your beat/song, AND you may also have to pay a PER SONG, PER COPY royalty. Most CD collections come royalty-free after you've purchased the license (usually by buying the CD). If you buy samples individually, you'll likely have to pay royalties up front for a certain bulk number of copies you plan to distribute. Unless you buy the CD with funds from a company/band account, you may not share those purchased samples with other individuals. Even if its a company purchase, you can only use the sample with songs directly associated with the company. The license covers the purchaser alone. Make sure you know what fees are associated with your samples before you purchase them!

I strongly recommend against using samples without paying the appropriate fees. Even if you give your beats/songs away for free, if you end up giving enough away to the point that someone WOULD HAVE made money from royalties, they can sue you for the potential income that you failed to collect for them. You may think this isn't a big deal cause you can only afford to give away a few hundred CDs. But what about the online mp3 downloads??? If you have millions of online downloads, you could end up owing tens of thousands of dollars in royalty fees. And a million downloads is not as hard to achieve as you might think (especially when its free). The courts would see such a situation as being the same as distributing ripped songs through Napster. Of couse, the owner of the sample would have to find out what you did before they could sue you, but do you really want to take the chance. Besides, its not the moral thing to do, and God is more likely to take pleasure in blessing you for having done the right thing.

And what if you get signed later and your label wants to use your music? You can end up spending a lot of precious time settling all of your licensing and royalty obligations. My buddy Jerry was telling me about a friend of his who's group recently signed on with a popular Christian label. They spent a lot of time and money marketing their new CD and ended up building a lot of anticipation with their fans. Then, not a month before the CD's release, the label's attorneys discovered some unpurchased samples in a few of the beats. The label ended up delaying the CD's release by 6 months to sort out the legal obligations. By that time, the fans were fed up with waiting and the CD tanked. If your music is good enough to spend time and money on, don't set yourself up for future problems by taking the easy way out. Do the work, man!

And when you submit your beats/songs to the copyright office, you MUST declare what unaltered samples you used. If you don't, you risk invalidating your rights. Again, easy isn't always smart.

Edited August 2, 2007 by abercius24

[Guest]

my music is so gangsta it doesnt matter...........dust is gonna roll though the mall with his i pod on punking little kids no matter wut...........no copyright is gonna stop that............i mean come on..........dust makes master p look like a little power ranger before they blew up...............use samples........they sound better........we aint stars...