Dated: 8 September 2004
A new law pa**ed yesterday regarding sampling. It used to be that you didn´t have to clear a sample if it was just a stab or snippet. Now you have to clear anything sampled or "lifted" as they called it.
Peep it:
A federal appeals court ruled yesterday (Sept. 7) that rap artists should pay for every musical sample included in their work -- even minor, unrecognizable snippets of music.
Lower courts had already ruled that artists must pay when they sample another artists´ work. But it has been legal to use musical snippets -- a note here, a chord there -- as long as it wasn´t identifiable.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati gets rid of that distinction. The court said federal laws aimed at stopping piracy of recordings applies to digital sampling.
"If you cannot pirate the whole sound recording, can you ´lift´ or ´sample´ something less than the whole? Our answer to that question is in the negative," the court said. "Get a license or do not sample. We do not see this as stifling creativity in any significant way."
Some observers questioned whether the court´s opinion is too restrictive, especially for rap and hip-hop artists who often rhyme over samples of music taken from older recordings.
"It seems a little extreme to me," said James Van Hook, dean of Belmont University´s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. "When something is identifiable, that is the key."
The case at issue is one of at least 800 lawsuits filed in Nashville over lifting snippets of music from older recordings for new music.
The case centers on the NWA song "100 Miles and Runnin," which samples a three-note guitar riff from "Get Off Your **** and Jam" by 1970s funk-master George Clinton and Funkadelic.
In the two-second sample, the guitar pitch has been lowered, and the copied piece was "looped" and extended to 16 beats. The sample appears five times in the new song.
NWA´s song was included in the 1998 movie "I Got the Hook Up," starring Master P and produced by his movie company, No Limit Films.
No Limit Films has argued that the sample was not protected by copyright law. Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records, which claim to own the copyrights for the Funkadelic song, appealed the lower court´s summary judgment in favor of No Limit Films.
The lower court in 2002 said that the riff in Clinton´s song was entitled to copyright protection, but the sampling "did not rise to the level of legally cognizable appropriation."
The appeals court disagreed, saying a recording artist who acknowledges sampling may be liable, even when the source of a sample is unrecognizable. Noting that No Limit Films "had not disputed that it digitally sampled a copyrighted sound recording," the appeals court sent the case back to the lower court.
Richard Busch, attorney for Westbound Records and Bridgeport Music, said he was pleased with the ruling. Robert Sullivan, attorney for No Limit Films, did not return a phone call to his office.
Pretty harsh stuff.Also found another interesting list of artists that are almost or impossible to get cleared.Peep it:
UNCLEARABLE SAMPLES LIST:
1. Anita Baker
2. The Beatles
3. George Benson
4. Tracy Chapman
5. The Eagles
6. George Harrison
7. Jimi Hendrix
8. Kraftwerk
9. John Lennon
10. Paul Mc Cartney
11. Pink Floyd
12. Prince
13. Diana Ross
14. Paul Simon
15. Sly and The Family Stone
16. Rod Temperton
VERY DIFFICULT SAMPLE CLEARANCE:
1. Aretha Franklin
2. Art Of Noise
3. Henry Mancini
4. Steve Miller
5. Otis Redding (Abco Music)
6. Stevie Wonder
7. Led Zeppelin
8. The Rolling Stones
PROBLEMATIC CLEARANCES:
1. AL Green
2. Soul II Soul
3. Barry White
MORE QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
1. Is it worth bothering to clear samples?
Yes. Copyright owners are eagered for their track to be reused or redistributed because it can result to extra royalty payments and renewed interest in their music.
2. Is it true that if you sample less than 5 seconds of a track, you can use it without getting sued?
No. If you use samples without permission, you are illegally infringing the copyright of both the song and of the recording.
3. What are MCPS and PRS?
MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) is the a**ociation that works out what mechanical royalties a copyright holder is owed whenever another copy is made of their song.
PRS (Performing Rights Society) is the a**ociation that works out what public performance and broadcasting royalties a copyright holder is owed wheneverf their track is publicly performed or broadcast.
HOPE THIS BODES USEFUL TO THE AG Ma**IV.Much luv.
