I don’t think there’s very many issues in the music industry that are more misunderstood than sampling. So lets see if we can make it simple.

The question always starts off with “How much can I sample without getting in trouble?” The answer is NONE. Period. Exclamation Point. Anything else you have heard is outright WRONG. There is no gray area.

And after that answer, I get the follow-up question: “So what about the whole ‘Fair Use’ thing?”

The answer to that is 9.9 out of 10 times, you don’t qualify. You’re not teaching at a state institution, you’re not the government, and ultimately, you ARE out to make a profit somehow, somewhere, even if you plan on giving the song away.

Which then leads to the third question, “Well, if I just use it for promo, and don’t sell it, they can’t sue me, right?” WRONG.

If you use any part of a sample, for ANY reason (remember, you ARE NOT going to qualify for a Fair Use license), you can be sued. Got it? Good….Now that we are clear that under NO circumstances can you use a sample without permission, let’s discuss why.

If you are interested in sampling, chances are you are an artist or writer. So that being the case, let’s switch the role. Let’s pretend it’s YOUR original work that I want to sample. How much of your creative genius (it must be that good if someone else wants to sample it, right?) are you willing to let me use without paying you a cent, or even giving you credit for that matter? If your answer is anything but 0, let’s raise the stakes. How are you going to feel when I take a part of your work without your permission, and make a Number One Smash Record with it. That’s right, you get no credit and you get no $$$$$!!! I, on the other hand, am called a musical genius, plus I make enough money to pay the mortgage off on my new $500,00 house all based on those 4 little notes I sampled from your work! “It can’t happen like that, can it?” you ask… Well, tell me this. Who knew who Dido was before Eminem sampled her song “Thank You” and used it for his SMASH “Stan”? Or more recently with M.I.A.’s single “Paper Planes” which took samples from The Clash and Wreckx-n-Effect and then later on went on to be sampled itself by Jay-Z and TI on their hit record “Swagga Like Us”. So again, how would you feel if you were The Clash, and received nothing for your musical input, and not one, but TWO artist gained a great boost to their careers. I’m sure you get the point. But just in case, remember what happened to some others who thought it would be ok to sample without permission.

Here’s a few examples:

• The Verve was required to pay 100% of their royalties in their hit “Bitter Sweet Symphony” to The Rolling Stones for failing to get permission from the authors of the original work their sample was based on.
• In 2006, Bad Boy was forced to temporarily stop selling anymore copies of the Notorious B.I.G. album “Ready To Die” because of a sample from the Ohio Players that was used without permission.
• Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz were forced to pay all future royalty and even lose any writing credit on their 1998 hit record “Deja Vu (Uptown Anthem)”

“So what?” you say?

“All I want is my name to get out there, they can keep the money! I’ll make more hits”….OK, well I hope you can, but the reality is, some of the songs I’ve mentioned were those artists ONLY hits. Most “successful” artist only have 1 big hit. And if you write that song, it’s all you need to ever have to collect a big enough check every year for the rest of your life so you can retire.

However, fail to get the proper permissions, and all you do is work hard to make a great song that someone else will get paid for. And it doesn’t stop there. If you’re signed to a label, re-read your contract. If you get sued for copyright infringement, and the label is named in the suit, they’re going to turn around sue YOU for their damages and legal fees, then they may also drop you from the deal. So you end up triple screwed.

The best thing to do is get permission, and if you can’t afford it, go ahead and be daring….make up something original….You are a pretty good songwriter aren’t you…I bet you can come up with something better than the sample and maybe one day, you’ll be the one getting paid because someone samples you!