Clearing Samples-Me or Them?

  • Thread starter Thread starter D$B
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D$B

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This has prolly been posted before, but I searched and didn't see anything right off the top...

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If I were to make a beat that involved a sample-would I...

Be able to make the beat, sell the beat to an artist, and
leave the job of clearing the sample to the artist,
artist company, etc...?

Or would I have to clear the sample myself?

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Didn't really know how to word the question, hopefully it's understandable, if not, tell me...

Also, if the sample clearance were to be left to the artist, would I have to include that in the contract?
 
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Yes, you can leave it to the artist/his or her label, and Yes make sure to state that in the contract ... It is perfectly fine to do so and alot of producers go about it like that including myself. If the artist is underground and not doing big numbers clearing samples is nothing to worry about. Thy only come after if your doing numbers around 10,000 and up independently but again state that it is up to the artist/label and that you can not be held responsible for the clearning of sample.
 
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^Yea it just has to be in your contract. that they have to clear it. But if it is on a underground level most dudes dont clear samples, cuz they feel they aint gonna get heard like that. You just gotta be carefull.
 
since all sampling is illegal without permission, they should be cleared regardless. But since taking peeps to court cost so much peeps dont sue for infringement when the artist didnt sell big numbers. But make sure its in your legal documents that its their resposibility solely to clear samples and that you're not held liable. Specially if they get in trouble. In some cases with major producers if they insist the artist use a certain beat then the producer is responsible and it comes out of their royalties from album sales.. just like how pay pal is lol..
 
As a producer u shouldnt care about gettin a sample cleared unless it is for your album. If the artist likes da beat and they feel they should get the sample cleared then dats on them. The only thing you have to do is cover ur tracks and let them know up front dat da sample aint cleared. And most underground cats i know dont care about gettin a sample cleared. They just wanna get heard. I leave dat sample clearing up to the big time producers making dat money to get them cleared.
 
With that said, how do you go about setting up contracts/documents when selling your beats?
 
J-heat said:
since all sampling is illegal without permission, they should be cleared regardless. But since taking peeps to court cost so much peeps dont sue for infringement when the artist didnt sell big numbers. But make sure its in your legal documents that its their resposibility solely to clear samples and that you're not held liable. Specially if they get in trouble. In some cases with major producers if they insist the artist use a certain beat then the producer is responsible and it comes out of their royalties from album sales.. just like how pay pal is lol..
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Ayo H&R can u reply to this cuz im a lil shaky on this topic
 
You have to clear it if you chop it and sell it........

If you make a sampled beat and upload that beat to a website, OR sell it that is infringment. You cannot legally publsih or SELL ANY work with a sample unless it is cleared.

By making a sampled beat and selling it or publishing it as your own, you are making a DERIVERATIVE work. That is a EXCLUSIVE right that ONLY the ORIGINAL copyright holder has, not you.......
 
junebugz said:
If you make a sampled beat and upload that beat to a website, OR sell it that is infringment. You cannot legally publsih or SELL ANY work with a sample unless it is cleared.

By making a sampled beat and selling it or publishing it as your own, you are making a DERIVERATIVE work. That is a EXCLUSIVE right that ONLY the ORIGINAL copyright holder has, not you.......
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I totally agree 100%. That's why i , as a singer-songwriter, am leary about buying beats from some producers online or elsewhere b/c it's impossible to know if a beat contains a sample unless the producer tells you. That's also why i've made the decision to learn how to produce my own joints. It may take me a while to learn, but that's okay, i ain't in no rush!!
 
D$B,

Man I have been engineering Hip Hop for over 17 years. I have worked with the top, middle, and bottom. From top to bottom producers use samples and it is the job of the artist or artist's label to clear the samples. It is how it is done in the industry everyday. As far as stealing. Thats BS. Hip Hop is built on blending old sounds, new sounds, samples, etc. to create fresh, new musical creations. As long as the artist or label clears the sample it's a win, win for both new artist and sampled artist. In fact a lot of old school kats would love to have their songs from the 70's sampled to have a career reborn!!

Getting your contracts together is not hard. If you dont have one already go to my website. ( I cant post links yet so look at my signature and goto the site) When you get there, look at the top right side for "Hip Hop Resources" Click, then scroll down to the menu item "Hip Hop Producer Contract." This will take you to the page and you will be able to download a free producer/artist contract. This contract is a standard contract for producers to use when selling music/beats to artists.

Hope this helps! Just my 2 cents!
Peace,
Jai
 
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x_raided805 said:
With that said, how do you go about setting up contracts/documents when selling your beats?
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Good question that's what I wanna know.
 
x_raided805 said:
With that said, how do you go about setting up contracts/documents when selling your beats?
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get an entertainment lawyer when dealin with legal matters.
LevLove
 
aye Jai....I couldn't find the contract on your website...where exactly is it at?
 
Just to add a question to the thread, lets say you have a song with a sample on it but u can't copyright it cause of the clearance issue, can you still sell the song as your own as long as the contract states that the artist must clear the sample? In other words, is it really your song without the copyright? Or are you taking a risk of making music that's not woth sh!t since there's no copyright?

If someone is kind enough to give me and possibly anyone else here that has the same question an answer, I would really appreciate it
 
Thanks for the info? something i was wondering about.
NYCityLife has a good point. anybody know the answer?
 
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