Music Sampling and the Law: What Producers Need to Know

Two copyrights, two clearances

Every commercial recording contains two separate copyrights: the master recording (owned by whoever funded and released the record) and the underlying composition (owned by the songwriter and publisher). Sampling a record means you need clearance from both. A sample of a James Brown record requires clearance from Universal Music Group (who now control most of the Polydor masters) and from the publishing administrators of the composition. These are separate negotiations.

What "clearing" a sample actually means

Clearing a sample means negotiating a licence from each rights holder — typically a one-time flat fee plus a percentage of royalties from the sampled work. The costs vary enormously. A sample of a well-known James Brown or Michael Jackson recording from a major label can cost tens of thousands of pounds before a note is released commercially. A sample of an obscure 1970s regional soul pressing from a small label might be clearable for a few hundred pounds, or might be impossible to clear because the rights holder is unidentifiable.

The interpolation alternative

An interpolation re-records a melody or harmony from a protected composition but does not use the original master recording. This means you only need to clear the composition copyright (not the master), which is generally easier and cheaper. Many producers who want the sound of a specific record re-record the bass line, melody, or chord progression with live musicians or synthesisers rather than sampling directly.

Public domain recordings

In the United States, sound recordings entered the public domain on a rolling basis starting in 2022 under the Music Modernization Act. Recordings from before 1923 are now in the public domain in the US. In the UK and EU, sound recordings are protected for 70 years from the date of publication. This means pre-1955 recordings may be in the public domain in Europe. However, compositions (the underlying songs) have separate copyright terms — a public domain recording of a composition that is still under copyright still requires composition clearance.

Practical risk management for producers

• —Use obscure material: the risk of enforcement is directly related to how recognisable the sample is. An obscure 1972 regional pressing that nobody has documented is unlikely to generate a lawsuit even if technically infringing.
• —WhoSampled links on every CrateDrop track show what's already been cleared and used commercially — this tells you what rights holders have agreed to license before.
• —Keep the sample short and transformed: while there is no minimum length below which sampling is automatically legal, heavily processed or brief samples are less likely to be recognised and less likely to attract action.
• —For commercial releases, always consult a music lawyer. The cost of getting clearance advice is trivial compared to the cost of an infringement action.
• —Consider a sample flip approach: using a sample purely for personal production reference (not commercially released) carries essentially no legal risk.