#21

Am I correct in thinking that the amount recouped from any legal action regarding using an uncleared sample in a track is limited by the amount said track has actually earned?

#22

This is what I was wondering about myself, because if it was only that and you sold only a few copies you would be alright…but then I read in more than a few forums that you will have to pay for damages (pretty subjective) and for ALL the legal fees (including the ones of the offended part)

#23

I have hazy recollections of the Fun Loving Criminals losing all their royalties for “Scooby Snacks” to Quentin Tarantino for using uncleared dialogue samples from Reservoir Dogs (if I recall correctly). Tarantino even got writing credits and they either dropped the sample for the album version of lost a world of royalties for it as a result (was never a fan so can’t confirm this latter point).

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#24

I remember having a long chat with Tjinder Singh from the band Cornershop, and we talked about sampling and copyright and he said something to me that always stuck with me. He said basically don’t worry and sample what you want regardless of copyright… it won’t make any difference until you start making serious money and then they’ll call you up and most of the time you can reach an agreement.

One other things I’d say about sampling is that its also totally fine if you manipulate it beyond being recognised… in fact I think there was a specific new EU law passed in 2019 which states more or less that you can sample anything and as long as you’ve made the sample unrecognisable from the original then you are no longer breaching the copyright.

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#25

Following on from my above entry…

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#26

I think Getty’s perspective on this was that it costs nothing to send a scary letter and that some people who got such a thing would be suckered into paying.

And their license was based on views, not sales, so they could charge a ton even if you never made a dime.

#27

Skinny Puppy don’t use as many samples anymore for exactly this reason. In the 80s the rules were different so cEvin Key would happily grab samples off the radio, but it’s not that simple anymore. I think they did get in trouble for some samples from films IIRC.

#28

I’m an artist and several of my friends have received takedown notices for fanart, even when they’re making very little money off the product. Companies like Nintendo are very aggressive about protecting their IP (because they have to be to retain copyright)

1 Like
#29

For your consideration…

Not specifically about music/samples, but rather artwork on a music release:

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#30

I used some speech from a university’s documentary short which is on YouTube, but it’s something they created more in the public interest rather than to make money. I obscured it to the point that you can only partially hear what’s being said.

Personally I’d err on the side of caution. The local bands I know who use samples from films tend to release 100 copies or less and only put their music through Bandcamp, not Spotify/YouTube etc. There’s a monologue from a horror movie I’d like to use in a song one day, but it’s freakin’ 40 seconds long. Even though I love the album format I’d probably make it a single on Bandcamp/Soundcloud only.

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#31

Is bandcamp less risky?

#32

Very interesting article! This is making me think about my album covers…what if I made them too similar to someone else’s work and I don’t know?

#33

Yes, because they don’t pay out streaming royalties. So as far as I’m aware the music there isn’t monitored automatically for copyrighted content by music/film publishers like it is on YouTube etc. where content is monetized.

#34
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#35

“Ah wow, this guy’s a copyright lawyer, he’ll have a really clear and concise explanation for all of this”

watches video

“Oh, okay”

#36

He is actually a great guy and he makes great music as well!

#37

Sorry yes, it’s a great and incredibly thought-provoking video, it just left me slightly more confused than I was before watching it.

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#38

Yes, me too, it is pretty much a grey area

#39

This makes me think of all those people using copyrighted pictures on their soundcloud songs and I am wondering if they could get sued

#40