Royalties and creative credits should go to the
SAMPLER SAMPLER VISHAL SHENOY
Y
writer
13 | THE PROSPECTOR
our favorite songs likely contain music samples. You may not even notice it. The practice of music sampling has been popular among producers and artists since the rise of digital music production in the early 2000s, especially prevalent as a foundation of the hip hop and R&B genres. So, what exactly is sampling? Sampling is the process by which a record producer uses a component of an already released song in the creation of a brand new recording. Samples can include almost any auditory component of a record. Guitar riffs. Drums. Vocals. These components, commonly altered in pitch and length, are implemented in some of the highest-performing
modern songs. Artists should be able to sample songs and still expect a majority of royalties and creative recognition for their product. Even if acoustic components are reused, samples are almost always altered through a musician’s unique interpretation to create an easily distinguishable record. This is
done through elevating the unique qualities of a sample. Hip hop artist Lil Uzi Vert sampled the instrumental of indie pop group Oh Wonder’s “Landslide” in his hit song “The Way Life Goes.” Uzi builds upon the sample through a deeply layered production with snare drums and hi-hats, along with a lyrical sample sung by Oh Wonder. He still deserves a majority of creative proceeds for his original vocals and variation on the “Landslide” instrumental because “The Way Life Goes” proves to be overwhelmingly distinct to Uzi’s signature eccentric-punk style. Aside from instrumental sampling, interpolation is a unique form of sampling which reuses the lyrical melody of an existing song. In his song “Greatest,” rapper Eminem mimics the melody of a lyric from rapper Playboi Carti’s “wokeuplikethis*.” Carti is credited as a writer on the song and therefore re -
ceives a minority of the royalties from song streams. It is wrong to regard Carti as a contrib-
utor to the song’s artistry because he serves solely as an inspiration to Eminem. Artists are influenced by the world surrounding them; accordingly, music samples should be viewed as a form of sharing this personal experience with fans instead of a cheap imitation. Music samples should be celebrated as a way of sharing an interpretation of the musical world instead of being criticized as mimicking the creativity of another musician. Appropriately, artists who sample should continue to receive a majority of song royalties and creative ownership
PR THR MU SAM SA
A debate on whether the sa should receive a majority of r
