https://djbooth.net/features/2015-05-24-how-sample-clearance-works
Good ass read
When done right, a song with a great sample can make an album. But have you ever thought about how a sample is actually cleared for an album? We hear all the time about a song not making an album because of sample clearance issues, but what does that really mean? What happened?
While art and commerce are often seen as different currencies, when it comes to sampling they're two sides of the same coin. Without sample clearances, some of our favorite songs wouldn't be on our favorite albums at all, so while we honor the likes of Juicy J, Preemo, and 9th Wonder, we also need to give some shine to people like Deborah Mannis-Gardner, the president of DMG Clearances, Inc.
Like I would for any producer or singer, I began researching Mannis-Gardner after I saw her name in the Views liner notes. It turns out she has over 25 years of credits on albums like Fat Joe’s Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), Lupe’s The Cool, Eminem’s Encore, Nas’Life Is Good, The Roots’ How I Got Over and that just scratches the surface of a resume that also includes work for films (8 Mile) and video games (Rockstar Games).
Don't Go Breaking My Heart." I wondered if I was going to really get this cleared, because it was really horrible sounding and funky and they were wasted, but I got it cleared because it wasn't a cover, it was an interpolation; it wasn't verbatim, word for word."
How do you track down copyright holders?
"When I started out a long time ago, you could call up BMI and you were only allowed to ask five questions at a time. So I would hang up and then put on an accent, change my name, and ask five more questions; I’d put on a Southern accent, then I’d have an English accent, then a Massachusetts accent, a New York accent.
"We have tracked down people who have died and you’d find out who takes care of the cemetery plot. You just go to the ends of the Earth - if you know someone is alive and you haven't heard from them, you find out where they live and you find a neighbor to knock on their door which I've recently done.
"Now, the internet makes things a lot easier. I love the challenge. And it's becoming more and more challenging because producers are finding really obscure stuff on YouTube, so it's getting more difficult, but I love it."
Can an artist sample on a free project without clearing?
"You cannot sample on a free mixtape, and I know of cases that I think are in process right now where copyright holders are going after this stuff because the concept of a free mixtape is to promote an artist. Therefore it's deemed to have a value. If the artist goes to the next level, so that when he goes to sell something it has a greater value, then the mixtape does have value."
What does sampling mean to you?
"Sampling is, in my opinion, like a collage, a piece of art where you're taking pieces of other music and creating new pieces. I think there are copyright holders and artists and writers that never saw income or never thought they'd see income again but do because of samples. I have gotten thank yous before from people just for bringing their stuff back to life. I think there are generations that hear music that they would have never heard had there not been samples."
In some ways, it's sad that technology and the current music business model have made it more difficult to sample like Premo used to do regularly back in the day, but it's those very same advancements that make sampling a pillar of the industry. At the same time, though creatives and fans alike find it frustrating that a song needs to clear the clearance hurdle, it's exciting to think about all the songwriters and artists who continue to live off music, and whose work continues to be passed down to different generations, all because of sampling.
For better or for worse, the business behind sampling has allowed hip-hop to rise to where it is today, and I'm happy to see someone like Mannis-Gardner, a true fan of the art form, helping to find that balance.
Good ass read
When done right, a song with a great sample can make an album. But have you ever thought about how a sample is actually cleared for an album? We hear all the time about a song not making an album because of sample clearance issues, but what does that really mean? What happened?
While art and commerce are often seen as different currencies, when it comes to sampling they're two sides of the same coin. Without sample clearances, some of our favorite songs wouldn't be on our favorite albums at all, so while we honor the likes of Juicy J, Preemo, and 9th Wonder, we also need to give some shine to people like Deborah Mannis-Gardner, the president of DMG Clearances, Inc.
Like I would for any producer or singer, I began researching Mannis-Gardner after I saw her name in the Views liner notes. It turns out she has over 25 years of credits on albums like Fat Joe’s Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), Lupe’s The Cool, Eminem’s Encore, Nas’Life Is Good, The Roots’ How I Got Over and that just scratches the surface of a resume that also includes work for films (8 Mile) and video games (Rockstar Games).
Don't Go Breaking My Heart." I wondered if I was going to really get this cleared, because it was really horrible sounding and funky and they were wasted, but I got it cleared because it wasn't a cover, it was an interpolation; it wasn't verbatim, word for word."
How do you track down copyright holders?
"When I started out a long time ago, you could call up BMI and you were only allowed to ask five questions at a time. So I would hang up and then put on an accent, change my name, and ask five more questions; I’d put on a Southern accent, then I’d have an English accent, then a Massachusetts accent, a New York accent.
"We have tracked down people who have died and you’d find out who takes care of the cemetery plot. You just go to the ends of the Earth - if you know someone is alive and you haven't heard from them, you find out where they live and you find a neighbor to knock on their door which I've recently done.
"Now, the internet makes things a lot easier. I love the challenge. And it's becoming more and more challenging because producers are finding really obscure stuff on YouTube, so it's getting more difficult, but I love it."
Can an artist sample on a free project without clearing?
"You cannot sample on a free mixtape, and I know of cases that I think are in process right now where copyright holders are going after this stuff because the concept of a free mixtape is to promote an artist. Therefore it's deemed to have a value. If the artist goes to the next level, so that when he goes to sell something it has a greater value, then the mixtape does have value."
What does sampling mean to you?
"Sampling is, in my opinion, like a collage, a piece of art where you're taking pieces of other music and creating new pieces. I think there are copyright holders and artists and writers that never saw income or never thought they'd see income again but do because of samples. I have gotten thank yous before from people just for bringing their stuff back to life. I think there are generations that hear music that they would have never heard had there not been samples."
In some ways, it's sad that technology and the current music business model have made it more difficult to sample like Premo used to do regularly back in the day, but it's those very same advancements that make sampling a pillar of the industry. At the same time, though creatives and fans alike find it frustrating that a song needs to clear the clearance hurdle, it's exciting to think about all the songwriters and artists who continue to live off music, and whose work continues to be passed down to different generations, all because of sampling.
For better or for worse, the business behind sampling has allowed hip-hop to rise to where it is today, and I'm happy to see someone like Mannis-Gardner, a true fan of the art form, helping to find that balance.
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