Unit 5: History of Sampling in Music

What is sampling?

Sampling is defined as the use of a spliced section of audio from another composition, in your own composition. The technique is commonly used in remixes, electronic music and rap music, where the samples may be modulated, slowed, sped up, looped or generally edited in a unique way.

The lengths of these samples varies, with some audio clips facilitating entire melodies or drum beats, while others include just a single note. However, it wasn't always like this - early sampling would only allow the playback of short sounds, like those found on a synthesizer. As time went on, the memory capacity of these synthesizers increased, allowing longer samples to be used.

When did sampling start?

Sampling as we know it today began in the 1980s, and took a lot from funk and soul records. One of the most popular samples of all time, the 'Amen break' (a drum break from the 1969 track 'Amen, Brother'), was rebirthed during the early period of modern sampling. Led Zeppelin, James Brown, Fab Five Freddy and Loleatta Holloway are known for being some of the most sampled artists, their music being incorporated into hundreds, perhaps thousands of compositions worldwide.

DJ Shadow would go on to create the first ever album constructed completely from samples, Endtroducing, in 1996.

Digital Samplers

As aforementioned, sampling was born with the release of capable synthesizers; arguably, the most important being the Fairlight CMI. The Fairlight CMI is known by many as the definitive digital sampler, with its creators actually coining the phrase 'sampling'. Its relatively affordable price and commercial availability made it an instant hit, with the Fairlight finding its way into the hands of Stevie Wonder, Kate Bush and Jean-Michel Jarre. 

Despite (at the time) being the most affordable digital sampler on the market, its release price would be equivalent to approximately $77,000 today. This price was justified predominantly by its complexity and wide range of features, being computer-based instrument with synthesis and sequencing features. Obviously, today, these features are considered almost rudimentary due to the development of music technology.

More notable digital samplers include the E-MU SP-12 and SP-1200, releasing in the 1980s for astronomically more affordable prices than their previous competition (though still equivalent in price to around $28,000 today). They were derived from the Emulator, which offered sampling, sequencing and filtering options, their main difference being the later addition of a dedicated drum sampler for simplicity. 

The SP-12 and SP-1200 would also exchange the Emulator's keyboard for tactile buttons, with the former also allowing for up to 1.2 seconds of sampling time.

Artists Pete Rock, Marley Marl and the Beastie Boys were pioneers of this digital sampler and helped define the sound of '80s and '90s hip-hop.

Source: https://www.musicradar.com/news/4-iconic-samplers

Tracks using Sampling

A very obvious case of sampling can be noticed in Kanye West's 'Stronger', with the entire vocal hook and a majority of the instrumentation being sampled from 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' by Daft Punk. Some other famous examples include 'Lucid Dreams' by Juice WRLD (samples 'Shape of My Heart' by Sting) and 'Gangstas Paradise' by Coolio (samples 'Pastime Paradise' by Stevie Wonder).

Although these tracks are all heavily sampled, they add completely new elements to the song. 'Stronger' incorporates rapping over the sampled audio, including personal lyrics and transformative ideas. 'Gangstas Paradise' completely changes the atmosphere of the original; whereas Stevie Wonder's song is much more soul-based, Coolio's incorporates an orchestral, menacing sound. 

Sources: https://www.businessinsider.com/hit-songs-that-use-samples-2023-4#my-name-is-by-eminem-samples-a-song-by-labi-siffre-5

https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/s0ovqq/songs_with_samples_that_are_better_than_their/

Sampling & Copyright

As you might imagine, sampling is a highly controversial practice. While some see it as dim plagiarism, others see it as a creative tool capable of enriching the musical texture of a song. For this reason, there are numerous copyright laws in place to prevent the unauthorised use of a sample without the original author's permission.

Let's first briefly discuss copyright. Copyright is a legal entitlement to someone's original work, otherwise known as their intellectual property; and as suggested by the name, provides authorised persons with the rights to copy, distribute, edit and display the property, typically for a limited period of time.

In order to sample a specific piece of music, you must first get copyright permission from its legal owner. It is within the owner's discretion to decide whether permission will be granted. The process of obtaining rights to a specific piece of music often involves paying a (usually expensive) fee, and crediting its original artist. Fees are not just limited to one-time payments, as they can also include royalties - a demand for a specific percentage of revenue generated by the song to be sent to the sample's original artist.

In some scenarios, 'fair use' can be claimed, a statute which dictates that limited rights can be granted in the case that content is deemed transformative, and not simply a re-release of the previous content.

While the copyright process is very intensive and strict, owners of early samples such as Richard Lewis Spencer (copyright holder for the Amen break) never received a dime. 

A plethora of lawsuits have been pursued over the years in relation to sampling, all over copyright. It is therefore of paramount importance to copyright your work.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(music)#Legal_and_ethical_issues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright