Sample-based Hip-hop Music and Fair Use Laws in the Age of Streaming Services

University of South Carolina University of South Carolina

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Senior Theses Honors College

Spring 2020

Sample-based Hip-hop Music and Fair Use Laws in the Age of Sample-based Hip-hop Music and Fair Use Laws in the Age of

Streaming Services Streaming Services

Michael VanBuhler

Director of Thesis:Director of Thesis: Greg Stuart

Second Reader:Second Reader: John McElwaine

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VanBuhler, Michael, "Sample-based Hip-hop Music and Fair Use Laws in the Age of Streaming Services"

(2020).

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SAMPLE-BASED HIP-HOP MUSIC AND FAIR USE LAWS IN THE AGE OF STREAMING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THESIS SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4

MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................... 6

HISTORY ....................................................................................................................... 6

LEGALITY .................................................................................................................... 9

THE PROCESS OF CREATING A BEAT TAPE ................................................. 15

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 20

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 21

SAMPLE-BASED HIP-HOP MUSIC AND FAIR USE LAWS IN THE AGE OF STREAMING

Thesis Summary

This thesis takes an in depth look at the history and processes behind creating sample-

based music. Sampling was popularized during the beginnings of hip-hop music and now a wide

variety of genres use samples or techniques created by sample-based music. Early hip-hop beats

took samples of drum breaks or a portion of a track from another artist or band. As hip-hop grew

in the late 80s and early 90s, the use of samples became a question of intellectual property rights

and if it was acceptable to sample someone’s copyrighted work. Lawsuits in the early 90’s

helped to create new caselaw concerning copyright infringement law so that hip-hop artists could

continue to use samples in their beats. In most cases, the use of samples has to be approved by

the original artist however a handful of cases have outlined how the use of samples could be “fair

use” constituting a defense to copyright infringement claims. An important aspect of fair use and

even receiving approval for a sample is how the sample is repurposed or transformed to create a

new piece of music. This notion has shaped sample-based music and modern music often

contains an incredibly creative use of samples. Today hip-hop is arguably the most popular genre

of music despite being created over the last few decades. With that sampling has become more

mainstream and everything from pop to indie music has seen its fair share of sampling.

In the early 2000s the music industry went through a radical change with the introduction

of iTunes and digital music sales. In the past decade music sales have shifted to streaming

services and these changes create new complications for the use of samples in music. Services

such as Apple Music and Spotify allow users to pay a monthly fee to download and listen to a

library of millions of songs. Another popular service for streaming music is SoundCloud, which

is free for users and does not provide any payment to artists. One important advantage of

SoundCloud is that artists can post DJ mixes. Apple music and Spotify have more strict terms

regarding mixes, but it is possible to upload a mix with royalties given to the copyright owners of

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the music in the mix. Currently SoundCloud’s copyright terms suggest that samples or mixes

need to have permission, but they will not be taken down automatically. The dilemma for up

beginning beatmakers is that there is no way to know if their sample-based music is fair use and

could be posted on a free streaming service such as SoundCloud. If a record label notices that

someone has sampled their music, they can notify SoundCloud to take it down. So, it is

important to outline fair use law pertaining to new streaming services. I am advocating that

sampling and mixing songs on SoundCloud should have protection under fair use law mainly

because the artists are not profiting off of the music.

The research done for this thesis accompanies a project that involves creating a beat tape

of sample-based music. The start of this paper will detail the history and current state of sample-

based music. Next, I will present the case on sampling and fair use law. Since my project

involves sampling, it is important that my own music does not infringe copyright law. The

problem is the line between fair use and copyright infringement can be very thin. A clearer

picture of the fair use defense of sampling is needed to protect up and coming artists who use

samples. Otherwise we are harming freedom of expression for sample-based producers.

Introduction

According to Merriam-Webster a sample is “an excerpt from a recording that is used in a

musical composition, recording, or performance” (Merriam-Webster, 2020). Early forms of

sampling involved recreating instruments to be played on a keyboard. The first digital sampling

device was created by a group of engineers and programmers who later formed the company

EMS (Electronic Music Studios). This London based group created the first digital sampler in

their MUSYS studio in 1969. The MUSYS machine could record sound at a rate of 20 samples

per second and the sound could be played back through filters and oscillators (Reid, 2000).

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However, as early as the 1940s there were keyboards that could play back tape recordings of

sounds, an example of this is the Mellotron (McNamee, 2009). Each key on the Mellotron

contains a piece of magnetic tape and when keys are depressed a motor spins the tape to play the

sound on it. At the time this was groundbreaking technology. In the case of the Mellotron,

sampling is not much different from the sound created by an instrument.

According to Merriam-Webster a recording is “to cause sound to be registered on

something in reproducible form” (Merriam-Webster, 2020). One might consider that a piano is

just reproducing the sound that is naturally recorded on a metal wire. The sound of a piano is a

sample taken from metal wire that’s created when struck with a felt hammer. So, it is possible

that sampling was never really invented or created but that is has always been a part of music.

While sampling has always been a part of music, the technology to create and manipulate sound

has improved over time. This is important to recognize because a common criticism of sample-

based hip-hop is that it is not real music. Many have claimed that because hip-hop sampling uses

music from an old record that it is stealing someone’s work and therefore involves a lack of

effort. A great analogy for sampling is to compare it to painting. As Joseph Schloss states in his

book about sample-based hip-hop “If you believe that musicians should make their own sounds,

then Hip-Hop is not music, but, by the same token, if you believe that artists should make their

own paint, then painting is not art.” (Schloss, 23). This paper will provide a history of sampling

and the current state of sample-based music. Next will be an analysis of copyright law and why

sampling should be permitted on free streaming services. Last will be an in depth look at the

methods used to create my own sample-based beats.

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Main Body

History:

Sampling in music likely does not have a starting point however the start of hip-hop has a

more definitive timeline. The birth of hip-hop can be traced back to August 11th, 1973 when DJ

Kool Herc was DJing at a back to school party for his sister. During his career DJ Kool Herc

noted that “people used to wait for particular parts of the record to dance” (History.com, 2018).

This was usually the drum break where the vocals and instrumentation dropped out leaving just

the groove. Herc developed a technique that involves isolating a drum break by using 2 copies of

the same record and spinning them to create a continuous loop. DJ Kool Herc showed off his

new technique at his sister's party, now known as the birthplace of hip-hop (Hip-hop is born,

2018). He was also discovering sample-based hip-hop because he was using pre-recorded

material to make a new beat. However hip-hop was not created by just one person and there are a

number of social and cultural factors that contributed to its development. In the American

Academy of Arts and Sciences, Marcyliena Morgan describes hip-hop as “the distinctive graffiti

lettering styles that have materialized on walls worldwide. It is the latest dance moves that young

people perform on streets and dirt roads” (Morgan, 2011). The creation of hip-hop was not

simply born out of the elaborate techniques of DJs in the 1970s. There was an entire African

American culture that fostered its development. Some sociologists have described hip-hop’s

emergence as a coping mechanism to poverty and racism. Robin Kelley points out in his essay

that “While some aspects of black expressive cultures certainly help inner-city residents deal

with and even resist ghetto conditions, most of the literature ignores what these cultural forms

mean” (Schloss, 27). Kelley goes on to explain that sociologists overlook what might also be at

stake which is aesthetics, style, and pleasure. While DJs started to further experiment with

spinning records, some DJs would talk to the crowds during their shows. This eventually evolved

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into an MC (Master of Ceremonies) rhyming and rapping. Later bands such as the Sugar Hill

Gang started to write rap songs to the beats that MC’s were making. According to Keith Leblanc

of the Sugar Hill Gang they would listen to DJs in the Bronx and recreate the drum breaks that

they liked with their studio band (Schloss, 34). Soon after that the SP-12 by E-mu systems was

released in 1986. This digital sampler gave musicians the opportunity to take the drums from a

drum break and sequence them (Schloss 35). Since then there were many advancements in

hardware sampling machines throughout the late 80s and 90s. Sampling technology has

continued to evolve and now most producers chop up samples entirely on a computer.

In the past two decades artists and modern technology have revolutionized sample-based

hip-hop. Hip-hop sampling has also influenced other styles and genres of music. A few

techniques and trends of current music can be traced back to sample-based hip-hop. One of the

styles that has become very popular in current music is using vocal chops. One can hear the use

of vocal chops in EDM, rap, and pop music. A vocal chop can be described as a fragment of

audio that contains vocals and is used like an instrument for its melodic sound. An example of

this can be heard in the 2015 single “Roses” by the Chainsmokers. In this song the Chainsmokers

sample small vocal blips from the singers vocal without recording an original piece of audio. In

the article “From Thomas Edison to The Chainsmokers: The Journey of Vocal Chops” the

author, Shkyd, explains that with the heavy use of vocal chops the “Artists themselves became

the sample” (Shkyd, 2017). The earliest example of vocal chops may be on the track I.O.U

(megamix) by Freez which was released in 1983. Around the 6:48 mark of the song one can hear

a vocal sample arranged into an elaborate melody. Meanwhile hip-hop beats evolved a similar

style of manipulating vocals. Many beats took soulful vocal sections from older music and

chopped them in creative ways. A great example of this technique at its full potential can be

heard on the 2006 album Donuts by J Dilla. In the song “One Eleven” Dilla mixes together

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multiple vocal samples with quick chops that create a new melody. This type of sampling is very

popular in current hip-hop music and has influenced the vocal chops that are so prominent in

today’s music.

Another style of sampling that has become commonplace is half-timing the tempo of a

sample. This technique was not very practical until music was made entirely in a DAW (Digital

Audio Workstation) on a computer. With this technique a producer uses a melodic sample and

reduces the tempo in half. This can create a slow motion feel in the melody while keeping the

drums at the original tempo. A great example of this is “Mask Off” by Future. The beat uses a

flute sample from the song “Prison Song” by Carlton Williams. In the introduction of “Mask

Off” the sample is pitched down and played at half the normal speed. The sample returns to the

tempo of the beat when the drums are brought in. This technique was much more difficult with

early digital samplers.

Lastly hip-hop itself has been influential in American pop culture and social dynamics.

Hip-hop was originally created from DJing in clubs and at parties and as a result the music is

linked to social dynamics. One style of sampling that shows the link to pop culture is using

samples that come from social media. An example of this is the use of the audio “Damn Daniel”

which was popularized on the platform Vine in 2016. This phrase is sampled on “Midas” by Jace

and also “Drug Dealers Anonymous” by Jay-Z featuring Pusha T. This type of sampling shows

the close connection of hip-hop to pop culture and is something that is rarely heard in other

genres. Sampling content from social media presents another complicated issue under copyright

law, which will be examined further in the next section.

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Legality

Hip-hop sampling has been the topic of many lawsuits and very few lawsuits have been

won on the premise of fair use of a sample. With free music streaming services such as

SoundCloud there are a new set of legal circumstances. SoundCloud allows music to be

monetized but they do not accept DJ mixes or music that contains samples, unless the rights to

use the samples have been obtained (SoundCloud, 2020). So, if you are creating mixes or

sample-based music for SoundCloud you are most likely doing it for free. Currently there is no

clear legal guidance on fair use when posting tracks to SoundCloud because there have been no

legal cases in this situation. This means that beginner producers and DJs who use samples or

create mixes could face copyright infringement lawsuits from record labels or artists.

To establish copyright infringement two things must be proven. First the plaintiff has to

prove that they own a valid copyright to the work. Second, the plaintiff must show that the

defendant copied the plaintiffs work and violated their rights. The first element is straight

forward but may require research as artists and creators are automatically granted copyright and

not required to register their work. Furthermore, the plaintiff cannot allege copyright if their

work is not a protectable element. For example, a “single common chord by itself may not be

considered original enough to be worthy of copyright protection” (Eckhause, 2018). For the

second element the plaintiff must prove that the copied work is substantially similar to the

authors original work. The first copyright case involving sampling that ended in a legal decision

was Grand Upright Music v. Warner Bros. Records. In this case renowned rapper Biz Markie

used a piano section from the song “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan. Grand

Upright Music alleged that the small section used as a loop in Biz Markie’s “Alone Again” was

and so there was no existing legal guidance concerning the defense of fair use when using

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samples. The court decided that the song in question was copyright infringement and that the

defendant willingly used the sample with the intention of selling “thousands upon thousands of

records.” (Grand Upright Music v. Warner Bros. Records, 1991). This ruling made it clear that

one has to receive permission or license a sample from the copyright owner of the sample.

However, if copyright infringement is established the defendant may raise the defense of fair use.

The fair use doctrine is contained in section 107 of the Copyright Act. This section sets forth four

factors that the court evaluates when considering fair use:

“(1) The purpose and character of use, including whether such use is of a commercial

nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

“(2) The nature of the copyrighted work;

“(3) The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work

as a whole; and

“(4) The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted

work.” (17 U.S.C. § 106, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)

The following breakdown of the four factors of fair use establishes why sample-based music on

SoundCloud should be afforded fair use protection:

Factor #1: The purpose and character of use:

This factor focuses on the extent to which the sample being used is transformative and if

it is for commercial purpose. In previous cases, the courts looked for work that adds “something

new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the first [work] with new expression,

meaning, or message.” (Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music Inc, 1994). The case of Campbell v.

Acuff-Rose has helped provide the framework for how a sample can transform the purpose of the

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original work. In this case, 2 Live Crew was sued for using a sample of the song “Oh, Pretty

Woman” by Roy Orbison. However, the court held that the song “Pretty Woman” by 2 Live

Crew was a parody of the original and was not copyright infringement. This case found that not

every use of a sample needs permission even if it is for commercial use. This was a profound

judgement that highlights how important transforming a sample is in fair use. Historically

transforming the purpose and character of a sample has been fundamental to the success of

sample-based music. For example, the song “Through the Wire” by Kanye West uses a sample

from Chaka Khans 1985 single “Through the Fire”. The way the sample is pitched up actually

changes the lyrics that one hears from through the fire to through the wire. This was an

incredibly innovative use of a sample, which helped the song peak at 15 on the Billboard charts.

This example shows how important the creative use of the sample is to the success of the song.

Many sample-based hip-hop beats take samples from unique genres of music. For example, the

song “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G samples music from track “Rise” by jazz musician

Herb Alpert. This transforms the music to a new genre and exposes it to a new audience. The

creative beat behind the “Hypnotize” track helped it peak at number 1 on the Billboard charts.

So, transforming the sound and genre of a sample is very important in the success of sample-

based music.

The other aspect to this factor is whether the sample is being used for commercial

reasons. By default, sample-based music and DJ mixes uploaded to SoundCloud cannot be

directly profited from (SoundCloud, 2020). This is important because all of the legal cases about

changes the fundamental purpose of the sample-based music. When selling music with samples

the original author becomes associated with another artists brand/business. So, the original

author has the right to decide if their work can be sampled and to license their work for profit.

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However, when someone uploads music to SoundCloud for free, the purpose changes from

commercial to focusing on creating good music. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the

goal of good sample-based music tends to be transforming the sample. Furthermore, if samples

have to be licensed on a free platform it harms freedom of expression and discourages beginning

artists from using samples. This provides an unfair advantage to those with money and resources

who have the ability to get their samples cleared. One solution to this would be for streaming

services to use a compulsory licensing system. This would allow artists to use samples based on

a set licensing fee. This would help eliminate the unknowns of sampling someone’s work.

However, the original artists could agree to a high licensing fee making it unreasonable to

sample their work especially when creating music for a free platform.

Factor #2: The nature of the copyrighted work

This factor “calls for recognition that some works are closer to the core of intended

when the former works are copied." (Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music Inc, 1994). A judge is more

likely to find fair use if the material that was copied is educational or informative rather than

fictional and for entertainment. According to the Supreme Court “copying a news broadcast may

have a stronger claim to fair use than copying a motion picture.” (Sony Corp. of America v.

Universal City Studios Inc, 1984). This is because copying informational works encourages the

spread of ideas and educational information. This means that this factor may weigh against fair

use in sampling. However, this factor may be of “limited usefulness” if the court has determined

“that the creative work of art is being used for a transformative purpose.” (Estate of Smith v.

Cash Money Records, Inc., 2017).

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Factor #3: Amount and substantiality of the portion used

This factor seeks to compare the amount of work copied to the original work to see if the

portion copied is reasonable for fair use. The “clear implication” of this inquiry “is that a finding

of fair use is more likely when small amounts, or less important passages, are copied than when

the copying is more extensive, or encompasses the most important parts of the original.”

(Authors Guild v. Google, 2015). Previous cases have decided that this factor does not imply that

artists only sample as little as possible. Instead the secondary artist is encouraged “to ‘conjure

up’ at least enough of the original” to accomplish the transformative purpose of the sample

(Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, 1994). SoundCloud currently has a system in place that can already

help identify samples that use an unreasonable portion of the original work. SoundCloud’s

automated scanner will take down remixes unless you have the license to use the original

(SoundCloud, 2020). From personal experience SoundCloud will not take down work that

contains samples. This is because the scanners cannot identify an original work when it has been

transformed by changing the pitch, tempo etc. If a sample is used that has not been transformed

from the original sound and the length is unreasonable, SoundCloud will take it down anyways.

In the case of Lenz v. Universal Music Corp, a mother, Stephanie Lenz, posted a video on

YouTube of her child dancing to the song “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince. Universal Music Corp

issued her a takedown notice on the basis that her use of the song was not authorized. Stephanie

Lenz sued Universal Music Corp for knowingly misrepresenting that Ms. Lenz had infringed

upon Universal Music Corp’s copyrights. The court ruled in favor of Lenz’s finding that

Universal Music Corp had issued a takedown notice in bad faith because it never analyzed

whether Ms. Lenz had a fair use defense. This case shows that is important to protect those who

are attempting to use samples. Otherwise, on a free platform such as SoundCloud, artists who do

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not have the power to even inquire about licensing a sample are put at tremendous risk when

creating sample-based music.

Factor #4: Effect on the market for the copyrighted work

When referring to the effect of using an older song in a remix or a recognizable sample

Robert Vrana of the Washington and Lee Law Review discusses the effect on the original work,

“Finally, it will often give the original composers and performers of songs increased exposure to

new audiences and increased royalty payments.” (Vrana, 2011). When exposing an audience to a

sample where they have not heard the original song, there is a chance they listen to the original.

Without the use of the sample those listeners likely would not have listened to the original. In a

case where the artist is not profiting off of the sample, they are actually potentially promoting the

original artists’ work. If a sample is used for commercial purposes the court places a lot of

importance on this factor because the use of the sample could provide competition to the

original. The Supreme Court has even claimed that this factor is “undoubtedly the single most

important element of fair use.” (Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enter, 1985).

However, this factor is closely linked to the transformative use of the sample, “The more

transformative the secondary use, the less likelihood that the secondary use substitutes for the

original.” (Castle Rock v. Gonzalez, 2005). In the case of Estate of Jimmy Smith v. Cash Money

Records a rap song called “Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2” by Drake was the subject of a

lawsuit because of its use of a spoken word piece. The song used a spoken word sample from the

piece “Jimmy Smith Rap” by Jimmy Smith. Notably the original piece states “Jazz is the only

real music that's gonna last. All that other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow. But jazz

was, is and always will be”. In Drake’s song he changed the words to "Only real music's gonna

last. All that other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow." Cash Money Records had licensed

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the piece from the Estate of Smith however the plaintiff claimed that the composition of the

piece was not licensed. In other words, Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician and his estate claimed

that they did not license the use of the piece for a rap song. US District Court judge William H.

Pauley III ruled in favor of Cash Money Records on the grounds that Drake's use of the sample

changed the meaning to reflect a commentary on the nature of the creative process. This case

highlighted the importance of the transformative nature of the use of the sample, but it also

pointed out the market implications of the use of the sample. The court found that “there is no

evidence in the record to suggest that Pound Cake usurps any potential market for JSR or its

derivatives.” (Estate of Smith v. Cash Money Records, 2017). The use of the sample in this rap

song changes the purpose of the sample and targets a completely different audience than the

original. Furthermore, the plaintiff never attempted to establish a market for licensing derivatives

of any of his work. This case reflects what sampling attempts to do in the first place which is to

target a new audience and therefore enter a new market. So, if the purpose of sampling is to

create new music for a different market there should not be regulation of reasonably sized

samples on platforms like SoundCloud.

The Process of Creating A Beat Tape

Before attending the University of South Carolina, I had no musical experience, nor did I

have any known desire to make music. Growing up I was a skilled artist and learned to draw and

paint. I took painting classes as a kid and entered competitions on occasion. During my time in

high school I took two drawing classes where I really pushed myself in my ability with colored

pencils. During the last semester before graduation in my drawing class I started to wonder if my

drawing skills could translate to making music. I had never considered making music before that

point and so I did not know where to start. My Freshman year at UofSC started and I looked for

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a club that involved music production. However, the most similar club is the SNAPS club which

focuses on music appreciation and a weekly album listening. I then spent some time researching

music production on the internet. GarageBand was recommended as a great way for beginners to

learn about music production and it is free if you own a Mac computer. I learned that most

modern music is recorded and processed with a computer and sometimes all of the

instrumentation is done within a computer. Some producers such as DeadMau5 do not even use

pianos to record melodies and instead draw notes in with computer software. I spent some time

with GarageBand and made a handful of beats. I also downloaded a third-party plugin to perform

sampling. Once I decided that I enjoyed music production I upgraded to Logic which is Apple’s

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). When looking back during my time using Logic, I rarely

used samples for my beats. This is in part because I was focused on creating drums, melodies,

and chord progressions from scratch. But also sampling in Logic is a bit challenging and not very

intuitive. This is when I made the switch to another DAW, Ableton. Ableton is widely used

amongst EDM producers for various reasons and mainly because Ableton has a great workflow.

Workflow is important because it helps producers achieve unique sounds without taking too

much time. For example, in Ableton one could reverse the note of a piano recording in about 5-

10 seconds. Before computer music a band had to take the physical tape of a recording and

reverse it. This took a lot of time and the quality of the tape could be damaged in the process. So,

I spent time learning how to work in Ableton and experiment with samples and instruments.

The sound design of this beat tape is the result of more than 3 years of experimenting

with sampling and instrumentation. In Ableton I made music similar to what I listened to which

was mainly hip-hop and EDM. In modern EDM music there is usually influences from hip-hop

beats and many songs mix the two genres together. So, I spent time learning how to create and

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experiment in both genres. After a while of making beats I found that stretching samples in

creative ways could create unique sounds that I have not heard often in current music.

One of the key components to the style of my beat tape is Ableton’s time warping algorithms.

The different algorithms help to retain the quality of audio samples when changing the speed or

pitch. Most of the time a producer uses time warping to retain the original sound of a sample.

However, if one stretches the tempo of a sample by a factor of two, three, or four it creates

unique textures that can be chopped up to create effects or even a unique sounding instrument. I

realized the potential of this technique when working on the original beat called Impatient Soul.

The title track of the beat tape is Impatient Soul which was an ordinary beat that my roommate

and I made together. During my junior year I reworked the beat and rather than adding anything

new I created an intro section of the beat by resampling the existing sample and instruments. I

then stretched the new samples to create a full sound. The result was a sound that was glitchy yet

extremely organized. I began to do this stretching technique with instruments and when sampling

an old song. The beauty of this technique is you can add a completely new sound by stretching a

small part of a sample, but the new sound still retains character and similarities of the sample.

The genre of the beats mainly combines elements of sampled hip-hop and EDM music. The use

of samples in dance music is not common, but I believe is an emerging style. The reason this

combination works is that many modern styles of hip-hop still use sampling frequently such as

trap and drill style beats. On the other hand, many dance/electronic music styles contain trap

beats but not samples. So, there is an opportunity to combine these elements in creative and new

ways.

Another important part of my beat tape is the tempo of the tracks. In the fall when I

started to make beats for this project, I did not give much consideration to the tempo of the

tracks. My process usually involved looking for samples on YouTube or old records and then

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building the beat around the tempo and key of the sample. Halfway through the process of the

project I realized how important the beats per minute (bpm) are to the feel of the beat. After that

I began to look for samples with very specific bpm ranges in order to have a variety of styles on

the beat tape. In the study “Optimal Tempo for Groove: Its Relation to Directions of Body

Movement and Japanese nori”, researchers found that an optimal tempo for “Groove” is

somewhere between 100-120 bpm (Etani, 2018). After seeing this study, I made sure that if I

wanted a more dance-oriented beat it would have to be at least 100 bpm. Many EDM producers

and tutorials describe 128 bpm as the perfect number for EDM and sure enough many EDM

songs are around that number. There are perhaps exceptions because music of any tempo can be

danced to. However, it is quite rare to find a song under 100 bpm that is geared towards dance

music. In another study that measured participants' emotional response to different types of

music, researchers found a correlation between feelings of happy and sad and the tempo of a

song. The research showed that participants associated high tempo with expressiveness and

happiness while low tempo songs were associated with the terms relaxing but also boring and

expressionless (Fernández-Sotos, 2016). This study likely points more towards the association of

higher tempos with a desire to move because a song at any tempo can evoke different emotions

for different people. Sad songs usually bring a feeling of comfort and joy to the listener, so this

does not mean that low tempos are not as well received. Hip-hop tempos are usually from 60-100

bpm or many modern trap and drill styles are anywhere from 135 to 155 bpm. With this

knowledge I started to look for samples based on bpm to create different styles on my beat tape.

Furthermore, the bpm was very important in the track list order so that the songs flow nicely.

The final step to finishing my beat tape project was mixing and mastering. For me this

was the most difficult process to learn and understand. Most producers work with mixing and

mastering engineers because the processes are very difficult. Mixing is important because the

SAMPLE-BASED HIP-HOP MUSIC AND FAIR USE LAWS IN THE AGE OF STREAMING

sounds and instruments of a beat could be revolutionary but if the kick drum or the snare is a few

decibels too high it ruins the entire beat and renders it unlistenable. Furthermore, without proper

mastering a beat does not achieve the volume of commercial music and will not sell or be played

on the radio. When switching between songs on one's phone if the next song is significantly

lower in volume the listener will perceive it as less quality. Unfortunately, mastering has brought

about a loudness war in music. The loudness war is described as “a sonic “arms race” where

every artist and label feel they need to crush their music onto CD at the highest possible level,

for fear of not being competitive” (Loudness War, 2018). Once music passes zero decibels it

starts to distort on analog speakers and equipment. To prevent this, producers use limiting which

prevents any sound from passing zero and distorting. Limiting is also used to increase the

volume of a track, but as the volume is increased the peaks of the track or turned down.

Furthermore, compression is used to tame the peaks of a track with a ratio which is much cleaner

than a limiter (Swisher, 2019). Most modern pop music is heavily compressed so that it has a

high volume and full sound. The problem is that heavy compression and limiting sacrifices the

dynamic range of a mix. In the Journal of Professional sound Derek Sylwesterzak discusses the

current state of the Loudness War. He notes that when comparing the level of a dynamic mix that

is a bit quieter to a compressed mix the “difference in level is enough to dismiss the quieter

master as inferior” (Sylwesterzak, 2014). Today streaming platforms measure loudness in LUFS

(Loudness Unit Full Scale) which measures the short- and long-term average loudness of the

sound. CD’s can handle > -9 LUFS which encouraged producers to compress their music as

much as possible without destroying the sound (Song Mastering, 2016). Streaming services have

helped this problem by using loudness normalization. Streaming services such as Apple music

and Spotify will turn down tracks that are too loud and also turn up tracks that are quiet to a

similar level. Spotify normalizes their music to an average of -14 LUFS (Song Mastering, 2016).

SAMPLE-BASED HIP-HOP MUSIC AND FAIR USE LAWS IN THE AGE OF STREAMING

This allows producers to retain the dynamics in their mix by discouraging heavy compression

that has been used to achieve extremely high volumes. Unfortunately for my beat tape project

Soundcloud does not normalize any of their music. So, my music is slightly more compressed

than is ideal. I analyzed around 7 of my favorite tracks on SoundCloud to get an idea of the

LUFS that I would target. I aimed to have all of my tracks around -8 LUFS to retain similar

levels to commercial music on SoundCloud.

Conclusion

Overall there is a lot that is yet to be discovered about sample-based music, but it is

certain that it is not just another short-term trend. This paper first explored the history and

current context of sampling in order to explore a gap in the legal framework for sampling. After

an analysis of previous legal cases involving sampling it is clear sampling should be protected on

free music platforms. Further, it is important to address this issue because without such legal

clarification sampling remains somewhat off limits to beginning producers. It is hard to say what

the future holds for sample-based music and the corresponding copyright law. If anything,

infringement cases in visual arts point to more liberal application of fair use when sampling

someone’s work. For the project part of my thesis I worked really hard to create an entirely

sample-based beat album that uses samples in a transformative way. I think the legal component

to my thesis helped me create better sample-based music. As I learned about the importance of

the transformative nature of a sample in fair use, I refined my use of samples to be more

transformative. It still remains unclear to what extent producers can use samples on SoundCloud.

Hopefully one day SoundCloud’s terms will allow the use of samples without the threat of

SAMPLE-BASED HIP-HOP MUSIC AND FAIR USE LAWS IN THE AGE OF STREAMING

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