DJs: Sampling and Remixing in Music
Sampling in music is taking a section of audio from another copyrighted sound recording and using it or reworking it to create a new song. The amount of samples used varies between artists and songs. Sampling is an important part of DJing because it allows DJs to manipulate certain sounds, beats, or any musical part to create a new track or remix.
What is Sampling?
This is one of the Bestie Boys’ songs from the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique album (1989)
In the early 1970s, DJs at Bronx hip-hop parties would use records as backing tracks and have artists rap over them. This evolved to creating recorded compositions from live sampling. The 1980s was known as the “Golden Age of Sampling” and a hip-hop group called The Beastie Boys created iconic sample-based works. The Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique (1989) is an album that featured hundreds of samples. By the early 2000s, technological advancements enabled artists and DJs to explore and create new sampling techniques. This potentially creates new sounds from sampling and new and different music genres.
How DJing Started
Copyright Issues for Sampling and Remixing
Copyright is the legal ownership of intellectual property such as original works. This gives protection to the owner and gives the six exclusive rights which are to reproduce, distribute, make derivative works, publicly perform, publicly display, and publicly perform (digital). When a song is recorded there will be 2 works protected by copyright: a musical composition and a master recording. Sampling copyrighted music or remixing an original song is illegal without permission, There are two licenses:
Master Recording license (often owned by a label): this is the sound recording created by the recording’s performer or the producer
Musical Composition license (controlled by the publisher/songwriter): the song’s composition and the lyrics with it.
The artists will need to obtain permission from those who own the license to use the sample. Clearing a sample (i.e., obtaining the required licenses) is difficult and expensive, especially for small independent artists. Other options for avoiding legal concerns with sampling include using pre-cleared sample libraries such as TrackLibm, prepaying for the sample, or re-recording the sample.
Lita Rosario Richardson is a well-known music law attorney who will be explaining the technique interpolation for sampling music.
Interpolation is a technique that artists and DJs use to incorporate parts of a song into a new work. Interpolation is the process of inserting a portion of an existing musical piece into a new composition. Interpolating a musical composition differs from sampling a sound recording in that it does not involve the use of any of the real audio sounds found in an existing recording. Rather, fresh audio is captured.
Similar to sampling, Interpolations may violate a copyright owner's exclusive rights. Interpolating a musical piece does not require permission from the copyright owner of a preexisting sound recording, even if the new recording is comparable to the old one. Under U.S. copyright law, exclusive rights to sound recordings do not include the ability to create independent "sound-alike" recordings.
Why Sampling is Important to Artists and DJs
Creativity & Expands Musical Possibilities: Sampling provides DJs with a large list of sounds they are free to use to change to produce new sounds and music. They can mix and match one or more parts, for example, vocals from one track and drums from the other track, to create their original remix masterpieces. This allows DJs to create new types of experience for the listeners.
Connecting the Old & New: Incorporating old samplings can bring a nostalgic feel to newer music. Combining classic songs with current songs creates a bridge between genres and time eras.
Crowd Engagement: Using familiar and trendy samples to grab the audience’s attention and build a connection. Listeners get pulled into the DJ's performance when they hear a familiar hook or riff since it could bring out strong emotions.
Technical Skill: Sampling will need the right choice of rhythm, pitch, and tempo to merge samples well into each other. When DJs mix samples well it shows skill and enhances the performance skill of the DJ.
Remixes
Remixing music is taking another artist's work and rebuilding it to the DJ's music style and flavor. Remixing is popular and mainly common in electronic dance music, hip-hop, and others. Any artist wants to add their style and flavor to another artist’s work. But at other times, collaboration can stretch across genres. Artists would create many remixes because it is a fun and effective way to work. Artists do make money from remixes depending on how popular and quality the remix is.
Beginning of Remixing
Remixing has become a crucial part of electronic music, playing a key role in collaboration, networking, and the development of new genres. It has historical origins in a variety of genres and involves reworking a song using parts of the original song. In Jamaica, artist Lee “Scratch” Perry created the path in the early 70s. He created styles that transformed songs using reverb and tape delays, which influenced dubstep and drum'n'bass.
Lee “Scratch” Perry - Chase the Devil
Frankie Knuckles and other artists transformed disco recordings into house music, which included well-known remixes such as Patrick Coyle's version of Donna Summer's
Donna Summer - I Feel Love
Patrick Coyle Remix Version
DJ Kool Herc developed beat-juggling by introducing the "merry-go-round" style, which involved extending instrumental sections to keep crowds dancing. Remixes come in a variety of forms, from bootleg mixes to dub mixes, and each has a unique way, such as reworking a song's structure or rephrasing it in a different genre.
Remixes vs Mashups
Mashup or “bootleg” is a song created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs. These mashups are usually made by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another.
Remix is the alteration and recombination of pre-existing songs to create something new. A remixer can create an alternate original recording of a song by using audio mixing or samples.
This is a mashup of two songs: Beat It by Micheal Jackson and Industry Baby by Lil Nas X. This mashup connects two very popular songs, one from 1982 and the other from 2021. This gives the audience a nostalgic feel while enjoying the current trending song.
Examples of Remix
DJ Cee is a talented DJ and music producer who will be sharing his story of his famous remix of Aaliyah’s hit, “One In A Million”.
Aaliyah - One In A Million
Aaliyah - One In A Million (Geoffrey's House Mix)
Slander transformed an emotional song by Post Malone by remixing it to produce a more electronic version. Slander turned the original slow, melancholic song into an upbeat and electronic sound by adding more beats and heavy bass. This is an example of how adding and changing parts of the song can shift the tempo and rhythm of the song.
Post Malone- I Fall Apart
Post Malone- I Fall Apart (Slander Remix)
This is a remix of the original song Zombie by the Cranberries. The DJs: ILLENIUM, Excision, and Wooli used a singer, Valerie Broussard, to sing over the lyrics and create their version and a new version of this famous rock song. The remix used a few phrases of the lyrics and modified the pace and beats of the original song. The remix version is more suited for the EDM genre.
Zombie by Cranberries
ILLENIUM, Excision, & Wooli - Zombie (feat. Valerie Broussard)
References:
Andertons Music Co. (n.d.). What is sampling in music? Retrieved from https://blog.andertons.co.uk/learn/what-is-sampling-in-music
Producertech. (n.d.). A brief history of sampling in music. Retrieved from https://www.producertech.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-sampling-in-music
Audio Services. (n.d.). Slicing melodies: Techniques to bring life to your sequence. Retrieved from https://audioservices.studio/blog/slice-everything#:~:text=Slicing%20Melodies
U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). Musicians: Resources and guidance on copyright. Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/engage/musicians/
Shed the Music. (n.d.). Free resources for public domain samples. Retrieved from https://www.shedthemusic.net/free-resources/public-domain-samples
TuneCore. (n.d.). Music sampling and beat licensing 101. Retrieved from https://www.tunecore.com/guides/music-sampling-and-beat-licensing-101
Berklee Online. (n.d.). Music production: What does a music producer do? Retrieved from https://online.berklee.edu/takenote/music-production-what-does-a-music-producer-do/
DIY Musician (CD Baby). (n.d.). How to clear samples for copyrighted music. Retrieved from https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-rights/clear-samples-to-copyrighted-music/
U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). Sampling, interpolations, beat stores, and more: An introduction for musicians using preexisting works. Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/music-modernization/educational-materials/Sampling-Interpolations-Beat-Stores-and-More-An-Introduction-for-Musicians-Using-Preexisting.pdf
Production Music Live. (n.d.). How to remix music. Retrieved from https://www.productionmusiclive.com/blogs/news/how-to-remix-music
The DJ Mixtape. (n.d.). A DJ's guide to sampling music. Retrieved from https://thedjmixtape.com/djs-guide-to-sampling-music/
EKM. (n.d.). The difference between bootleg, mashup, and remix. Retrieved from https://ekm.co/difference-between-bootlegmashup-and/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CA%20mashup%20or%20bootleg%20is
Musicians Institute. (n.d.). The origins of remixing. Retrieved fromhttps://www.mi.edu/in-the-know/the-origins-of-remixing/