Many ethical issues have arisen in the topic of music sampling due to the controversy of using someone else’s work to make into your own. Sampling contains many pros and cons as it can be the bridge between two generations, genres and art styles but also can be seen as theft.
On one hand, sampling is seen as a way to foster creativity in a positive light. Steven Henderson from the Detroit Today podcast voices the opinion of many when he states we should legalize music sampling. He thinks sampling is the bridge between different forms of music as “we all learn from and grow from each other” and that combining a sample into a song allows you to think of and appreciate both songs. Examples of this include DJ shadow’s seminal “Endtroducing”, where he used a mix of samples from Metallica and Bjork, which became a masterpiece in the art of sampling by bringing different styles of music together. Another outstanding example of music sampling is Madonna’s song “Hung Up” where she sampled the beat of ABBA’s song “Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!” as her opening. There also is one of Beyonce’s biggest hits, “Crazy in Love” where she used a sample from the Chi-Lites “Are you my Women,” as her intro. This song became a fan favorite with its creative intro and flow, but little did we know it was a sample from another generation. Famous artists we know today use sampling in many of their songs such as Kanye West, J Dilla, the Alchemist, and many more that would not be the same without sampling.
On the other hand, many people believe that sampling is a way to steal from artists and should not be promoted in the music industry. Some people believe that sampling is not creative at all as many core ideas of songs with samples are stolen from other songs. For instance, Rebecca Fitzsimons from Vice says that sampling is “‘vintage’ songs that got lazily recycled” for today’s generation. One main area of concern for the morality of sampling is in the grey area of what is seen as stealing or completely ripping off from the sample. While some people believe that all sampling is bad, it is a rare opinion as many people against sampling are against looping samples without any added input to the sample. In most cases, proponents against sampling are content with it if the sample is chopped, processed with effects or reimagined in some way to change its sound from the original sample. Therefore, it seems as a significant concern in the morality of sampling from the public’s standpoint comes from samples being lazily looped with little changes to the looped part, which can be seen as stealing with no creativity.
Sampling is becoming more accessible to all artists, but that should not contradict the rights of the creator and how they want their music to be displayed. Therefore, another viewpoint of sampling intends to protect the creative rights of artists and can be voiced by the artists themselves. While most controversy between artists and sampling is handled legally, artists still come out with their moral standpoints on the issue occasionally. For example, while suing Kanye West on a sample from his “Donda 2”, Marshall Jefferson says that “There is a right way and a wrong way to go about it.” He continues to say that “West advocates for artists’ rights with one hand, yet has no shame in taking away rights from another artist with the other.” Jefferson’s and other artists’ opinions on the matter show that they feel as if larger, popular artists are able to take from lesser known ones for their own benefit. Especially in situations when the original artist is barely acknowledged, it seems as if the smaller artists are used and do not reap much of the benefits from the success of their sample being used. While some artists may prearrange financial compensation through sample clearing prior to the song being released, this usually goes to the copyright holders of the song, who is usually not the artist and the smaller artists may not receive as much commercial success from their sample, which might have been more beneficial for them in the long run. Overall, the morality of sampling from the artists’ point of view is very polarizing. Many well known artists and producers such as Kanye West and Imogen Heap believe that sampling spurs collaboration and creativity in the music industry while others believe that sampling is a way to exploit lesser known artists.
Marshall Jefferson
By looking at the morality of sampling through the public and artists’ perspectives, we can see that sampling is usually deemed acceptable when the artist being sampled is financially and commercially acknowledged and when the sample used is reimagined in some creative way to build on the sample rather than just take from it.