What has historically been a rebellious form of musical collage has now become one of the most controversial—and creative—practices in the music industry: sampling. It’s a way for artists
to express themselves in their music. They share it with the world, in hopes their music finds an audience that can relate. Typically, hit songs include bass-lines, drum loops, and vocal hooks that make songs catchy and memorable. This all sounds great, right up to the moment the next song on the radio has the same instrumental sound and vocal hook. Sampling music has been around since the 1940s, but when will enough be enough?
Sampling is more common than many listeners may realize. Many songs on the radio today sample music anywhere from the 1940s to the early 2000s. Some artists will take a drum beat, while others take an entire chorus or even the entire instrumental of another song. In recent media, the viral song “Anxiety” by Doechii has received backlash because of its use of the iconic instrumental from the song “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye ft. Kimbra. Despite Doechii’s current popularity, many fans and listeners criticized the song because the hook is what gets people to continue listening. But after the song ends, fans are disappointed, claiming the lyrics are mediocre and that the popularity of the original completely overshadows any project using the sample.
As often as it is to hear sampled music, it isn’t always easy to get approved to use a sample. If done correctly, artists and producers can make the decision to use the sample and release the production under their own name. However, there can be complications when it comes to getting approval to use a sample. Artists who create samples and sell them are often paid royalties every time their sample is sold or played, like “Lucid Dreams” by Juice Wrld, a popular 2018 song that sampled Sting’s “Shape Of My Heart.” Despite the song’s virality, it used a sample without proper clearance, which resulted in Sting holding 85% of rights and royalties for “Lucid Dreams.”
In the music world of today, sampling is as com- mon as using quotes when writing in English class. There’s a lack of originality in recent songs because most samples are overused and overdone. As the music industry grows at a rapid pace, new emerging artists sample songs from the 1990s or even today — and listeners are beginning to notice a constant pattern and repetition. The continuous recycling of popular songs leads to a sense of disrespect to original artists and
also to artists who create their own music only to be overlooked by a one-hit-wonder who used an iconic instrumental and used their own lyrics. Sampling can be a powerful tool when used in a creative manner, but its rise has successfully removed the uniqueness from the music industry almost completely. Sampling music has become so common, it blurs the line between creativity and unoriginality.
