STORY PITCH

Music sampling has become an increasingly more acceptable practice within the past few
decades, with many popular artists using the technique in their music. Music sampling can
range from using direct segments from other songs or media to just adapting obscure
elements or interpolations of anothers work, and can add new flavour or dimensions to both
pieces. Compared to Americas fair use system, Australias copyright laws are very broad and
limiting on what artists can do without permission from the original artists. Whilst one side of
this sees it as protecting the original artists and their copyright, it could also be argued that
this is a hindrance on the creative freedom of music producers that use samples, as can be
seen with the famous case of Men at Works Down Under lawsuit.
With the rising dominance of internet sharing spaces, access to digital music for
downloading, sampling and sharing without direct permission from the original artists is
becoming more and more prevalent. This story will investigate the social and economic
implications of music sampling in a digital age.
The ALRC has recently released a review on the Copyright Act 1968 calling for amendments
to the copyright act to a more gracious free use system. This has sparked debate amongst
industry professionals, in particular music professionals for this story, as to whether or not
this is a step in the right direction. This article places this discussion in the context of those
dealing with music samples, and will use it as a springboard for an investigation into music
sampling culture.
As for media coverage of music sampling, there is a very limited amount that relates directly
to the present topic. Mainstream media has provided no identifiable music copyright
reporting in the last month, and any discussion is restricted to niche outlets.
For example:
Changes to copyright law could affect streaming music services InsideCounsel Magazine,
Rich Steves 30/05/2014
Probably the most significant anti-copyright media output surrounded copyright activists
Creationistas video Australian Copyright is Broken (available on YouTube), which called
for the loosening of copyright laws.
Many producers around Australia are producing content that breaches copyright law all the
time without even knowing about it. Even DJs performing their mixes in local bars without

permission of the original producers are liable for breach. Because of this, my story will
adopt the angle that current music copyright laws are restricting the creative freedom of
independent producers in Australia, but will investigate both sides to the story.
Since the public has received such little information on the topic form the media, this story
will fill the gap with an engaging factual and personal insight into the debate. It will be
targeted at a relevant audience of music enthusiasts, and is thus suitable to a broad music
media distributor such as TheMusic.com.au.
Since this investigative piece will require a balanced argument surrounding the pros and cons
of music sampling and the laws that surround it, information from a variety of sources will
have to be put forward. Therefore this story will be most effectively covered if a combination
of positivist and interpretive paradigms are employed.
Including quantitative data on music sampling prevalence will be valuable for establishing
notable trends in the industry to support discussion. In order to achieve this, initial research
on sampling prevalence in popular music in Australia (e.g. the ARIA Top 100 charts) and
America (e.g. Billboard Hot 100) will be undertaken. Sampling identification tools such as
WhoSampled.com will be used to scour the charts for successful sampling. For an initial
assessment of viability for this process, I have examined the past decade of ARIA chart Top
100 tracks (2004-2014) for samples using WhoSampled.com to produce the following results
from the pilot study (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The number of tracks that contain a degree of music sampling in the Australian ARIA charts Top 100
from 2004-2014. Data are categorised for direct sampling, interpolations and covers.

This pilot study was completed in a few days, allowing me to estimate that this method will
be successful and will easily be extrapolated to a broader scope within the timeframe. The
information this data provides allows analysis of sampling popularity over time and provides
interesting evidence (e.g. between 10-20% of chart songs every year contain a direct sample
of another song).
The second component of the process will be talking to industry professionals that
continually deal with music sampling. Since this article is weighing both sides of the coin for
music sampling and copyright restrictions, it will be valuable to establish two key figureheads
from either opinion as key players.
The first of these professionals is popular Brisbane DJ and producer Joey Da Rin (AKA
Young Franco), who is not currently signed to any label and whose music contains numerous
uncleared samples. In an initial interview he revealed to me that he has had offers for his
music to appear in commercial advertising, however due to copyright restrictions he was not
able to take this opportunity. He believes that current laws definitely stifle people from
reaching their potential.
Joey Da Rin Brisbane DJ and Producer

Ph: 0403 733 451

Email: yngfrnco@gmail.com

The counter argument will be provided by music licence broker Tyler McLoughlan, who told
me in an interview that she believes that the copyright restrictions on music sampling should
be very tight and not open to interpretation in order to protect her clients and other copyright
holders.
Tyler McLoughlan

Ph: 0458 293 167

Email: info@soundpound.com

Other potential sources include:

Robyn Ayres Director at Arts Law Centre of Australia. Can be an authority on music
copyright laws and recent changes to them.

Ph: (02) 9356 2566

Email: artslaw@artslaw.com.au

Sony Music Entertainment Australia A representative from this recording studio and label
can provide insight into the copyright clearance process and its importance. They also happen
to be the label for Men at Work so may be able to comment on the lawsuit.

Ph: (02) 9383 6200

Email: enquiries.au@sonymusic.com

Through discussion of the information gathered, substantial news values become evident. The
discussion is one that will affect many producers that may not know about it. There is an
inherent conflict between parties and the discussion features celebrity and power elite that
deal with music sampling. Perhaps most significantly however, the draw will be in its two
key sources, expressing their different concerns and stories in relation to the issue at hand.
For these reasons, this article will be a thorough and thought provoking insight into a world
that is typically inaccessible to the general public by providing interesting figures and stories
from engaging and original sources.