Sampling and Post modernism

[FTdub]

Why is it that post modernism is so appreciated in the other arts (theatre, painting, sculpting, etc.) but in music its looked down upon and artists charge for samples. Artists like Roy Ayers embrace sampling of their works because they feel it makes them new again and therefore in the public's mind. This idea is the very essence of sampling, hip hop, and electronic music. Even in Reggae, Dub, and Dancehall it is not looked down upon to appropriate someone else's riddim for your new song. But many musicians hate on the very thought of being sampled. And on another note why do we hip hop producers cry bloody murder when a RnB song samples a hip hop beat. Just thinking out loud here.

 

[Kevin A]

Maybe because it's a personal experience that came forth with hard work. That's almost the same as you having a child and him calling me daddy when you the father. Music is also different in that sense, Hip hop is different, most of those artist will have a alias, for their image and say this is who I am, and then in a interview they'll say I'm somebody else now. It's really a joke. As for other artist, or real musicians, I would say the music is more real and personal. Some will care if you sample, some won't. It's their right, and they are backed by law. Nothing you can really do if you get caught homie. And 8 times out of 10 the remake will not be better than the original. Just listen to the original if you wanna go back in time. Most R&B and rap lyrics are trash anyway, why degrade a perfectly good original?

 

[FTdub]

My thought was, why is intellectual property so much more over valued in music, than in the other arts. Why are musicians so much more inclined to sue or charge for quotations of there previous work. If anything, a new song that samples an older song, just makes the older one more relevant to future generations of music fans. It may actually increase the album sales of the original based upon greater dissemination. But again, why are hip hop producers asking for greater leniency in sampling, and then hate it when another genre samples a hip hop song? Why the f-ck shit gotta be like that.

 

[Formant024]

Because in the real world people want money and cultural biased artist in the arty farty world want recognition.

 

[Kevin A]

plays are ment to be acted out, scripts are ment to be read and I'm sure any movie remake has gone through somekind of ok by the original copywright holder because that's too much money to produce a film, to be held back by copywright law. Music is easier, and less costly to steal up front, and sometime it goes unoticed at all. I you're trying to make money off something I did, I would want a cut too. It's only right, and respectful. Honestly those guys aren't thinking about the value of music, bringing the past to the future, you don't even need no one to do that, if you like oldies, your listening to them already. Those guy do it to make hits of song that were already hits, or tunes that you are already familiar with. This is done to sale records/make money not to appreciate music 98% of the time I would assume.

 

[FTdub]

Think of this though, I grew up learning the tight oldies through hip hop. I didn't know the meters, the freddie hubbards, or idris muhammads until I studied the liner notes of hip hop albums to see where the samples came from. In the same regard, I bought many hip hop records based solely on the shout-outs in the liner notes without ever hearing a song by the named artist. My feeling is that music and culture would both benefit from freedom of interpolation similar to painting and graphic design. I feel that the reason that musicians are so sample paranoid is because of ego. Each producer thinks he is better than the next, each guitarist thinks he has more riffs than the next, each drummer, turnablist, and trumpet player are all so high on themselves that they bring others down to bring themselves up. They feel a sample is stealing because they have a greater need to build themselves up. If you are really in it for the love you don't care about sampling or interpolating because it advances the art, culture, and your own relevancy if you are sampled. Roy Ayers, Idris Muhammad, and others who are put on pedestals within their field have realized this and embraced it. Plays are to be read and music is to be played, sung to, and danced to. It is not created for a vacuuum or time capsule, so we should be able to quote and build upon others advancements. It is the weak musicians to blame for the sorry legal precedents, because the dope ones will live forever, and the weak ones have to scrounge.
Peace