Sampling

Copyright law gives creators an immense amount of control over how their works are used. At the same time, the law also aims to promote creative follow-on uses, because such uses enhance culture by contributing to the dialogue surrounding the original work. Music sampling is one example of just such a follow-on use. The practice is prevalent in hip-hop, where referencing and recontextualizing other works is central to the creative process. However, partly because of legal uncertainties, the practice of sampling has become expensive and time consuming in recent years, to the point that it has discouraged would-be samplers from creating new works.