Reading this thread is depressing. I’ve seen content creators on youtube get strikes for simple stuff, like because an algorithm has detected a filter sweep from a synth that a content creator has claimed without any merit, hoping to score a few bucks from the hits that the content creator gets.
There will be no music and no Youtube content containing music at some point and we’ll all go to the beach to listen to tribal drums and chanting and stuff and keep our musical efforts to ourselves.
Tonnes of threads on this with great advice if you search.
Are even individual drumhits protected?
Sampling gets more and more problematic nowadays but i sample whenever i want since 25 years and never had any problems. I don’t make money with music though.
One time a label was interested in a song i made but then declined when they realised i sampled Dean Martin.
But on the other hand a friend of mine rapped on a beat for which i sampled a hollywood movie and he still performs the track live and his album is for sale. He’s still flying under the radar.
I mostly use my own recorded and processed drum samples but sampling individual drumhits isn’t a problem at all. Unless it’s Kraftwerk. 
I read somewhere about some people registering songs that are just the patches of NI Komplete strung together and content creators getting strikes for demos of those patches. It was a while back so I don’t remember the specifics, but remember thinking, what the hell?!
For a moment, I believed that an average person would have access to such technology. That is a fair point, along with the process being applied to a medium afterwards!
I can see why you may think that, and it hurts to see, but, people have been taking from others since the beginning of time, imo. Not advocating anything, rather trying to make sense of things, together. I think it’s just more common in music because of how little firepower artists possess in terms of legal action. In contrast, how about when a large company plays a track in a different region without contacting the artist? Is it like a tree falling in the woods? It seems like the only way an artists creation can be protected is if there is a substantial amount of financial backing supporting them.
Aw, man, that’s unfortunate! Would you be willing to share the song here?
Yeah, big what the hell there! Do you remember the outcome/ if the creators were able to keep their earnings? Just having that track get taken down would put a hamper on exposure until it gets to be reuploaded (unless they played off of the bad press lol). That seems like a forced pause on an artist potentially blowing up.
I don’t remember. I used to visit the VI Control forum a lot at one point and that was just one of the horror stories I read. Scammers are everywhere these days and the upshot seems to be dealing with it can often be more trouble than it’s worth (time and money), which is how the scammers or people working some of these angles continue to operate I guess.
It has german raps on top so i don’t know if it makes sense to post here.
And i sampled the song very heavily and obvious without changing it a lot. So it’s not a good example of how to not get caught with sampling. 
I was surprised the label was even interested in it. I never thought of releasing it commercially so it was more of a funny situation instead of a missed oppurtunity.
Sounds good to me
yeah, copyright is kinda out of hand bullsh1t restricting creativity for the purpose of enriching rich people at this point tbh.
it probably needs rewriting or simplifying but given the poachers are in charge of the chicken coop it is not going to happen.
I have a song where I’m using part of a “This American Life” episode. As I am finishing the track and thinking about uploading it to Soundcloud and Bandcamp (for free), do you think this is any problem?
The sample is around 20 seconds of narration. I cut it out of a longer part, but these 20 seconds are not chopped or interrupted. I pitched it down a bit and put some reverb on it, but it’s not heavily altered my any means.
The song will be part of my first EP. I don’t have any following and don’t expect to get a lot of listens besides maybe some friendly Elektronauts. I’m an amateur and don’t want to make any kind of money with the music.
Do you think this will cause any kind of problem? Is it a good idea to ask the author/podcast for permission out of courtesy?
Rule of thumb for sample clearance:
Are you expecting to make some significant amount of money from the music that uses the samples?
If not, don’t bother clearing samples.
Sample clearance is only necessary if the rights holder has something to gain by taking you to court.
Yeah, that’s what I gathered from reading the thread so far. I won’t make any money, that’s for sure.
I would still like to credit the author for the narrative in the infos on Soundcloud/Bandcamp. I feel like this is appropriate since I’m clearly using their art in my music. Is that a bad idea for some reason?
@Azzarole this is a really weird grey area, but after looking further into this topic a bit more, the most likely two outcomes that will result if by miracle your track is picked up by any individual/ system in place to recognize it, then you will either: a) have your video on a streaming site lose it’s monetization ability (which you mentioned you were putting up your track for free, so this shouldn’t apply), or b) you will receive a cease and desist from the content owner asking you take your music down, which is a slap-on-wrist warning dressed in an aggressive letter format. I don’t have any experience with this, however, but I’m siding with the other members here because it also appears to be the same consensus on other forums, as well. Keep making those sweet jams that sound good to your ears! 
The time when one should clear any samples is when they have generated enough income from their songs to do so, which is probably when “they” will notice you/ come after you for their potential cut, however small/large that may be.
That’s really reassuring, thanks for taking the time 
!
It is not a grey legal area at all. It is just that as long as your song’s not on, probably no one cares.
To be read, if possible: All You Need to Know about the Music Business by Donald S. Passman | Goodreads
Some points:
But what about sampling e.g. a podcast that was transmitted on public radio? It’s not music signed to a label. Does that change things?
No problem at all.
Every track I made are full of samples from anything. Never cleared a single sample. All uploaded to soundcloud.
I’m in the same situation as you, I’m an amateur and I don’t make money with music.
We are far from radar, they will not loose their time with us.
In the EU, using someone’s voice in another unauthorised context may be subject to GDPR claims. Careful.
Copyright on podcasts, yes, that is on the content and ideas. You can’t claim copyright on your voice absent any form of creative process (eg rhythmical, musical, etc) and absent any performing of copyrighted material (eg citing a poem, singing lyrics, quoting a book, etc). You can however put a trademark on a voice, e.g relevant for TV guys and showbiz.
For your own personal fun, don’t hesitate to sample the whole world.
As soon as you publish to the world as an amateur, be more careful and ideally process the samples beyond easy recognition.
If you’re a (semi-) pro (making money from shows and songwriting, no matter how little), no sample clearance is a no go, for it could damage your reputation with labels and record companies.