Music Sampling involves taking a piece or “sample” of a pre-existing recording that someone else created and integrating it into your own production. Unless the chosen sample is for sale as royalty-free, using someone else’s songwriting and recording requires obtaining rights for legal use.
Sample Replacement is a technique of re-recording the performance of the original recording you’d like to sample, transforming it into an Interpolation. Interpolation is the use of someone’s copyrighted lyrics and melody inside your own new recording, but without using their original recording.
Sample Replacement can be prudent when working with production that contains samples for a couple reasons:
-Creating a higher quality, more mix-friendly version of a sample. It’s often part of the charm of sampling that the original audio is twisted and mangled but in some cases a more hi-fi sound in desirable. Accurately re-recording the instruments of a sample gives you control over the elements of that performance giving you more flexibility in how it’s integrated into your new mix.
-Clearing sample rights and paying royalties for a sample will likely be easier and more affordable if the sample is re-recorded, as there are rights for both the composition of the sampled song and the recording of that song that need to be navigated. By creating your own recording of a sample rather than using the original, you can skirt the issue of obtaining rights for the recording and secure rights for the composition only.
Here’s an example of a song I performed a sample replacement on.
ProbCause X Chrishira’s Vibeline “Shine Bright”
Here’s the original recording that was sampled then replaced.