When releasing an album, a producer needs to be aware of the legalities of doing so. This means getting their work the right copyright, making sure all samples are cleared and that no one is making money off of their work.
For my album, I will be releasing it on Soundcloud, a free music sharing site. This makes it extremely easy for me to get my music copyrighted, as once it has a time stamp and has been posted, no one can legally take my work and use it for themselves. Because I am releasing the music for free, I would hope that no body would steal my work.
If I had decided to sell my album online, I would have to face the issue of sample clearing. Sample clearing is only worth worrying about if you have used samples from other songs and are planning on selling your music. The way an artist can get around samples is by finding out who owns the publishing contract of the music used, contacting them and asking for permission to use the sample. If they don't get back to the artist, then unfortunately there is no way around selling that particular song, and would have to be released as a bootleg or free track. There are a lot of myths around clearing samples, such as the idea that only 4 bars were used or that the original sample is so distorted and changed that it's unrecognisable, however as I said, they are myths. It is always, always, pertinent to make sure that all the samples are cleared. Because of the genre and style I have chosen (Boom bap hip hop uses a lot of samples), I would have to make sure all samples I use are cleared, however I'm releasing my project for free. (1, 2, 3)
For my album, I will be releasing it on Soundcloud, a free music sharing site. This makes it extremely easy for me to get my music copyrighted, as once it has a time stamp and has been posted, no one can legally take my work and use it for themselves. Because I am releasing the music for free, I would hope that no body would steal my work.
If I had decided to sell my album online, I would have to face the issue of sample clearing. Sample clearing is only worth worrying about if you have used samples from other songs and are planning on selling your music. The way an artist can get around samples is by finding out who owns the publishing contract of the music used, contacting them and asking for permission to use the sample. If they don't get back to the artist, then unfortunately there is no way around selling that particular song, and would have to be released as a bootleg or free track. There are a lot of myths around clearing samples, such as the idea that only 4 bars were used or that the original sample is so distorted and changed that it's unrecognisable, however as I said, they are myths. It is always, always, pertinent to make sure that all the samples are cleared. Because of the genre and style I have chosen (Boom bap hip hop uses a lot of samples), I would have to make sure all samples I use are cleared, however I'm releasing my project for free. (1, 2, 3)