In the music industry, sampling is fairly common. This is just the process of making new works out of existing works. An artist will take a portion of a song that has already been recorded and use that to craft a new song entirely.
For instance, there may be an acoustic song written by a folk band that has an interesting guitar part for the intro. A hip-hop artist may sample this song by using that guitar part, looping a short section, like four measures, and then building a song around it. They may add other elements, such as drums, 808s, vocals, synthesizers and much more. But underneath all of this new instrumentation is the original sample from a different song.
Is this legal?
Yes, sampling is legal. But it does need to be done properly. In most cases, samples need to be cleared with the artist who originally recorded the song. These artists will sometimes be paid to clear the sample.
When things get tricky is if someone uses a sample and makes a song without permission. If they then release the song and begin making money off of it, the original artist may claim that it’s a violation of their intellectual property rights. Essentially, the art that they created is being used so that someone else can make money without their permission. Even artists who are very happy to clear samples and allow people to use their work may be unhappy if the proper channels aren’t followed.
Issues with sampling can sometimes lead to litigation in the entertainment industry. Those involved must know what legal options they have.