TW #24, #25, #64, #65 — the sample-ripping debate (Mhoram, Psibelius, Kristian Eriksen, Beacon)

Four articles a year apart on "the dreaded 'R' word": taking samples out of other people's modules. The first two (1995) argue etiquette, the second pair (1996) argue copyright. Together they are the scene's own rulebook for sample-ripping.

Key claims#

• Mhoram (#24, his first column): ripping is "probably one of the most controversial subjects on the tracking scene". Everyone has done it — the second thing he did after discovering Mod Edit was rip samples "until [the] hard drive is full", and he owns about 50 MB of ripped samples of unknown origin. Sampling is harder than composing ("It takes a lot of patience and care to make good samples") and many trackers lack the gear, knowledge or time. His compromise: every musician has a responsibility to try to make their own samples; if you rip, save the author's name with the sample and credit it when you reuse it; coders borrow code and credit, musicians should too. If someone rips you, "take it as a compliment"; if they forgot the credit, tell them "NICELY".
• psibelius (#25): "This stupid controversy around ripping samples is a waste of time." The famous "Second Reality samples" are only called that because they come from 2nd_skav.s3m and 2nd_pm.s3m — pull the overused marcato strings out with a sample ripper (he recommends GetSamps v2.42 by Zab [Hardcode]) and compare it with the GUS MIDI patch marcato.pat: "virtually IDENTICAL". Good samples are hard to make ("No clicks, loop easily, correct pitch, and volume"), so there is no point sampling yet another piano. The one rule: don't take an individualised sample that belongs to one song — necros's "The Grey Note" sax samples are melody lines, not single notes, like ripping lyrics. Credit the creator if you know who it is; if you don't, "don't bother"; if a musician says their self-made samples are not to be reused, respect it; and never rip a whole sample set from one song, because you then write something "completely influenced by that one song" — combine samples from many songs.
• Kristian Eriksen (Kezoomer / TLS, #64): only 0.3 % of his instruments are self-sampled and he sees nothing wrong with it. Threats against rippers lose his respect. Most scene samples come from commercial sources anyway — CDs and synths — so the only real copyright holders are "Roland, Akai, Nine Inch Nails or the Prodigy": "The only real sample theft … is done by the ones who sample it in the first place". Not everyone owns synths or sampling tools, and homemade samples often turn out bad; the people who did the sampling work should be proud, not angry, when their samples are used.
• Beacon (Sublevel 3, #65) answers with the legal position: you can forbid the use of a sample only if you produced it (your own voice, your own guitar riff). Samples from sample CDs, commercial CDs, movies, TV and radio need permission before distribution; sampling from synths carries "absolutely no risk"; sample CDs need written permission for a commercial release. Commercial artists rip too (Massive Attack: "Sampling is what we're mainly about!", Future Music 23, September 1994; the Prodigy sampled the Breeders' guitars on "Firestarter"; Scanner won a lawsuit against Björk over samples on Post; the Future Sound of London sampled Lisa Gerrard for "Papua New Guinea" without asking and she did not mind). Module music is "usually risk-free, because you don't sell your tunes for money". His own practice: he rips nothing from other module musicians because unheard samples make tunes "A LOT more distinct, interesting and original" — "If everyone was to use only basehead's and Necros' super-samples in their tunes, then the wonderful music-scene would eventually die because of monotony". He closes with Dune / Orange's rule "If you rip don't rip all" and a reading list (Future Music 34, August 1995, pp. 82–86; M. F. Flint, A User's Guide to Copyright; the MCPS for clearances).

Practical takeaways#

• Keep the author's name with every ripped sample and credit it in the song text (Mhoram).
• Credit when you know the creator; the person whose song you took it from often is not the creator (Psibelius).
• Never rip a song-specific phrase or solo line; never rip a whole sample set from one song — mix sources so the result is yours (Psibelius, Dune).
• Respect an explicit "do not reuse my self-made samples" (Psibelius); legally only self-produced recordings can be reserved (Beacon).
• What makes a sample worth keeping: no clicks, loops easily, correct pitch and volume (Psibelius) — see sample-looping.
• Tools and sources of the time: GetSamps v2.42 as a ripper; GUS .pat patches as a legitimate sample source (the "Second Reality" marcato strings are one).
• Make some samples of your own, "giving back" to the scene (Mhoram); own samples make songs distinct (Beacon) — see recording-samples.

Notable quotes#

• "If you borrow it, give credit to the original author! If you sample it, don't get mad if someone rips it — take it as a compliment." (Mhoram)
• "it is not the specific samples that make a song, but how different samples are woven together to create a new musical picture." (Psibelius)
• "If you rip don't rip all" (Dune / Orange, quoted by Beacon)

Relevance#

The source for the sample-ripping concept page and for the etiquette line on chip-samples; the origin of the "Second Reality samples" for future-crew; Psibelius's definition of a good sample for sample-looping.

Pages touched#

sample-ripping, sample-looping, chip-samples, psibelius, necros, basehead, future-crew.