Do Not Sample Me!

Sampling is an art form in and of itself, and while the suits at many major labels might not agree, it should be acknowledged as such. The act of taking a sample to give birth to a new musical idea can be an ace up the sleeve for some producers—sometimes even jumpstarting their career, like we have seen with Pretty Lights. But as of late, independent artists have been under fire as DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) takedowns are being handed out faster than DJ mixtapes in the ’90s. Although we have artists such as Kaskade urging other producers to breathe new life into his signed releases, it just isn’t enough. Even when taking the necessary precautions, you are never completely out of the line of fire.

A personal project conceived by Morgan Crozier will assist producers by acting as a takedown safeguard, protecting the creative vision of independent artists. His website DontSample.Me is a resource for producers who would like to save themselves from any copyright infringement legal action and the headache that comes along with it. Here, you will find a collection of names including Zedd, Tiësto, Steve Aoki, Eric Prydz, Disclosure, deadmau5, Avicii, and the list goes on… and on and on, until it reaches its current total of 2,878 artists. These are the artists you don’t want to mess with (if the dance music industry were the mafia, they would be the “made men”). The site’s “About” section says it perfectly: “This will empower a new generation of creativity and independent artists that isn’t constantly feeding the pockets of people who don’t care about you.” If you’re thinking about throwing a sample into your new banger, do yourself a favor and keep this site on-hand.

Big ups to Morgan! Thanks for looking out for the music makers of our generation.

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