Sampling is not a crime, says music producer
Ghanaian rapper Obrafour has sued Drake for US$10 million for sampling his 2003 remix of “Oye Ohene” on the song “Calling My Name” from his “Honestly Never mind” album
Record label executive and music producer, Joshua Raphaelson popularly known as Jam Master J (JMJ) has noted that it is not illegal to sample the works of other artistes.
Speaking on The Asaase Breakfast Show with Benjamin Offei Addo on Friday (21 April), JMJ said, “It’s standard practice; it’s actually not a crime, but it becomes a crime if you don’t seek clearance. It is an industry practice, and it is very much allowed.”
“It’s like another media house uses Asaase Radio’s tagline in a documentary if they re-record ‘The Voice of Our Land’ tagline without seeking clearance, it will be a crime,” he explained.
“It is not a crime to sample somebody’s creative work, but once you don’t seek clearance, clearly you are evil.”
However, legal practitioner Samuel Baddoo explained that he sees Obrafour’s copyright lawsuit against Drake being settled out of court.
“If I was arguing for Drake’s position, I would say that it demonstrated a willingness to in fact come to the table to indeed negotiate and do the right thing in good faith.”
He added: “However, as Drake’s album was released as a surprise, they weren’t able to get the necessary clearances, which is understandable.”
“Nonetheless, there was little or no alteration to Obrafour’s line, which was transposed to Drake’s song. Not to preempt the case, but ideally, I see this being settled out of court.”
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