Book chapter
An Oral History of Sampling: From Turntables to Mashups
The Routledge Companion to Remix Studies, pp.73-85
Routledge, Second edition
2025
DOI: 10.4324/9781003402459-6
Abstract
This chapter presents a five-part oral history of hip hop, remix culture, and its inevitable conflict with copyright law. Part I depicts a prehistory of digital sampling, documenting the ways that 1970s hip hop DJs developed an approach to music-making that continued into the digital era. Part II provides an overview of the impact of digital sampling technologies in the 1980s, which contributed directly to what is often referred to as "the golden age of sampling," roughly from 1986 to 1992. Part III shows an account of the copyright infringement lawsuits that exploded in the wake of that golden age, and Part IV explores the ethical-rather than legal-implications of remixing practices. Part V brings us into the twenty-first century, discussing the mashup phenomenon before concluding this oral history with some more general observations about sampling from artists, lawyers, and record company owners.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- An Oral History of Sampling: From Turntables to Mashups
- Creators
- Kembrew McLeod
- Contributors
- Eduardo Navas (Editor)Owen Gallagher (Editor)Xtine Burrough (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- The Routledge Companion to Remix Studies, pp.73-85
- Edition
- Second edition
- Publisher
- Routledge; New York, NY
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003402459-6
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2025
- Academic Unit
- Communication Studies
- Record Identifier
- 9984786448302771
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