Copyright Infringement?

[crog85]

So the other day I get an email from soundcloud saying they have removed a song from my profile due to copyright infringement... First off, I DO NOT create music for profit. I only create music as a hobby, for fun... Its something that I enjoy doing, and have been doing for over a decade now. The song that was removed was a remix to a song... I used the acapella and added my own instrumental. I was not trying to pass this song off as my own, or sell it for any profit... Just wanted to hear some verses over the instrumental. (BTW this song was posted years ago, and maybe had 30 plays lol)

How is that considered copyright infringement? From my understanding many producers use samples to create beats, and if a rapper decides to use one for an album then they go through the process of paying to use the sample...

Hiphop is based on sampling... and mixtapes commonly use instrumentals from popular songs that rappers put their own verses on...

Anyone else have any problems with copyright infringement? What are you views on the topic?

 

[Pug]

Even if you use something without monetary gain, you are still infringing on another person's work. It all comes down to ownership of the original. I can't see why they'd target someone for an acapella, but it is the internet, so expect everything.

 

[crog85]

I see what your saying... but I did credit the original artist in the songs description, so it's not like I was trying to pass it off as my own original work.

I guess my original question was more along the lines of... How can someone tell me what I can or cant use in my creative process? I can go sample just about any song, commercial, movie, etc that I choose, I can also use countless acapellas to make music. I can listen to it, but I can't post it on the web for others to hear?

I just don't understand why they remove my song, but if you go on soundcloud and search for "remix" you'll find 1000's of songs that should also be removed for copyright infringement... That have 1000's of plays vs the 30 plays my song had.

I guess I can always look at the positive... Someone was listening to my music lol (and to make it better, it was reported to soundcloud by Sony Music Entertainment)

 

[Pug]

It's a numbers game really, some people will get caught, others will not.

It basically comes down to getting permission from the original artist. It's the same reason I can't just take someone's digital painting or photograph and use it in my own work. Someone else owns it, and using it, even if it's to fuel my creative process is violating copyright.

Keep doing what you're doing, don't sweat too much over it, especially since you weren't making money off of it.

 

[Fade]

This is what Soundcloud and Youtube started doing a while ago and it's all because of the pressure from labels. From my understanding, it's certain labels that tell them certain songs are off limits, so it's screened or something.

Like you said though, it's stupid that they would take your song down over an acapella. I just don't understand their thinking. What if I'm scratching a portion of an acapella over my own beat? Is that ok? I have no idea.

I've been checking Mixcloud and so far I don't think they do it, even though they focus mainly on mixes. Which is another thing - why would a DJ mix playing songs be ok to post up but not to sample it? Makes no sense.

 

[TagYourBeats]

I hate copyright, but I can appreciate it at the same time.

Suppose you were remixing Rheannas Umbrella track (it's raining here in the UK and thats all I could think of...sorry), by you using that vocal you are almost cheapening the original song. The record label want to get as much money as possible from that song to make back their full investment (and then some).

By doing a remix, the record label are getting hurt because there are people listening to that song by their artist, who recorded the original on their dollar. They just want people to listen to the songs that they get paid for.

Additionally, Rheanna and the song writers aren't getting paid their cut either.

It sucks because I fucking love remixes - they prolong the life of songs for me, but I wouldn't risk it any more. I got sued a few years ago for putting an image on a blog post - cost me £3,500/$5,000 just for using a badly drawn picture of a road sign on an article about choosing the right path for your music career. I'll never mess with someone elses copyright ever again.

 

[Beautiful Noise]

So the other day I get an email from soundcloud saying they have removed a song from my profile due to copyright infringement... First off, I DO NOT create music for profit. I only create music as a hobby, for fun... Its something that I enjoy doing, and have been doing for over a decade now. The song that was removed was a remix to a song... I used the acapella and added my own instrumental. I was not trying to pass this song off as my own, or sell it for any profit... Just wanted to hear some verses over the instrumental. (BTW this song was posted years ago, and maybe had 30 plays lol)

How is that considered copyright infringement? From my understanding many producers use samples to create beats, and if a rapper decides to use one for an album then they go through the process of paying to use the sample...

Hiphop is based on sampling... and mixtapes commonly use instrumentals from popular songs that rappers put their own verses on...

Anyone else have any problems with copyright infringement? What are you views on the topic?

I had the same problem with a song I had on my soundcloud page. The song was up for over a year before I got "busted." I noticed that putting the track as "private" seems to prolong the time the song stays posted. I have a few private tracks up there, and haven't been busted yet. I may re-post the track and make it private. You may want to go that route.