Modern Economics & Management Forum

With the advancement of digital technology, sampling and remixing digital music has become a common form of creation in the music industry, especially in hip-hop and rap music. However, current law has created a huge barrier to entry for musicians creating sample-based music, as music sampling is often deemed to be a copyright infringement. Such a situation is frustrating for potential samplers, music companies, music lovers and the whole music industry. This brings people to new thoughts on whether legislating a red line for music sampling can breathe new life into the music industry, which is also the main question explored in this article. This essay begins with a brief introduction on music sampling, followed by its judicial dilemma in Europe and the United States. Later, the article analyses the solutions and proposals for resolving this dilemma, namely fair use and compulsory licensing. In the end, it was concluded that the 'fair use' defence has limitations and unpredictability, thus many music samplers remain reluctant to try it. In comparison, a compulsory licence system that requires a fee is more in line with the aims of copyright and the needs of the market. This is because it allows the original copyright holders to receive the reasonable return they might be most interested in, while reducing the time, effort and expense required by music samplers to obtain a licence, thereby encouraging more music to be created.