Navigating the legal landscape of copyright law can be very difficult for artists. We spoke with Justin Laughter, an entertainment lawyer, to try and understand the legal advice and options he provides to his clients. When an artist uses an idea from another artist or uses a sample of the sound recording, there are limited options an artist has in order to avoid a copyright infringement. One option he discusses is using fair use as a legal defense. This entails either using a very short, unsubstantial part of the song or transforming the sound recording in some way. He says the main problem with this strategy is that, “When artists use fair use they’re opening themselves up to lawsuits. I always recommend clients not to use fair use.” This is simply because if you go to court, “You already lost.” For young musicians who don’t have the capital to fight off potential legal claims, this can be devastating. Upcoming musicians often won’t have the ability to go to court, as the revenue from the song likely would not be greater than the cost of hiring a lawyer.
Instead of using fair use, Justin Laughter often advises his clients to avoid using famous samples or start with samples that have been pre-cleared. This strategy helps allow the artist to better manage their expectations as they don’t make songs they can’t make money from or can’t release altogether. One company that specializes in helping musicians find samples that are pre-cleared is TrackLib. TrackLib is a website that allows artists to download pre-cleared samples from their database for a small fee per month. Using a website like this better protects young musicians from being taken advantage of in an industry where it is so common.