Most confusion about sampling comes from treating a song as one thing. It's two. For how this plays out when you clear a sample, see the complete guide to sample clearance.
The master: the recording
The master is a specific recorded performance: the actual audio. The same song recorded twice produces two different masters.
- Usually owned by: the record label, or the artist if they're independent
- Earns money from: streams and sales of that recording, and sync when that recording is used in film, TV or ads
- Paid through: labels and distributors
The publishing: the song
The publishing (or composition) is the song itself: the melody, the lyrics, the chords and structure. It exists whether or not anyone has recorded it.
- Usually owned by: the songwriters and their music publishers
- Earns money from: performance royalties (streams, radio, live), mechanical royalties (reproductions), and sync
- Paid through: performing rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI and PRS, mechanical collection bodies like The MLC in the US, and publishers or publishing administrators
Side by side
| Master | Publishing | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The recording | The song underneath |
| Typical owner | Label or artist | Songwriters and publishers |
| Main income | Streams, sales, sync | Performance, mechanical, sync |
| Collected by | Labels and distributors | PROs, mechanical bodies, publishers |
Why sampling needs both
When you lift audio from a record, you're using that recording and the song in it. So you need a license for the master from the recording owner, and a license for the composition from the publisher.
If you replay the part instead of sampling it, you only use the song, so you only need the publisher. That's the whole difference explained in sampling vs interpolation.
Your side of it
Every track you make has a master and a composition too, and you probably own both.
- Register your songs with a performing rights organization, or you'll miss performance royalties.
- Use split sheets whenever you collaborate, so everyone's share of the song is agreed in writing.
- Consider a publishing administrator to collect mechanicals and royalties from other countries.
Where Soul Sample Club fits
Soul Sample Club samples are licensed to you with no royalties and no future payments, so when you use them you don't hand over a share of your master or your publishing. Your song's income stays yours.
