From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
Self-Mixing and Music Sampling
- Another significant event to impact on independent music in the digital age is the introduction of digital audio editing programs like Pro Tools. Pro Tools has been the most successful digital audio editing program to date and was created by Digi Design, a division of Avid Technology Inc. For the past fifteen years Digi Design has been an industry leader in the world of computer-based digital audio production and their products have revolutionised audio recording. Digi Design boasts that Pro Tools “offers everything you need to create and produce music with professional results� and “places the power of creation comfortably in your hands� (protools.com, 2004).
- Pro Tools consists of both hardware and software that can be installed on a home PC. It gives the user the ability to record, edit and mix their own sound or adjust somebody else’s with professional sounding results. The cheapest complete Pro Tools packages cost around $10, 000 USD, which may seem very expensive at first but can be a worthwhile investment for a musician when weighed against the recurring costs of studio time and post production (protools.com, 2004).
- Pro Tools is also quite easy to use and Digidesign offers training and education programs for Pro Tools users ranging from beginners to experienced users. Learning resources include books, manuals, demonstrations and clinics, DigiZine online magazine and free access to Pro Tools. As users get more experienced specialised classes are offered (protools.com, 2004).
- This kind of technology has opened up many doors for independent artists but digital audio editing programs are not just for amateurs. Many professional studios use deluxe Pro Tools packages when recording, although these packages are significantly more expensive than those used by the amateurs. Pro Tools is also not the only digital audio editing program available. Other popular alternatives include; Cubase, Audio Logic, Saw Studio and Adobe Audition. There are also free open source digital audio editing programs available including; AGNULA, Dynebolic and Planet CCRMA (wikipedia, 2004).
- Digital audio editing programs help independent artists to bypass intermediaries but can also lead to copyright issues. One of the biggest intellectual property issues surrounding digital editing is sampling. Sampling is “the act of taking a portion of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording� (wikipedia, 2004).
- Sampling became a hot legal issue when rap music incorporating samples began to make a lot of money. This is when the artists who recorded the original samples started demanding a share of the royalties. One of the most famous cases concerned the early 90’s Vanilla Ice hit ‘Ice Ice Baby’ that sampled the intro of David Bowie and Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’. The case went to court and Vanilla Ice lost. It is often the case now that samples will be so distorted that they sound nothing like the original recording but this has not stopped the practice from being involved in long complicated legal proceedings (wikipedia, 2004).
- Legal proceedings can be avoided if the artist wishing to sample somebody else’s music asks permission but this is not as easy as it seems. Often the artists people want to sample are completely unreachable celebrities and more often than not are not open the idea of their music being re-contextualized.
References
Internet Resources
Bronwen Loden 11:10, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
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