Sampling someone else’s music can send you into a legal minefield, particularly if the beat or hook that you’re lifting comes from a well-known and lucrative track. Enter Tracklib, a new service that’s said to be the first to enable you to discover, sample and license original recordings.
Once you’re registered, you can start browsing the Tracklib catalogue, which currently contains almost 60,000 tracks. It contains songs that date back as far as the ‘40s, and already includes the Honeydrippers’ Impeach The President, one of the most sampled songs of all time. Prices for tracks start at $1.99, with full sample clearance available from $50.
Tracklib, which is based in Sweden, has already received some pretty high-profile support, with the likes of Questlove and Liam Howlett singings its praises. It’s partnered with Music mogul Tom Silverman, founder of Tommy Boy, in the US, while Deborah Mannis-Gardner of leading sample clearance house DMG Clearances is also onboard.
“The ability to sample music easily, legally and affordably has been a dream for many music creators for a long time,” said Pär Almqvist, CEO and Co-founder of Tracklib, which follows in the footsteps of other trailblazing Swedish music services such as Spotify and Soundcloud. “We are proud to finally make it possible and humbled by the response we have already received. This is truly the start of a music making revolution.”
"The nightmare of music sampling is finally over,” said Tom Silverman. “We have emerged from the dark ages of the music industry and instead of discouraging and suppressing sampling, we can now encourage new creators to quickly and easily use parts of original recordings to make exciting new music."
You can find out more and request access on the Tracklib website.
