Is it OK for a producer to use readymade samples?

Unders

“A painter that creates a great artwork is not criticised because they used pre-coloured paint. The artwork is still their creation.”

Tony Holmes

“Break the chains of dogma and protocol; use whatever it takes to serve the song in the best way possible.”

Phil Day

“There is a middle ground. Even the most professional producers use reference tracks, or copy song arrangements from other tracks.

“Sometimes I use sample packs to throw together a layered loop quickly, then go back and recreate each of the pack loops myself using my own tools, and sometimes the end result is better – and much more satisfying!”

Lauri Pallonen

“Of course it’s OK! There are artists who use ready-made samples and presets with almost no knowledge, doing it ‘their way’. When people are on the dancefloor, they usually don’t think about what percussion sample or bass preset the artist used.”

Benji Thomas

“I see nothing wrong with samples for the most part. That being said, some sort of effort should be put into creating something unique. Grabbing a handful of samples from a pack – ready-made to work together – creates a song, but it will probably lack personality. ”

Chris Rydström

“I believe you should either make them from scratch or mutate an ‘out-of-the-box’ royalty-free sample beyond recognition. Otherwise, it just seems like plagiarism. Who wants to be haunted by a creation you should be proud of?”

Alex Plant

“For my music, I make all my sounds from scratch – not because I think I’ll end up with a better result, but because I feel more ownership of the result and more satisfied creatively. But if the songwriting side of things is your focus, you may find that good soundware inspires you to write, and so is satisfying in that way.”

George Zondagh

“If you give a set of samples to five different producers, and have them make a track, the chances are good you’ll get five completely different and unique tracks. Samples are just tools at the end of the day, a means to an end – just like synth presets.”

Steven Hannigan

“I hate recognising a sample/pre made sound in a track. It comes across as lazy and unoriginal.

“By all means, use premade sounds, but manipulate them further and make them your own. Doing this will also allow you to build your own custom sample library that no one else has.”