What Does Sampling Mean For The Future of Music?

Beyoncé’s Renaissance defined this past summer. The 16-track project received critical acclaim and sampled a myriad of artists, many of whom are Black, queer, and/or trans. But sampling — when a portion of a song is reused in a new recording — isn’t exclusive to Beyoncé’s seventh studio album. In a year where dozens of artists sampled popular songs, Renaissance stood out by paying homage to the pioneers of disco, house, and dance music, thus revitalizing those genres and bringing the trailblazing artists into the mainstream. But this body of work also sparks conversation about the growing trend of sampling in the music industry. Does this technique retain originality, or perhaps redefine the word? What about the artists who are sampled — how are they compensated, if at all? What does its increasing popularity mean for the future of music? 

While sampling is nothing new, it’s become more prevalent in the mainstream recently, especially in pop music. Considering many artists choose songs that are relatively well known to sample, their singles are able to find an audience quicker. Take Jack Harlow’s hit “First Class,” which opens with a portion of Fergie’s 2007 song “Glamorous.” No doubt one of his most popular songs (it was his first solo single to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100), its use of Fergie’s hit combined with a smart marketing strategy brought “First Class” to first. 

The song went viral following the release of a short clip on TikTok showing Harlow singing along to the “Glamorous” sample. Harlow was famous enough before the song’s release that “First Class” reaching number one was possible. But considering the other single for his debut album peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and his last top 10 song was from over two years ago, it’s debatable whether the single could’ve carried Harlow so far without Fergie’s vocals. 

With criticism directed towards his lyrics and few professional reviews commenting on the song’s rap — rather focusing on the sample and song’s viral nature — it becomes clear what really drew listeners to “First Class.” By leveraging the popularity of Fergie’s song and social media, Harlow succeeded at attracting attention to his single. Luckily, this use of sampling didn’t just benefit him, with streaming numbers for “Glamorous” increasing by 70% and digital song sales jumping 125% following the release of Harlow’s song. 

In the entertainment industry, where professionals reuse and recycle material for quick and easy profit, songs carried by samples without offering something new or bold invite skepticism. They rely on another person’s work and the public’s love for that content to push a creative to further fame. These singles do retain some merit for benefitting the artists who are sampled, often financially. However, this isn’t always the case. While sampling entails receiving permission from the owner of a recording and composition itself, interpolations — when a portion of a song is re-recorded for a new piece — only require permission from the owner of the composition. This is because sampling a song includes the voice of the original performer, whereas interpolating does not. 

Beyoncé was prompted to remove an interpolation of Kelis’ “Milkshake” from her Renaissance song “Energy” after the latter singer described the situation as “not a collab, it’s theft.” Kelis’ anger stems from not being told her hit would be interpolated and her lack of ownership of one of her most famous songs. In 2020, she told The Guardian that Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — her former friends who produced “Milkshake” — assured her that they'd split the copyrights, but this didn’t happen. “Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed it.’”, Kelis said. “I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it.’” She’s not listed as a songwriter for “Milkshake” and earned no money from her first two albums. 

Kelis clarified her frustration isn’t directed at Beyoncé but Williams and Hugo for stealing the rights to her music and swindling her out of fair pay. Still, this situation reveals the complexities of interpolating and the larger issue of ownership in the music industry. Singers like H.E.R. and Olivia Rodrigo have also garnered attention for not crediting artists. 

When done right, sampling can benefit creatives in more ways than one. T.S. Madison, a trans TV personality and activist, is one of the many LGBTQ artists whose music was sampled on Renaissance. Her video “B**** I’m Black,” which is featured on Beyoncé’s song “Cozy,” helped her and Honey Dijon (a producer on “Cozy”) become the first Black trans women to earn a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Madison earned hefty compensation, recalling that the check she received “had a number and then zero, zero, zero, zero, zero.” Instances like these highlight how sampling respects and compensates artists, especially those from marginalized communities who might have not earned the same recognition without the help of more notable musicians. 

So does continuing this technique encourage unoriginality, or is it an effective way of introducing the mainstream to previously unappreciated work? Pulling from the past, while exciting and even innovative, raises concern as to whether new sounds and eras of music will come. Not to mention songs overpowered by their samples and/or interpolations may succeed in sales but struggle to highlight the original artist. While the public may be indiscriminately rewarding artists who sample, it’s those who use this method to supplement their work rather than overshadow it that deserve recognition.