Beat Maker artists The Black Eyed Peas are being sued by two different songwriters who separately claim that their work was stolen by the group. In the first case, Bryan Pringle alleges that will.i.am lifted Pringle’s demo song, “Take A Dive” which Pringle says that he sent to three different music production companies, including Interscope, over a period of a several years. Pringle claims that will.i.am’s song “I Gotta Feeling” is substantially similar to Pringle’s demonstration piece.

Troubles Don’t Stop There For Peas

In a separate suit, rap music artist Phoenix Phenom says the Peas illegally copied her song “Boom Dynamite” and turned it into the hit “Boom Boom Pow.” Phoenix Phenom says that they were approached by Interscope and provided the company with a copy of Boom Dynamite. Phoenix Phenom claims that the song was remade by the Black Eyed Peas.

Once again, the inherent danger of the music business rises! For new artists, one big danger – especially in rap music – is the use of samples. In these cases, the artists are not claiming that their finished work was illegally sampled, but instead that their work was substantially reproduced by another artist.

Regardless of the mechanism, the outcome is often the same: a lengthy legal battle. To avoid being caught in this trap, it’s important to use royalty-free samples, or to get the written permission of the original artist or right-holder before using music. Today, this is normally accomplished with a “split” agreement, where an artist agrees to share song royalties with the original artists.

On one hand, splits accomplish the goal of music licensing, and in the end probably prove to be more cost effective than paying for a legal defense, but the royalty return for artists on their music is usually pretty low in the first place. It’s always best to avoid splits. Using royalty-free samples is one way to do this.

Sonic Producer comes complete with thousands of royalty-free samples as part of the initial installation. You get access to samples that can help you create a unique sound without having to worry about future splits or releasing unlicensed music. In addition, Sonic Producer allows you to create professional-sounding recordings that you can sell, distribute or use in your own musical production. It’s the ideal solution for avoiding copyright infringement lawsuits once a song has already been released.

Photo Credit: Jorge Mejia, via Flickr