If you doubt the influence of rap music, take a look at some of the latest headlines. You’ll find a dog-sled racer who makes his own rap beats. You’ll also find Christian rappers, Asian hip-hop fusion beats and Korean rap artist topping the charts with their own brand of hip-hop and rap beats. Rap music is here to stay and it’s moving the music world in ways OG’s never dreamed of.

There’s Enough Room For Everyone

Rap and hip-hop are great musical genres because they’re flexible enough to incorporate local, regional and cultural tastes, while still staying true to the music. What’s even better is that it’s never been easier for new artists to enter the medium.

Today new artists can create, produce and distribute their own music, often for a fraction of the cost it would take to go through agents and established music distributors. This ability to access the audience directly and at a low cost means that musicians and artists no longer need big studio help to find their way into the center of the music scene.

The tools available to new artists today have never been better. Take DubTurbo, for example. DubTurbo enables you to produce your own music, comes with thousands of royalty-free sounds, samples and instruments, a full four-octave sampling keyboard, and tutorial videos and delivers the highest quality .WAV sound files you need to produce crisp, clean recordings that are ready for distribution.

DubTurbo is an awesome, powerful music production software package that’s available for both the Mac and PC. That means you don’t need to purchase any additional recording equipment or computer equipment. You can just download the software and start working on your musical career.

A licensed copy of DubTurbo is a fraction of the cost of renting a professional recording studio and bringing in musicians. With DubTurbo, you have full creative control of your tracks and the program is easy to use. It also comes with a library of video tutorials that can help you get the most of DubTurbo. All of the included samples are royalty-free, which means that you can mix and remix the samples into your own work any way you like. With the built in sampling keyboard, you can also make your own samples and create or enhance the sound library that comes with DubTurbo.

There’s no reason to wait. The rap and hip-hop worlds are waiting for you to make your own impressions. Download your copy of DubTurbo today and start producing your own style of hip-hop or rap music!

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While the debate over copyrighted music is heating up, a new wrinkle appeared last week in the form of a takedown notice issued by Universal Music Group to YouTube. Now, getting a takedown notice from UMG is probably nothing new for YouTube, but this story has a twist. The music UMG was upset about wasn’t even their own. A rap duo called After The Smoke recorded and uploaded one of their own rap beats over a song called “One in a Million” to YouTube.

UMG Asserted Copyright

That’s when the funky stuff started. UMG notified YouTube that a copyright infringement had taken place and YouTube blocked ATS’ song. Only ATS isn’t signed to Universal and the song was completely original by ATS.
As it turns out ATS had opened for Yelawolf, who is now a Universal artist – but wasn’t at the time ATS opened for him. Yelawolf heard the rap beats behind One in a Million and liked them enough to record his own track over it. Yelawolf said he wanted to license the material, but apparently never did. Then he signed with Universal.
At some point, the Yelawolf track, which used ATS’ beats – and was never intended for release – got leaked. UMG took down the leaked tracks, but when ATS put up its own stuff using their own beats, UMG took that down too, saying they owned the copyright for the beats.

If you’re confused at this point, so is everyone else! ATS filed a dispute against the takedown by UMG and was told that UMG asserted its rights as the copyright holder and ATS had no claim. Enter the lawyers. Now, allegedly everything is worked out, but ATS – and many other artists – are concerned about how carefully YouTube (which is a major distribution channel for independent music) checks on copyright claims before acting on them.

At this point, I should mention that for artists who use royalty-free beats, this isn’t an issue. Sonic Producer has a huge library of royalty-free beats that are guaranteed never to get you into a takedown argument after you’ve published your own music. With Sonic Producer’s library of royalty-free beats, you get your music published, plain and simple.

You can use, mix, remix, alter, publish and republish Sonic Producer beats however, whenever and how often you want to. Ahh – the joy of simplicity! Download your copy of Sonic Producer today and start publishing your own music.

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Time Magazine recently named “The Protester” as its Person of the Year. The honor is a nod to the thousands of people across the country and around the world who have made their voices heard. This year, protesters have toppled at least three major Middle Eastern governments and have brought new energy to the political process in the United States. But what does Occupy Wall Street have to do with rap beats?

Rap Has A Place In Protests

Rap music mogul Russell Simmons thinks that protesting is a great way to make the common man’s voice heard and that the protests are giving life to a new kind of rap beat. In an interview with the Tri-State Defender, Simmons says that he supports protesters in their effort to draw attention to the special interests that seem to have lawmakers’ ears.

Simmons is no stranger to the political process, and has been involved in protesting laws that unfairly on unjustly target individuals while corporate crimes go virtually unnoticed. In addition, Simmons is now calling for campaign finance reform that eliminates third-party influence among elected officials. In the end, Simmons predicts an expansion of the OWS movement to encompass the majority of people who want to get back to the one-man, one-vote concept embraced by the Constitution in a way that ensures that corporations don’t wield too much influence over the outcome of elections.

Spoken word – a mainstay of rap music – is at the center of the protest movement. Rap music and rap musicians are using the OWS movement to build their own base of fans, expand their craft and get more people involved in making the voice of the common person heard.

Self-publishing music has never been easier than it is today. With great tools like Sonic Producer, you can start producing your own rap beats today. Sonic Producer is a remarkable computer program that allows you to build and distribute your own royalty-free rap beats using your personal computer.

Whether you use a Macintosh or a PC, Sonic Producer has you covered. You simply download the software and Sonic Producer’s outstanding video tutorials can help you get moving in the right direction fast! You don’t need any special equipment to get started. Use the computer you’ve got and download a copy of Sonic Producer. Sonic Producer comes with a library of royalty-free music, which you’re free to use and distribute. When you’re done making your beats, you can export them to MP3 and distribute them to your friends and fans. You can even sell the music without paying a dime in royalties. Don’t wait! Get your rap career in gear today!

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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.

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Busta Rhymes and the other members of the now-defunct Leaders of the New School have been slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit that claims the rap music group illegally sampled Dyke and The Blazers’ tune “Let A Woman Be A Woman, Let A Man Be A Man” in a 1991 song called “Case of the P.T.A.” Leaders of the New School broke up in 1993. Elektra Records is also named in the suit.

Drive-In Music Company, which owns the rights to Let A Woman Be A Woman, Let A Man Be A Man, says it didn’t notice the infringement until recently, but filed the suit almost immediately after the infringement came to their attention. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages, a permanent injunction to prevent future sales of the Leaders of the New School album “A Future Without A Past” on which the disputed song appears, and to have any remaining CDs removed from store shelves. The track in question is still available as a download.

Sampling is an integral part of rap music, but it tends to cut down on the artist’s profits because typically, samples are used with permission in an arrangement called a “split.” A split is a negotiated share of a song’s earnings that go to the sampled artist.

For new music producers, including samples can be particularly dangerous. In this case, the alleged infringement happened nearly 20 years ago and the current and future commercial value of both songs in question is small. Using royalty-free samples is one way to avoid this kind of problem, even into the future.

Music production software like Sonic Producer features thousands of royalty-free samples that can be used on any music track created with the software. There will be no future royalty payments on any work using a Sonic Producer sample. This makes Sonic Producer the ideal tool for both beginning and experienced rap music artists who want to self-produce their music.

Sonic Producer works on both the PC and Mac platforms and requires no additional equipment or software to work. You can add your own music, samples and lyrics and create professional-sounding tracks that you can export and share. Sonic Producer is a great way to break into the music business. Learn how to create your own music, mix your own sounds and get your music out to the world. Download your copy of Sonic Producer today!

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Michael Henderson, bassist for Miles Davis, has sued Snoop Dogg, claiming the rap beats artist illegally sampled Henderson’s work entitled Riding. Henderson claims that Snoop Dogg used the sample on Flashbacks, part of a mixtape released in 2008. Henderson also claims that Snoop Dogg sampled more of Henderson’s work, and included it on “Hands On The Wheel” for promotional material related to the 2008 West Fest tour. Universal Music, Goldi Loc, Kam and MC Eiht have also been named in the lawsuit.

Sampling Can Be Tricky

Sampling a song recorded originally by another artist is a mainstay component of rap music. Most samples used in rap music are “cleared” by the second artist. In other words, the second artist gets permission to re-use the work. Often, a songwriting credit is added to the music, and the second artist often (but not always) pays royalties, a fee or a percentage of the song’s earnings to use the sample.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no defined sample length that can be used without permission under the “Fair Use Doctrine.” According to one federal court, sampling as few as three notes can constitute copyright infringement. Among the criteria a court uses to determine the legality of a sample is how the sample is used, whether or not it is sufficiently different from the original work, whether the works appeal to the same or different audiences, whether the work that uses the sample is considered a parody, how quickly the original artist moves to defend his copyright, and whether or not the second work diminishes the value of the first work.

If you’re into making your own beats and mixtapes, you probably sample. How can you break into the business using someone else’s samples? You can’t, unless the samples are licensed to you, or the original artist made the music available for sampling. With Sonic Producer, you can be assured that all of the beats provided in this outstanding program are royalty-free. That means all of the music you make is yours and yours alone. You pay for the beat samples when you buy the software, so whatever you make is yours to do with what you want: use it, share it or sell it. It’s all good!

Use Sonic Producer for guaranteed royalty-free samples for your all of your beats, mixtapes and music!
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According to Playboy Enterprises and Playboy Music, Inc., hip-hop artist Drake sampled the company’s only hit record, Fallin’ In Love, and incorporated the sample beat into his “Best I Ever Had” single. Playboy Enterprises’ suit seeks an injunction against future distribution of the song, as well as the profits from the single. Playboy Enterprises claim that Drake illegally sampled the Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds song, recorded in 1975, which is Playboy Music’s only hit record.

Royalty Free Beats On Sonic Producer

While Drake and his label(s) Cash Money Records and Universal defend Best I Ever Had against Playboy’s accusations, the incident raises the issue of royalties and rights when it comes to rap music. One of the elements of rap music is the inclusion of sample beats from other artists into new works. Artists who are just starting out may not have the resources to license sample beats from established artists and catalogs.

By itself, that’s one reason Sonic Producer is such a great value for any hip-hop or rap music artist who wants to make his or her own beats. Sonic Producer comes loaded with hundreds of royalty-free samples that are yours to use. Better still, you own the rights to the music you create with Sonic Producer beats. You won’t find out after the fact that someone else is legally entitled to the profits from your creation.

Sonic Producer offers the best beats available at no additional charge. You’ll have dozens of beats to choose from while you capture your very own style. When you’ve got your tracks together, simply export them to MP3 and use them for yourself, share them with your friends or sell them. Every sound that comes with Sonic Producer is yours to use, free of charge and with no royalty payments due on your finished products.

Get your sound together using the sample beats included in Sonic Producer’s extensive sound catalog and you’ll be on your way to producing music the way you want, and with no worries about royalties, copyright infringement or licensing fees. Sonic Producer is available for both the PC and Macintosh platforms and requires no additional hardware or software. You get everything you need to start making beats your own way. When it comes to real value in music-making software, no one can beat Sonic Producer. Download your copy today!

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