No. 27Rights & Licenses
Sampling Rights
Also called sample clearance, interpolation rights, sample licence
The obligation to clear samples of third-party recordings, and who bears the cost.
Watch closely
Uncleared samples can block release; clearance costs if unaddressed in the contract become the artist's burden.
- Appears in
- Recording Agreement, Licensing Agreement
- Topic
- Derivative Works
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Reviewed
- July 2026
In plain English
Using a sample of a third-party recording requires clearance from both the master recording owner and the publishing rights holder. Clearance costs vary widely and are typically the artist's responsibility unless the contract specifies otherwise. Uncleared samples can result in the recording being pulled from release.
Why it matters
Sample clearance costs and responsibilities must be clearly defined. An artist who samples heavily must know in advance whether the label will cover clearance costs or whether they come out of the recording budget.
Where it can land
The same clause is drafted three ways. These are the positions we see, worst first, so you can tell at a glance which one is in front of you.
- Artist solely responsible for all sample clearance costs regardless of amount
- Label can pull the recording from release if samples are uncleared, with no cure period
- Artist indemnifies label against all third-party sample claims
- Sample clearance budget provided but insufficient for the genre
- No approval process for samples above a certain cost threshold
- Label shares sample clearance costs or provides a dedicated sample budget
- Clearance process defined with a timeline so releases are not blocked unexpectedly
The language
The drafting language and the negotiation moves for this clause are part of the workspace.
You have read what the clause means and where the risk sits. The rest is the side-by-side of how it reads when it is against you and when it is not, plus the specific moves that get it there.