EMI Production Music has declared what it calls an ‘amnesty’ of samples from its back catalogue – promising not to punish artists, producers and labels with legal action or back-dated royalty claims if they come forward and admit use.
The company, which is a division of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, launches the amnesty today (September 1).
EMI says the aim of the action is to encourage new sample requests for its master catalogue – which includes libraries such as include KPM, Music House, Ded Good and Selected Sound – as well as ensuring already existing samples are properly licensed.
The music produced by EMI Production Music’s labels is specifically created for use in media and includes classic UK TV themes such as Grandstand, Mastermind and ITV News At Ten, while covering every genre from orchestral to dance and indie.
KPM in particular is famed for its rich library of production funk tracks.
Alex Black, EMI Production Music Global Director, said: “EMI Production Music has a treasure trove of original recordings spanning more than six decades.
“Our vision for this amnesty is to highlight the wealth of possibilities open to producers working with samples.
“We are excited about the potential to bring recognition to our original composers by unearthing great tracks that have sampled their music.”
Alex Black, EMI production music
“We’re very excited about the new and exciting partnerships that will come from the amnesty. The chance to work with labels and artists who see the value in the library is a very thrilling prospect for us.
“We are also excited about the potential to bring recognition to our original composers by unearthing great tracks from the past that have sampled their music.”
Those who have turned to the KPM vaults for samples in the past include Jay Z, Mark Ronson, Nelly, Fatboy Slim, Schoolboy Q, Gorillaz, Easy-Z, Jurassic 5 and Freestylers.
They and others have utilized compositions and recordings by KPM artists such as Alan Hawkshaw, Keith Mansfield and Johnny Pearson who may not be household names but who have created some of the best-loved TV themes of all time, as well as other famous musical hooks.
The amnesty will run for six months, but EMI warns that ‘samples which were already subject to clearance discussions and any unlicensed samples discovered by EMI itself will not be covered’.
To support the amnesty, EMI Production Music is releasing previously undigitised archive recordings from the KPM Greensleeves or 1000 Series albums and the brown sleeved KPM Original Series and other archive labels like Themes International. These will be available on the EMI search system PLAY (www.emipm.com).
Playlists are also available on Spotify and YouTube – made up of tracks that feature samples from the KPM catalogue.
Details of any samples being declared during the amnesty or any enquiries should be sent to samples@emipm.com.Music Business Worldwide
