“It’s Hard to Clear Samples”: Zeds Dead and the Sample Clearance Struggle Behind Their New Album
In the realm of electronic music, sampling has long been a vital creative tool—one that allows artists to recontextualize sounds, pay homage to influences, and build entirely new sonic landscapes. For Zeds Dead, the Canadian electronic duo known for their genre-bending productions, sampling has always played a pivotal role in their sound. But in a recent revelation surrounding their latest album, the duo shared a harsh reality that many artists face in today’s music industry: clearing samples is not just difficult—it’s sometimes devastating.
“It’s hard to clear samples,” they admitted. “We’d have something in the track, and then we would have to take it out, and it wouldn’t sound as good.”
This simple statement carries a heavy emotional weight. Behind it lies a story of creative compromise, legal red tape, and the often-unspoken tug-of-war between artistic vision and industry bureaucracy.
The Creative Power of Sampling
To understand the gravity of Zeds Dead’s experience, we need to acknowledge what sampling means to musicians—particularly in electronic music and hip-hop. A sample isn’t just a lifted melody or a drum break. It can be the spark that lights an entire track. It might be a vintage vocal chopped into rhythmic perfection or a cinematic string flourish that ties a modern production to decades of musical heritage.
For Zeds Dead, who have built their name by seamlessly blending dubstep, house, hip-hop, and ambient textures, sampling is an essential part of their storytelling. Their discography is peppered with moments that borrow from forgotten records, nostalgic dialogue, or obscure musical fragments, woven together with their signature flair.
So when they talk about losing elements because of sample clearance issues, it’s not just about legality—it’s about creative loss.
The Sample Clearance Gauntlet
Sample clearance is the process of obtaining legal permission to use someone else’s recorded work in your own composition. This typically involves negotiating with rights holders—both the owner of the original master recording and the publisher of the underlying composition.
That sounds simple enough. In practice, it’s a complex, time-consuming, and often costly ordeal.
Here’s why:
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Multiple Rights Holders: One track may have several songwriters and performers, each with a stake in the composition or recording. Identifying and contacting all of them can take weeks or even months.
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Unresponsive or Unknown Owners: Rights can change hands, be inherited, or lost in corporate mergers. Sometimes it’s unclear who even owns the rights anymore.
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High Costs: Sample clearance fees can range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars—or more. Some rights holders demand high up-front fees, while others request a percentage of future royalties (or both).
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Creative Restrictions: Even when a sample is cleared, the rights holder may place restrictions on how it's used—no alterations, no certain contexts, or limits on release formats.
Zeds Dead encountered all of the above. In interviews and behind-the-scenes insights, they’ve described how several tracks on their latest album underwent painful transformations—not because of artistic decisions, but because a particular sample couldn’t be cleared.
When the Best Part Gets Cut
Imagine crafting the perfect drop—layering a haunting vocal over a deep, atmospheric build-up. The crowd at your listening party loves it. You’ve tested it live, and it hits. But just weeks before the album deadline, you’re told you can’t use that vocal because the clearance didn’t come through. Now you’re scrambling to either replace it with something similar (but not infringing), or scrap the idea altogether.
That’s what happened more than once on Zeds Dead’s latest release. While the duo hasn’t named specific tracks or samples, they’ve been open about the emotional toll. “We’d have something in the track, and then we would have to take it out,” they said. “And it wouldn’t sound as good.”
That phrase—wouldn’t sound as good—highlights what fans don’t often realize. The album you hear isn’t always the album the artist wanted to make. The version released to the public may be missing key elements, altered due to legal obstacles rather than creative choices.
A Common Artist’s Struggle
Zeds Dead’s experience isn’t unique. From Kanye West’s well-publicized sampling battles to indie producers on SoundCloud getting takedown notices, sample clearance affects artists across the board.
For newcomers and underground artists, the risks can be even greater. A single uncleared sample can lead to lawsuits, distribution takedowns, and loss of revenue. For artists without legal teams or label support, the safest bet is often to avoid sampling entirely—or to use royalty-free sample packs that lack the charm of vintage or obscure material.
That creates a chilling effect. Artists begin to self-censor, avoiding samples not because they don’t love them, but because they can’t afford the risk.
Alternatives and Workarounds
So how are producers coping?
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Royalty-Free Samples: Many producers now rely on commercial sample packs from platforms like Splice or Loopmasters. These samples come pre-cleared for commercial use, but they also tend to be overused and lack uniqueness.
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Replaying/Recreating: Some artists recreate a sample from scratch—hiring musicians to replay a melody or vocal line. This avoids needing to clear the master recording, though you still need to license the composition.
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Interpolation: Similar to replaying, interpolation involves recreating a melody or lyric in a new way. It can reduce costs and make clearance easier, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for legal negotiations.
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Clearance Services: Companies like Tracklib, WhoSampled’s Clearance Lab, and Rightsify specialize in helping artists clear samples efficiently. While not cheap, they streamline the process.
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Using Obscure Sources: Some producers dig deep into old or foreign records, hoping to sample tracks unlikely to be recognized or contested. This is legally risky but still common.
Zeds Dead have likely explored many of these routes. But even with resources and industry connections, sample clearance remains a gamble.
Is There a Better Way Forward?
The sample clearance system is widely acknowledged to be broken—an outdated framework trying to serve a modern digital age.
Some industry experts argue for a “compulsory licensing” model for samples, similar to how cover songs work. Under such a system, an artist could legally sample a track by paying a fixed fee or royalty rate, without needing to negotiate one-on-one with rights holders.
Blockchain-based platforms are also emerging with promises of automated licensing and transparent royalties. While promising, these systems are still in early development and have yet to solve the broader legal complexities.
Until then, artists like Zeds Dead will continue navigating a broken system—one that forces difficult choices between creative authenticity and legal compliance.
The Listener’s Loss
While much of the sample clearance debate focuses on artists and lawyers, it's also worth remembering that fans lose out, too.
When Zeds Dead say a track doesn’t sound as good without the sample, that means fans are missing the best version of the song. The true, original vision—the one tested in clubs, honed in studios, and polished over months—is often lost in favor of something “legally safe.”
And unlike a director’s cut or extended edition, that original version might never be heard again.
Conclusion: Creativity in Chains
Zeds Dead’s battle with sample clearance on their latest album is a stark reminder of the limitations that today’s musicians face. In a world where creative possibilities are endless—thanks to powerful software, global collaboration, and access to rich musical archives—legal constraints often act as invisible chains.
For a duo like Zeds Dead, who thrive on eclecticism and experimentation, the inability to use certain samples isn’t just a minor annoyance—it’s a major artistic compromise.
As they continue to evolve their sound and push genre boundaries, their experiences highlight a larger truth: the music industry desperately needs a new model—one that respects both the rights of original creators and the creative freedom of today’s artists.
Until then, fans may have to wonder what could have been—what that one unreleased version sounded like, the one with the sample that made the drop hit just a little bit harder.
Zeds Dead’s latest album is available now on all major platforms. While you’re listening, take a moment to imagine the sounds that didn’t make it—lost not to poor creativity, but to a system that hasn’t caught up with the times.
