Compositional practice has been dramatically affected by the shift from analog to digital recording. As sampling becomes further entrenched in mainstream composition, a new function of modern composition reveals itself– curation. In this thesis, I discuss the development of sampling over the last thirty years, particularly in hip-hop, as a lens to explore the evolution of what I refer to as the composer-curator. I outline a brief history of sampling practice before delving into several copyright cases to explore their impact on the practice. I then lay out further consequences caused by the internet and file-sharing networks, before finally exploring royalty-free samples and how they are employed by producers, examining how they operate within the current landscape of digital distribution by using current producer Kenny Beats and his web presence as a case study. Throughout, I attempt to pull at tensions between hip-hop tradition and modern practice.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Music","Hip-hop","Sampling"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 24010