Understanding Interpolations in Music

An interpolation occurs when an artist re-records and incorporates a portion of a melody, vocal line, or lyric from an existing musical composition into a new recording.

Unlike traditional sampling, which takes a piece of an existing audio master directly, an interpolation involves creating completely new audio that recreates, replays, or references elements of the original composition.

(Note: Faithfully re-recording an entire composition from start to finish without fundamental alterations is considered a standard cover song, rather than an interpolation.)

This article is general information, not legal advice.

How Interpolation Differs from Sampling

• Sampling: Involves extracting and using a portion of the original master sound recording. This requires clearance from both the master owner (usually the record label/artist) and the composition owner (the songwriter/publisher).

• Interpolation: Involves re-performing or re-recording the underlying melody, notes, or lyrics with your own instruments and voice. No original audio from the prior master recording is present.

Licensing Requirements for Interpolations

Because an interpolation does not use the original sound recording:

• No Master Use License Needed: You generally do not need clearance from the original artist's record label or the owner of the prior sound recording.

• Publishing Clearance Required: You must still obtain permission and licensing from the copyright owner(s) of the underlying musical composition (the original songwriters, composers, or publishers).

Distributing Interpolations on DistroVibe

1. Secure Publishing Clearance: Make sure you have negotiated and secured the necessary publishing rights from the original publishers/songwriters before distributing.

2. Proper Songwriting Attribution: When uploading your release to DistroVibe, credit the original composers and lyricists as Songwriter, Composer, or Lyricist in the track credits (as agreed in your license), so royalties can be attributed to the right rights holders.

3. Keep Documentation Ready: If our review team requests your licensing agreements or publisher clearances, your release will show Needs Docs, and you can upload them in the release's Documents tab. You can also send them in advance through a Content support ticket.

4. Content ID Restriction: Because the composition of an interpolation is shared with the original songwriters, it does not meet the 100% exclusive ownership requirement for YouTube Content ID and Meta Rights Manager. Turn these options off for releases containing interpolations.