Kraftwerk Copyright Infringement Case Means Victory For Sampling

The highest German civil court overturned a decision that Kraftwerk had their copyright infringed by a rap producer who used two seconds of the band's music as a sample. In the new ruling, sampling music does not count as a copyright violation, which completely negates the previous court's ruling that even the shortest bit of music was a violation. The court that previously said the Krautrock legends were infringed will now take up the case again. The case was brought to court after German rap producer Moses Pelham used two seconds of Kraftwerk's "Metal On Metal" in the rhythm section of Sabrina Setlur's "Nur Mir." As one of the most influential electronic bands, Kraftwerk are frequently sampled, including lending the riff to their "Computer Love" to Coldplay's X&Y track "Talk." The ruling sets an excellent precedent on the international stage in defense of sampling. Hip-hop producers and mash-up artists like Girl Talk maintain that sampling falls under the category of "fair use," so this can be considered a victory in their favor.

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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