Rap, Hip Hop, and some Dubstep drum samples (43MB, 120+)

[Triphosphate]

As long as your use of the copywritten material is a) used in a transformative manner, or b) cannot cause damage to the original party (best achieved by not seeking profit from the work) it's fair game under the 'fair use' exception to copyright law... but the caveat is you'll have to read the 'fair use' policy of your country.

Here's a good place to start.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

That being said, you can totally use those beyonce/la roux drums if you're not trying to make money off of it, or if they are changed or used in some way that makes them unrecognizable.

And thanks for the pack Chad

Don't think it matters, but this is not entirely true.

It's a rough summary of it as it pertains to US law... here's the actual United States statute on the matter:

17 U.S.C. § 107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
the nature of the copyrighted work;
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.[1]

Purpose and character

The first factor is regarding whether the use in question helps fulfill the intention of copyright law to stimulate creativity for the enrichment of the general public, or whether it aims to only "supersede the objects" of the original for reasons of personal profit. To justify the use as fair, one must demonstrate how it either advances knowledge or the progress of the arts through the addition of something new. A key consideration is the extent to which the use is interpreted as transformative, as opposed to merely derivative.

I'm currently taking a multimedia law class on the subject, so hopefully I'll get a better understanding of it over the course of the semester.

[nowaysj]

hopefully I'll get a better understanding of it over the course of the semester.

Indeed

Don't feel free to interpret the statute how you'd like it to be read. Read the various circuit court opinions on the subject and you will find that fair use is not as fair as it should be.

[Skang]

thanks man