Sampling is at the heart of so much modern music. Hip-hop, lo-fi, electronic, jazz-influenced beats, it's all built on the idea of taking sounds and making them your own. But the second it comes time to releasing your track, copyright can become a real problem. And the sample clearance rules aren't always obvious. Here's a breakdown of your actual options. Option 1: Sample Clearance This is what major label artists do. You find a sample you want to use, then you track down th

Koala Sampler is one of the best mobile beatmaking apps out there. But once you add MIDI control, it stops feeling like an app and starts feeling like hardware. And that shift completely changes how you approach making beats on it.

If my SP404 MK2 broke today, would I buy it again? After five years, countless firmware updates, and hundreds of beats made on this thing, the answer is a lot more complicated than it seems. The SP I’ve been using today isn’t the same machine I bought on day one. It’s not even the same as it was a couple of years ago. Some parts have aged incredibly well. Some features only exist because of firmware updates. And there are still a few things that honestly drive me crazy every