Sampling has always been in use within the music industry, and it’s a rare song that doesn’t owe something to the artists who came before... but in recent years we’ve seen an influx of headlines centred on plagiarism lawsuits – often involving some of the biggest stars. 

So what's that about? Is music getting more derivative? Is the industry getting more litigious? To help uncover the answers, Robyn's joined by Dr Chris Anderton (Associate Professor in Cultural Economy) and James Hannam (Course Leader for Music Business and Event Management).

Together they'll discuss the difference between sampling, plagiarism and interpolation, look at the legal underpinnings of music rights and how that's affected high profile plagiarism cases in recent years, and explore the potential effects on artists' success and creativity. And, as always on ...Explained!, what might the future look like?

If you love music and the music business, take a look at our specialist courses - you can find out more at https://www.solent.ac.uk/subjects/music-and-performing-arts

Want to open your ears to some of the most famous samples in music (and some that might surprise you)? James and Chris have put together a Spotify playlist of tracks - alongside the songs they're sampling - at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FAd4wiEefcQdqY3tO3p3d. Anything missing? Let us know!