the way i see it, there is nothing new to this judgement.
every musical piece is subject to several rights.
the composition of the music is protected by copyright / droit d'auteur;
the text of the vocals is also protected by copyright / droit d'auteur (so
you can have several copyright owners to one song);
the musical performance (= the recording) is protected by (in the
Netherlands it's called) Neighbouring rights, (i think it's what they refer
to as mechanical copyright in the US).
so in most cases the rights to the composition lie with the artist, where
the neighbouring rights are with the production company (usually the label).
using a one second sample, probably does not conflict with any rights to the
composition.
no matter how small the sample used though, it does make use of the original
recording. so you are supposed to clear the sample with the owner of the
neighbouring rights (the record company).
now you can argue over the question whether or not the (recordings of)
actual performance should be subject to protection, but as right now they
are subject to protection, the owner to those rights should get compensation
for the use by someone else.
jurren
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