> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hypebot.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Copyright Criminals To Air Jan. 19 On PBS
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/copyright-criminals-to-air-january-19-on-pbs/
- Published: 2009-12-18T06:31:28.000Z
- Updated: 2009-12-18T06:31:28.000Z
- Description: Copyright Criminals, a new documentary that examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money will air. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/12/copyright-criminals-to-air-janu
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: Uncategorized, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 11:03

Copyright Criminals, a new documentary that examines the creative and commercial value of  
musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic  
expression, copyright law, and (of course) money will air on the PBS series Independent Lens January 19 (check local listings). 

This documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of  
New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For  
more than thirty years, hip-hop performers and producers  
have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new,  
otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got  
involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a  
“copyright infringement. 

”The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s  
founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital  
Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record  
labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Ninja Tune, and more.

It also provides an in-depth look at artists who have been sampled,  
such as Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown’s drummer and the world’s most  
sampled musician), as well as commentary by another highly sampled  
musician, funk legend George Clinton.As artists find ever more  
inventive ways to insert old influences into new material, this  
documentary asks a critical question, on behalf of an entire creative  
community: Can you own a sound?