Music Sampling in the Digital Age

The rise of digital technology has changed the music industry in remarkable ways, lowering the cost of production and distribution of music. Wider access to music on globally operating digital platforms has also opened up new possibilities for both creators and listeners. Thanks to new digital tools, music artists now have more creative options than ever, making it easier for them to find inspiration and express their musical ideas. According to new WIPO research, the way artists create and share music has transformed significantly over the last century, largely because of advancements in new technology and the rise of new music genres.

Building on existing music: sampling, interpolation & cover songs

Creating music is often like adding to a conversation that has been going on for a long time. Artists frequently draw inspiration from what has come before them. This means they might reuse and blend sounds, lyrics or musical styles from older songs to create something new. We see this in creative practices like direct sampling (borrowing bits of existing songs), interpolating (re-recording or changing parts of a song to make it different), and cover songs. It is important to note that any reuse of existing music materials comes with the legal requirement to seek authorization from the rightsowners of the older work. Each new piece of music often incorporates elements of past works, leading to fresh artistic expressions.

Sourcing ideas from different genres

Two Ways Artists Evolve: Using What’s Familiar or Exploring New Sounds

The digital age has changed how musicians develop their style in two main ways: using familiar sounds and exploring new ones. The chart in Figure 1 illustrates how the percentage of samples coming from the same genre compared to different genres has changed over the years. In the early days of digital music in the 1970s, most artists tended to stick to familiar styles, drawing heavily from their own genre. At that time, about 60% of their influences came from within their music categories.

However, as technology improved and new music genres emerged, artists began to more regularly explore beyond their usual boundaries. By the 1990s, more than 60% of sampled songs included and blended elements from various genres. With better digital tools available, musicians could access and would be exposed to a wider range of musical influences, making it easier to try out new and unfamiliar sounds. This openness has enriched the overall music landscape, encouraging music creativity and experimentation.

Figure 1: Percentage of sampling connections over time between and within different music genres

Music Sampling Between and Within Different Music Genres – Data from Whosampled.com. Note: Annual Shares in Total Music Sampling. Chart: Creative Industries Insights Series, WIPO (2025). Technical Note – Get the data – Download image.

The rise of digital technology has led artists to take different creative paths over time. Some musicians choose to stick closely to sounds from their own genres, while others venture into exploring new and unheard sounds.

This divergence in how deep and broad music creators search for musical inspiration can be attributed to advancements in digital technology and the rise of new music genres, which have expanded the creative possibilities available. As a result, artists experience less uncertainty and can more easily navigate the balance between music demand and their own artistic exploration, leading to more varied and innovative music.

Sampling music from old records

Artists’ familiarity with sampled tracks has followed a parabolic trend—initially increasing but later declining. In the early days of digital technology, before the 1980s, music creators primarily sampled contemporary works that featured familiar sounds within their genre. However, as digital technology advanced, artists reoriented their positions on the music landscape and began to look for inspiration from much older tracks, often reaching back several decades and sourcing ideas from different genres. This trend reflects a shift towards deeper and broader artistic exploration, which was made possible by the extensive accessibility of older music catalogue.

How musical genres influence creativity

Different music genres have their own tendencies when it comes to finding inspiration. In Figure 2, we can see the connections between songs in different music genres and how they influence each other through sampling. The thickness of the lines represents how often artists sample music from related genres. Meanwhile, the size of the nodes shows how much influence each genre has, based on the thickness of the lines it has going in and out.

For instance, rock and pop artists often focus on local influences, reusing sounds from within their genre. On the other hand, hip-hop and R&B artists are known for blending various styles. These artists frequently incorporate elements from different genres, such as soul, funk, and disco, showing how diverse and dynamic their music can be. Digital tools and wider music catalogue access help them explore and incorporate a variety of sounds into their art.

When artists explore diverse and dynamic influences in their music, they often create new genres. Hip-hop, for example, emerged from a blend of sounds and styles taken from various songs. A significant moment in music history occurred in the late 1970s with the release of “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang. This iconic hip-hop track sampled elements from other tracks in soul, funk, and disco, and it became a global hit. The song "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, one of the first with a fully electronic backing, helped introduce the new genre of electronic dance music to mainstream listeners around the world.

Figure 2: How music genres influence each other through sampling

How Music Genres Influence Each Other – Data from Whosampled.com. Note: Aggregate Sampling Instances Between Music Tracks by Genre and Music Production Type. Chart: Creative Industries Insights Series, WIPO (2025). Technical Note – Get the data – Download image.

Shaping the future of music with a more diverse catalogue

The digital revolution has significantly transformed the music industry, altering the ways artists discover and express their musical ideas. What began as a dependence on familiar influences has now evolved into a period of extensive artistic exploration and new music production based on wider catalogue access. As digital technology continues to advance, we can anticipate even greater diversity in music creation, with artists fearlessly exploring new and uncharted territories. This shift underscores the collaboration between technology and creativity in shaping the future of music in exciting and unexpected ways.

Want to find out more on the latest trends in the music business? Read our stories in the Creative Industries Insights.