Sampling's Impact on the Music Industry

English musician, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer Mark Ronson recently delivered a talk on sampling for TED, to discuss some of the changes that have occurred in the music industry, in regards to how clips can be taken and mixed together to tell a whole new story.

To kick things off, Ronson mixes the TED opening sequence, and splices in some audio that breaks down the themes of the talk. To do this, he combines a total of 15 different TED Talks, demonstrating how different samples can be conjoined to alter a story. With this, he opens up the idea that sampling is all about inserting oneself into a specific narrative, and carrying the story by pushing it forward with a new perspective. As Ronson states, the past 30 years of music have been all about this, and the advancement of production technology has only furthered it.

By speaking to the value of sampling, Ronson shows that it's much more than "hijacking nostalgia wholesale," and is really about celebrating other artists and reimagining it for a new generation's enjoyment and understanding.