Sampling techniques in popular music give credence to Walter Benjamin's theory of the "age of reproduction." Recent trends in popular music have seen the resurrection of older popular music through two means: new digital reproductions of otherwise unavailable records; and the integration of samples from older music into new music. There are so many references in today's pop music that we now have references to references of original sources. Authorship and authenticity are problematized in the process. Some popular artists claim that samples and references preserve a popular music archive, but by reproducing these sounds digitally, the human element of original production is lost.

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Felicia Miyakawa