Tracklib is a music service that allows producers to sample original music and clear the samples for official use. The platform was founded with the aim to solve legal and ethical issues surrounding sampling and music clearances. The platform has been previously used to sample and clear tracks for commercial releases by J. Cole,

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

Mary J Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

, Brockhampton,

A-Reece Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge (born March 27, 1997), known professionally as A-Reece, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer. He was raised in Pretoria, Gauteng. A-Reece was under Ambitiouz Entertainment in 2015, but with no ...

among others.

History

Tracklib is based in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and most populous city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately 1 million people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 millio ...

and was originally founded in 2014. After an invite-only

beta version A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impr ...

in 2017, the music service officially launched to the public in April 2018. In May 2020, Tracklib changed their service to a

subscription model The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...

Services

The catalog of Tracklib consists of original master recordings and stems. Each track is part of one out of three tiers (Category A, B, or C) which each its purchase and clearance costs. Users can browse and hear all music before downloading it in WAV-format to use in a digital audio workstation (DAW) such as Ableton,

Reason Reason is the capacity of Consciousness, consciously applying logic by Logical consequence, drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activ ...

, or

FL Studio FL Studio (previously known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. The program is avail ...

. In 2019, Tracklib developed and launched a technology for users to select and preview loops. Tracklib functions as an intermediary between

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

publishers Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, copyright owners, and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...

s. This allows users to clear all music and purchase a

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

for official usage of the selected recording(s). The difference with other music services such as

Splice Splice may refer to: Connections * Rope splicing, joining two pieces of rope or cable by weaving the strands of each into the other ** Eye splice, a method of creating a permanent loop in the end of multi stranded rope by means of rope splicing * ...

and Loopmasters, is that Tracklib only includes original master recordings and stems. All music is previously released and no royalty-free

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

s or sample packs are available on Tracklib.

Catalog

Original master recordings on Tracklib include music from artists such as Bob James, Louis Armstrong,

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, across genres such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

, R&B/soul,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

, classical music,

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

, and hip hop. The catalog also includes previously unreleased recordings by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songw ...

Releases

* J. Cole - Middle Child (6× Platinum) *

- Holy Mountain * Brockhampton - Dearly Departed *

- Harden * Mary J. Blige - Know * Phantogram - Ceremony *

Vic Mensa Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

- Let U Know Other notable artists with songs containing Tracklib samples are

Firebeatz Firebeatz is a Dutch DJ and music production duo consisting of Tim Benjamin Smulders (; born 14 August 1985) and Jurre van Doeselaar (; born 7 July 1987). The duo formed in Tilburg in 2008, and gained fame in the EDM scene through their dance f ...

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...

, Young M.A,

$NOT Edy Junior Edouard (born December 16, 1997), known professionally as SNOT (stylized as $NOT), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born in New York City, he moved to Lake Worth Beach, Florida at seven years old, where he would begin hi ...

Statik Selektah Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee * Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming ** Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics * Static ...

Advisory board

Tracklib's advisory board consists of producers Prince Paul,

Erick Sermon Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper, musician, and record producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work. Career Sermon started profe ...

, and Drumma Boy, later joined by

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Zaytoven in 2018 and Scott Storch in 2020. Former

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

executives Petra Hansson and Niklas Ivarsson joined the advisory board in 2019.

References