Mashup (music)
A mashup in music refers to a creative composition that merges two or more source tracks into a single song, often forming a new artistic piece. This genre gained traction in the late 1990s and early 2000s, spurred by the rise of digital music files and accessible audio-mixing tools. While sampling had been a common practice, particularly in hip-hop, the concept of mashups allowed for innovative combinations that introduced listeners to diverse musical styles. Tools like Sound Forge and Pro Tools enabled artists to create intricate mixes, while the internet facilitated the widespread sharing and distribution of these tracks through platforms such as Napster.
Notable mashup artists, like Danger Mouse and Girl Talk, gained recognition for their distinct approaches; Danger Mouse is known for his focused combinations, while Girl Talk blends samples from numerous tracks. The emergence of mashups also sparked significant discussions around copyright laws, as these works often tread the line between fair use and infringement, leading to various legal challenges. Ultimately, the mashup movement contributed to the broader concept of remix culture, advocating for a more flexible understanding of artistic creation in the digital age.
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Subject Terms
Mashup (music)
Song composed of excerpts from other songs
Mashups grew in popularity throughout the late 1990s and 2000s as digital music files and audio-mixing tools became more widely available. The mixing of excerpts, or samples, from different songs exposed many listeners to new styles of music but also prompted controversies regarding music copyright laws and intellectual property rights.
The music mashup, a single song that mixes two or more source tracks, became more popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s thanks to the increased availability of digital audio-mixing tools and use of the internet as a platform for distribution of music files. While sampling had long been common practice in many musical genres, particularly hip-hop, "mashing up" different songs into one work had not been as widespread. By the 2000s, the increased accessibility of advanced sound-editing programs such as Sound Forge, WaveLab, Pro Tools, and Cool Edit allowed artists to create complex tracks. Crucial features of such programs included beat mapping, which enabled artists to match the beats between source songs accurately.
The internet was critical in enabling the distribution of mashups on a large scale and cultivating a dynamic culture of mashup sharing. File-sharing programs such as Napster were particularly important early in the decade, as they allowed users to share both source music files and finished tracks. By the latter half of the 2000s, websites devoted to mashups, such as MashUpTown, allowed artists to share their creations and enthusiasts to find new mashups.
Mashup artists who gained mainstream recognition in the 2000s included Brian Burton, known by the stage name Danger Mouse, and Gregg Gillis, who performed and released albums under the name Girl Talk. Danger Mouse's The Grey Album, released in 2004, combined music from the self-titled Beatles album known as the White Album with vocals from Jay-Z's The Black Album. The album received significant attention because of its recognizable source material and the widely publicized copyright controversy that followed its release. In contrast to Danger Mouse, who became best known for mashing up songs by only two artists, Girl Talk combined samples from hundreds of source tracks by popular and lesser-known artists to produce multilayered mashup albums such as Night Ripper (2006), Feed the Animals (2008), and All Day (2010).
Mashups tended to change their source works sufficiently or use small enough samples to be considered examples of fair use under US copyright law, which allows for the "transformative" uses of parts of copyrighted works. Despite this, a number of mashup artists became involved in copyright disputes, and several mashup websites shut down in response to legal challenges from record companies.
Notable Mashup Albums
While The Grey Album is widely considered the crowning achievement in the mashup world, and Girl Talk became arguably the best known artist dedicated to the genre, many other notable mashup works appeared over the years. Some of these were official efforts from artists already established in traditional formats, such as Collision Course (2004), a collaboration between Jay-Z and the rock band Linkin Park featuring mashups using existing tracks from each artist. David and Stephen Dewaele of the successful Belgian band Soulwax formed the mashup side project 2 Many DJs and released the acclaimed As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 (2003) An unusual example that blurred the lines between remix and mashup, though only featuring one artist, was the album Love (2006), which presented new versions of various songs by the Beatles (originally for a Cirque du Soleil show).
However, the vast majority of mashups were by less well-known creators, including DJs as well as unsigned, independent producers or even amateurs. Many releases were online only rather than in physical form, although some artists found enough success to establish themselves as more traditional acts. For example, the Kleptones won attention for albums such as Yoshimi Battles the Hip-Hop Robots (2003), which combined the Flaming Lips album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002) with various samples from rap songs and other sources. American Edit (2005), a mashup based around pop-punk band Green Day's 2004 album American Idiot and released by a pair of producers under the name Dean Gray, attracted both critical praise and legal controversy. Producer Max Tannone was another artist who reached a wide audience, with albums such as Jaydiohead (2009; mixing Jay-Z and the rock band Radiohead) and Mos Dub (2010; mixing rapper Mos Def and classic reggae). In a more humorous, quirky vein, Neil Cicierega's albums Mouth Sounds and Mouth Silence, both released in 2014, earned popularity with their pop-culture heavy approach and were followed by Mouth Moods in 2017.
Impact
The popularity of musical mashups helped give rise to the concept of remix culture, which held that increased access to content and technology was creating a culture focused on recombining and reimagining all types of art, including music. This development inspired discussion about modifying copyright law to reflect new creative and technological realities.
Bibliography
Castillo, Michelle. "Are Girl Talk and Other Mashup Artists Violating Copyright?" Time. Time, 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.
Gander, Kashmira. "Parody Videos Made Legal under New Law." Independent. Independent.co.uk, 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.
Lessig, Lawrence. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Miller, Paul, ed. Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture. Cambridge: MITP, 2008. Print.
Sinnreich, Aram. Mashed Up: Music, Technology, and the Rise of Configurable Culture. Amherst: U of Massachusetts P, 2010. Print.