The Politics of Music Sampling: Marianne Franklin and Johnny Farraj in Conversation

In this special conversation event, scholars Marianne Franklin and Johnny Farraj discuss the politics of music sampling as part of their ongoing discussions about the controversial role that digital tools have played in making the age-old practice of musical borrowing and, in recent decades, music sampling much easier. For musicians and researchers debates about whether or not sampling is a creative act or, rather, more about cultural appropriation reach far beyond the legalities of copyright and 'copywrongs'. Franklin and Farraj, as practitioners and scholars, will debate these issues drawing on examples they have encountered in their work as scholars, practitioners, and activists. This discussion is open to anyone who loves making, and listening to, traditional and contemporary music from different cultures.

Marianne Franklin is Professor of Global Media and Politics at Goldsmiths University in the UK. Marianne has been active for many years in human rights advocacy and research on internet policy-making, alongside her exploration of topics in arts and culture in our digital networked age. Trained in classical western music her latest book on music is Sampling Politics: Music and the Geocultural (Oxford University Press 2021).

Johnny Farraj is a Lebanese-born musician of Palestinian descent. His main instrument is the riqq. He also plays the 'ud and sings. Creator of the website MaqamWorld.com, Johnny is co-author with Sami Abu Shumays of Inside Arabic Music (Oxford University Press 2019).