ABSTRACT
Are mash-up scenes part of a popular music ‘mainstream’? Some critics imply that the answer is ‘no’. They point to the illicit aspects of mash-up scenes, such as the rampant use of unauthorized samples (Serazio 2008; McLeod 2005; Duckworth 2005; Rimmer 2005; Sinnreich 2010: 134–8). Since mash-ups involve a cappella versions of songs being placed over instrumental versions of others, copyright often prevents the music from circulating in mainstream spaces. At the same time, writers have emphasized how mash-ups rely on mainstream pop, as evidenced by the vast number of Eminem, Beyoncé and Britney Spears mash-ups (Ewing 2002; McLeod 2005). We can extend such arguments by looking not only at what producers sample, but also at how they sample it.
