Current Events
The sample clearance economy is having a moment
A run of interpolation-driven hits is exposing how uneven — and how lucrative — sample culture has become since the streaming era began.
At the Root of Music
Rootnote is a home for music writing that treats history and the headlines as the same story — new releases, scenes, and the samples, styles, and artists that made them possible.
Read the latestCurrent Events
A run of interpolation-driven hits is exposing how uneven — and how lucrative — sample culture has become since the streaming era began.
Music History
From Roland's discontinued drum machine to the low end under nearly every chart hit — tracing sixty years of one sound's spread.
Style & Influence
Global genres are no longer "crossing over" into the mainstream — they're setting its rhythm section outright.
What's actually in rotation right now, for context before you read this week's coverage.