Community Corner

Sampling Audio from the Challenger Explosion: Offensive or Art?

Beyoncé comes under fire for using NASA audio in "XO."

Family members who lost loved ones in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster are raising eyebrows at the use of a short post-explosion audio sample in a song by pop singer Beyoncé, according to ABC News.

In the song “XO,” the singer uses a six second clip of audio of a NASA public affairs officer commenting on the explosion that killed the entire crew of the shuttle, including Concord teacher Christa McAuliffe.

A widow of the Challenger commander, June Scrobee Rodgers, told ABC that she was “disappointed” by its use. A former NASA employee, Keith Cowing, called it “inappropriate in the extreme.”

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However Beyoncé countered that it was a tribute to the work of the crew and hoped they would never be forgotten.

When it comes to use of material in sampling, most of the controversy surrounds whether the sampling artist has obtained permission to use someone else’s copyrighted work or whether or not there are royalties paid the first artist to create the clip, not necessarily tasteless or insensitive use of audio.

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Read the full ABC News article and view the video segment here: Beyoncé Slammed for Sampling Shuttle Tragedy on New Album

Tell us: What do you think? Is it art or is it offensive? Leave a note in the comment section of this post and share your feelings about the use of the sampling in the pop song.


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