WhoSampled is a website and app database of information about sampled music or sample-based music, interpolations, cover songs, and remixes. As of February 2026, the website contains 1,294,557 songs and 402,043 artists in its catalog.[4]
In November 2025, it was acquired by Spotify, a media firm and streaming service provider based in Stockholm, Sweden.[5] The acquisition promised users reduced moderation waiting times, elimination of display advertisements and free apps with full functionality.[6]
History
Nadav Poraz founded the site in London in 2008, as a way to track musical samples and cover songs.[7] Mobile apps were released in 2012 and 2014 for iPhone and Android, respectively.[8] The website's database is user-generated and reviewed by moderators before the content goes live. As of 2026, the site's most sampled track is "Amen, Brother" by the Winstons, which contains the most sampled drum break in music history, having been sampled in more than 7,000 songs.[9][10]
In 2016, a year after adding support for movie and television clips,[11] it partnered with Spotify[12] and introduced 6D, a six degrees of separation-inspired game which tracks relationships between artists, producers, and their tracks.[13] In 2017, WhoSampled partnered with KPM and Ableton and organized the third 'Samplethon' competition at Point Blank Studios in London.[14][15][16] WhoSampled was acquired by Spotify in 2025. The platform and brand are operated by Spotify and subscription fees were removed.[17]
See also
- Discogs
- Interpolation (popular music)
- Pandora Radio
- SecondHandSongs, a similar website focused on cover songs
External links
References
- We speak to whosampled.com DJ Mag, 24 September 2014, retrieved 19 October 2023^
- WhoSampled is 8 Years Old! WhoSampled^
- WhoSampled.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools WHOIS, retrieved 14 November 2016^
- About Us | WhoSampled WhoSampled^
- Spotify Technology S.A. acquired Whosampled.Com Limited. MarketScreener UK, retrieved 2025-11-24^
- WhoSampled is Joining Spotify! www.whosampled.com, retrieved 2026-02-19^
- Khan, Basheera. Say it isn't so – WhoSampled reveals the rip-offs in music TechCrunch, 1 December 2009, retrieved 11 September 2010^
- Stuart Dredge. With 1 million users, WhoSampled brings its music DNA exploration to Android The Guardian, 23 September 2014, retrieved 1 February 2017^
- David Goldenberg. It Only Takes Six Seconds To Hear The World's Most Sampled Song FiveThirtyEight, 22 September 2016, retrieved 1 February 2017^
- Sampled in More Than 7000 Songs WhoSampled, retrieved 22 October 2022^
- Katie Solomon. Get to the chopper! WhoSampled adds movie and TV sample clips TechRadar, 15 May 2015^
- Paul Sawers. WhoSampled taps Spotify to show you who covered, remixed, or sampled your favorite songs VentureBeat, 8 February 2016, retrieved 1 February 2017^
- Adam Pugsley. WhoSampled's new Six Degrees tool shows you how your favourite artists are connected Chart Attack, 6 July 2016, retrieved 1 February 2017^
- WHOSAMPLED PRESENTS 'SAMPLETHON' COMPETITION AT POINT BLANK LONDON WITH KPM & ABLETON DJMag.com, 5 October 2017, retrieved 17 October 2017^
- WhoSampled presents third Samplethon contest hosted by Point Blank Studios www.solvdmag.com, retrieved 17 October 2017^
- WhoSampled teams up with Sony/ATV for new Samplethon www.completemusicupdate.com, retrieved 8 November 2017^
- Sarah Perez. Spotify acquires music database WhoSampled TechCrunch, 2025-11-19, retrieved 2025-11-19^