Sampling (also known in Hong Kong as secondary creation or second production) changes, edits or adds new elements to an existing song, commonly to express an opinion. According to the Concerned Group for Rights of Derivation Works, "Second production is ubiquitous". Second production is not believed to violate copyright, since its theme (and meaning) are obviously different from the original work. Samplers do not claim that their works are derived from others, but are original (and, therefore, not plagiarism).
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1960s and 1970s
Second production of songs in Hong Kong began during the 1960s. Songs were re-created from Chinese opera, Disney musicals (such as The Sound of Music) or Western classical music to popular Western or Japanese songs. Cheng Gwan-min's 1968 "Buy Buns", a parody re-created from the Cantonese opera Princess Changping, reflected poverty in contemporary Hong Kong.
1980s and 1990s
During the 1980s, comedy and variety television shows became popular. The variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight included many second-produced songs. Comedians Andrew Lam and Eric Tsang became well-known in the 1990s for rewriting song lyrics as nonsensical comedy.
After 2000
Commercial use of second-produced songs continued since the 1980s. With the increasing influence of the Internet, reproduction of songs switched from television to Internet forums and online video platforms. Internet music channels and musicians re-create songs parodying contemporary political and social issues and entertainment events or translated into Cantonese.
HKGolden has a forum for members to discuss topics related to music, enabling them to publish re-written songs anonymously. Songs collectively re-composed on the channel may be posted on YouTube or another social networking platform. In 2009, the number of posts to the forum reached 10,000. Rewritten lyrics of The World of Locust 《蝗蟲天下》（原曲：富士山下）(2011), the second production of a Cantonese pop song, reflected antipathy towards the behavior of mainland tourists in Hong Kong. Its YouTube video had more than 1,460,000 views by 2016. Champion of Warmth Losses 《失暖王》原：失戀王 (2016) parodied cold Siberian weather in late January 2016.
Controversy
The Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 created confusion about second-production works. Some believed that the bill will restrict freedom of expression and creation. If the second production is considered a parody, satire, pastiche, caricature or commentary, it may not be considered copyright infringement. The copyright sector, led by the Hong Kong Copyright Alliance, hoped the bill would fight piracy on the Internet.
Thomas Tang, executive-committee member of the Hong Kong Comic and Animation Federation, said that they hoped to fight large-scale streaming websites with piracy problems; comic books are scanned and uploaded to streaming websites for the public to read. With existing laws, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department could neither investigate nor prosecute.
Effects
Videos have been uploaded to YouTube as political or social commentary and entertainment; most are non-profit. Some reproduction work also attracted attention to the original. Reproducing songs may be considered fair use.
Copyright protects a creator's effort and originality. Second production, based on additions to an original work, may or may not infringe copyright. "New" works might alter the public image of a brand; the Hong Kong Disneyland has been parodied as "Buddhaland".