Making something new out of old sounds is just creativity, like a collage or a conversation between songs. If every borrowed note needs permission, only people with money and lawyers get to make music, and that feels wrong to me.

Maybe some music is bad, sure, I can't really argue that. But whether the result is good or bad doesn't make sampling theft. Taking a sound and turning it into something new still feels like creating, not stealing, that's my gut.

If every sample needs a license, only artists with money get to build on the past, and that shuts out the next generation. Fair point that just copying feels lazy, but I still can't see that as theft, sorry.