Roland founder Ikutaro Kakahashi takes the term “sampling” in a new direction in his new book, An Age Without Samples.

In Japan, Kakehashi explains, “sampling” has been the business model for decades: taking something that already exists – a car or camera, for example – and then building upon it and creating new innovations based upon it.

In An Age Without Samples, he argues that businesses in the digital age are in the same position as musicians – without samples to borrow from and build upon. But, Kakehashi argues that the changes brought about by technology also create a rare opportunity for new ventures that need creative and original thinking.

An Age Without Samples is available for US $24.99.

About The Author

Ikutaro Kakahashi is the founder of Roland Corporation.

He formed Ace Electronics in 1964 with the goal of improving the electronic organ, building on the work of his heroes, Laurens Hammond and Donald J. Leslie. In the late 1960s, he formed the Roland Corporation, which soon became one of the leaders in the industry. In 2013, he and Dave Smith, founder of Sequential Circuits, were jointly awarded the Technical Grammy Award by the Recording Academy, for their work in establishing MIDI as a worldwide standard for electronic musical instruments.

Kakehashi retired from Roland in 2013 and founded ATV Corporation, a startup focusing on audio + visual creative tools.