[Tashtego]

One thing I don't see anyone in these comments taking into account- this is music that, for various sampling law / licensing reasons, they have never been able to sell or stream online. They seem to be giving it away because they've run out of options for getting it in the hands of their fans otherwise.

[relaxatorium]

This should get more upvotes as it is pretty important to understanding why they did this.

The earliest De La Soul albums were jam packed with samples that wound up getting them hit with a few lawsuits/out-of court settlements that severely hampered their ability to release this music in various new media/formats. They're definitely an artifact of the more wild-west times of hip-hop sampling.

[ghx]

Yeah, the story isn't quite as compelling when you put it that way. That first album would cost millions of dollars to release if they put it out today. The list of expensive samples (Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, etc.) on that album is totally out of control...

[e12e]

Oh, I don't know -- at least now new artists can (more easily) sample them, and continue making art under equally unclear legal status. One can always hope this will help push fair use to become broader, rather than narrower.

[windsurfer]

They could host it and sell it on Legitmix.