Three different categories of derivative work — distinguished by the degree of original material reused and authorisation status.
Definition
These three categories describe different types of derivative work in dance music. An edit is a minor rearrangement of an existing track — typically by a DJ for personal play — that re-orders sections, shortens or extends the intro/outro, or fixes elements for crowd compatibility. Edits use the original track stems mostly as-is. A remix is a full reimagining: a producer is given the original stems (vocals, melodic elements) and creates an entirely new track around them, usually authorised and commercially released. A bootleg is an unauthorised remix or mashup, often distributed for free on SoundCloud or as an unreleased file shared between DJs. Bootlegs occupy a grey legal area but have historically been a source of innovation and underground excitement; many famous official remixes started as bootlegs that became too popular to ignore.