There is this part of a song that you really want to add to your work for multiple reasons, the song was made by another artist and you want to take a small portion of it for your own song. This is called music sampling.

A big question here is, is music sampling legal? The answer is yes, if done properly.

• You are going to need 2 permissions to sample a song, one for the intellectual property and another for the sound recording. Keep in mind that you’ll most likely will have to pay a fee for each permission.

This will come down to negotiations with the owners of the composition/recording.

Sometimes the cost can be a flat free or just co-ownership of the new work, it will depend on the owners of the work.

There is only 2 ways for an artists to legally be able to sample without clearance:

1. If the sample you used its so altered that an average listener would not be able to hear any similarities between the original work and yours.
2. Under fair use, this means that its purpose is for a limited use such as educational purposes on a classroom, comment, criticize or parody the work that’s being sampled. 

To fall under fair use:

• Not take a substantial amount of a song
• Transform the material in some way
• Not cause significant financial harm to the owner.

Music is not an exact science as we know, so keep in mind that every judge might decide differently. Some might say that fair use doesn’t apply to the sound recording but it does to the intellectual property. The truth is, you can never really know what the ruling might be until it happens.

Now if you are using a sample and you’re sure you need to ask for permission, here is how to can do it:

1. Find the music publisher, to get clearance for the intellectual property.

• The best way to find them is through performing rights organizations databases which are BMI and ASCAP (in the U.S.)
• Once you find the publisher, contact them to ask for clearance. 

      2. Find the Master owner, for clearance on the sound recording. This is often a little harder to find but here are some things you can try:

• The publisher usually keeps records of the master owner, ask them.
• Find the record company that releases the music. This can be done by checking for the song in online stores.
• If it becomes an impossible task for you to find this information you can choose to hire a clearance expert such us the Harry Fox Agency . It is usually possible to pay an hourly rate.

Just remember that this is a long process and it can take up to several months to get approved, so plan your release accordingly.