How To — licensing

You sampled a song in your beat. It sounds incredible. But can you actually release it? Sample clearance is the legal process of getting permission to use someone else's recording in your music. Skip it and you risk takedowns, lawsuits, and losing all the revenue from your release. Here's how it actually works. What Needs to Be Cleared? When you sample a song, you're using two separate copyrights: Copyright Who Owns It What You Need Master recording Usually the record label Master use license (permission to use the actual recording) Composition (song) The songwriter/publisher Publishing clearance (permission to use the...

Sampling is foundational to music production. Hip-hop was literally built on it. House music lives on sampled vocal hooks. Pop producers sample melodies and textures from every era. But sampling someone else's recording without permission is copyright infringement. It doesn't matter if it's 2 seconds or 20. It doesn't matter if you pitched it, chopped it, or buried it in the mix. If you release it commercially without clearance, you're taking a legal risk. Here's every legal option available in 2026, from cheapest to most expensive. Option 1: Use Royalty-Free Samples (Easiest) The simplest path. Royalty-free samples come with a...

Copyright confuses most producers. There's a lot of bad advice floating around — from "mail yourself a copy" (doesn't work) to "you need to copyright your beat before sending it to anyone" (not how it works). Here's what you actually need to know as a music producer in 2026. Your Music Is Already Copyrighted This is the most important thing to understand: copyright exists the moment you create something original and fix it in a tangible form. The second you record a beat, write a melody, or lay down a vocal — it's copyrighted. Automatically. No registration required. You don't...

AI can now generate a vocal that sounds almost human. Tools like Suno, Udio, and various voice cloning platforms produce singing vocals from a text prompt. Type a few words, pick a style, and you get a vocal track in seconds. So why are producers still buying human vocals? Because "almost human" isn't the same as human. And in commercial music production, the gap between "good enough" and "release-ready" is where careers and royalties live. Here's an honest comparison of where things stand in 2026. What AI Vocals Can Do in 2026 Let's give credit where it's due. AI vocal...

TL;DR Non-exclusive = affordable ($10-30), multiple producers can use the same vocal, perfect for testing ideas and building your catalog. Exclusive = premium ($99-699), only you can use that vocal, built for commercial releases and serious projects. Both are valid — it depends on what you're making and where it's going. Every producer hits this question at some point: do you go exclusive or non-exclusive on a vocal? It sounds simple, but the answer affects your budget, your rights, and how your release stands out (or doesn't). And there's a lot of confusion around what each license actually lets you...

TL;DR A mechanical license costs $12-50 through your distributor, takes 10 minutes to set up, and is the only thing standing between you and a legit cover release. Most distributors handle it automatically — just check the "this is a cover" box. You found the perfect cover vocal, produced a fire remix, and you're ready to release it. But before you hit distribute, there's one thing standing between you and a legit release: the mechanical license. If you're a producer or DJ making cover remixes — and especially if you're using pre-recorded cover vocals — this is the one piece...