vocals

[NuEra]

hi everyone, had a few questions about vocals....

where do producers get quality vocals from? do they know ppl that can sing and record them?

what are the limitations on sampling? if you find an old record, or track, how much of someone's vocal can you legally use? and in what ways?

haven't had much luck with sample packs and such

[Medway]

One way is to scour Myspace and see if there are any unsigned singers there that will be willing to work with you.

I have taken vocals from records before and gotten away with it. There's always a slight chance but I always tell people if the song is successful enough to get you in trouble at least it means you've got some exposure

[Bitfiend]

Man it's tough. I've really struggled with this over the last couple of years. You'd be amazed at how many singers loose any original sounding qualities to their voice once you get them in front of a mic with music outside their "genre comfort zone". Plus they always seem to be the hardest to work with when it comes to directive and steering a project along. Maybe ego-clash or something, dunno.
Actually church choirs can be a decent place to find a vocalist as well.

yeah I've released a few tracks on the label that clipped samples and have gone completely unnoticed. actually have one coming out in a couple of months that has a very blatant sample. I'd agree with Meds, if it does blow up any controversy would only fuel sales. Plus you can always pay a fraction of the copyright dues and buy download licensing if it does start to take off. I think the minimum is a license for 2500 downloaded copies and it goes up from there.

Are you looking for male or a female vocalist and what genre?

[Medway]

Agreed vocalists can be a tough lot to control, the ones that can deliver consistently are few and far between.

[NuEra]

yeah i think my problem was being a bit too shy about using samples...let's not forget that's what house music was built on