How to find samples

The short answer

To find samples, listen to a lot of records you don’t know yet, from genres, decades and countries other producers skip. Note every moment you could loop: an intro, a drum break, an outro, a quiet bar between vocals. Then find out who owns the recording, and clear it or replace it before you release anything.

1. Pick a lane. Choose a genre, a decade and a country, for example 1970s funk from Nigeria or 1960s jazz from Japan.
2. Go deep, not wide. Favour records with few plays. The fewer people who have heard a record, the less likely it has been sampled.
3. Listen to the whole record. The usable parts are often in the first or last 20 seconds, or in a breakdown in the middle.
4. Save it with a timestamp. Write down where the moment is, like “break at 2:14”, before you move on.
5. Research the record. Note the artist, title, label, year and country, and check whether it has been sampled before.
6. Clear it, license it or replace it. Released music needs permission for the recording and the song.

Where do producers find samples?

Record shops and bargain bins. Physical crate digging is where the name comes from. Cheap bins are full of records nobody wanted, which is exactly why they are worth a listen.

Discogs. A database and marketplace for physical releases. You can browse by genre, style, year, country and label, which makes it a map of what exists, even if you only use it for research.

YouTube. Many old and rare records have been uploaded there, often by collectors. Search results favour popular uploads, though, so the obscure ones are hard to reach by searching.

Library music. Production music recorded in the 1960s to 1980s for TV, film and radio, from labels such as KPM and De Wolfe. It is full of instrumental passages written to be cut up.

Soundtracks, B-sides and private pressings. Records that never had a single or a radio push often hold the most usable moments.

Sample services. WhoSampled documents which records have been sampled and by whom. Tracklib offers original recordings that you can license for sampling. Splice offers royalty-free sounds and loops, not original records.

Crate digging apps. CrateSeek is an iPhone app that plays one real record at a time from a catalog of more than 40,000, with filters for genre, decade, release country and obscurity. It works like a bargain bin that shuffles itself.

How do you find samples nobody else has used?

Use play counts as a signal. A record with a few hundred views on YouTube has been heard by very few people, and sampled by even fewer. CrateSeek’s obscurity filter goes down to records with fewer than 500 views.

Check before you build a beat. Search the record on WhoSampled. If a famous track already sampled the same bar, listeners will hear that track, not yours.

Leave your usual lane. Regional scenes, small labels and decades outside the usual 1970s soul and funk are sampled far less. Change one filter at a time: same genre, different country.

Skip the famous break. If a record is known for one break, the rest of it is often untouched. Listen past the part everyone knows.

What should you listen for?

• Clean openings and endings: an instrument alone before the vocals come in, or after they stop.
• Drum breaks: a bar or two where only the drums play.
• Chord changes: two or four bars of harmony you could loop without it sounding cut off.
• Vocal phrases: a single line or ad-lib that stands on its own.
• Texture: strings, horns, a Rhodes, tape hiss or room sound that gives a beat character.

Note the tempo and key of anything you keep. It saves time when you sit down to build a beat.

How do you keep track of what you find?

Save the record as soon as you hear something, with the exact timestamp and a word on what it is. Group finds by use, like “drums”, “late-night chords” or “vocal chops”, so you can find them again when you need them.

In CrateSeek you like a record to keep it, file it into Crates such as “Samples to flip”, and add a note like “Remember the break at 2:14”. Crates and notes are part of CrateSeek Pro.

Can you use a sample legally?

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country.

A sample uses two things that are usually owned by different people: the recording (the master, often owned by a label) and the song (the composition, owned by the songwriters and their publisher). To release music with a sample, you normally need permission for both.

• Clear it: contact the owner of the master and the publisher, directly or through a clearance service.
• License it: use a catalog of original recordings that are already set up for licensing, such as Tracklib.
• Replay it: record the part again yourself. You still need permission for the song, but not for the original recording.
• Replace it: use royalty-free sounds, or record your own.

Where you heard a record does not change who owns it. CrateSeek helps you find records. It does not download, extract, sell or license samples, and every record plays from its YouTube source.

Questions

What is crate digging?

Searching through records for rare music and samples. The name comes from flipping through crates of vinyl in record shops. Today it also happens online, on Discogs, YouTube and apps.

Where can I find rare samples online?

Discogs for research, YouTube for listening, WhoSampled to check what has been used, library music archives, and crate digging apps like CrateSeek that serve one real record at a time.

How do I know if a record has been sampled before?

Search the artist and title on WhoSampled. A low view count is a good sign too: the fewer people who have heard a record, the less likely it has been sampled.

Can I sample music from YouTube?

You can listen and research there, but the source doesn’t change the rights. You still need permission from the owners of the recording and the song before you release anything, and downloading from YouTube can break its terms of service.

What is the best app to find samples?

It depends on what you need. Splice is for royalty-free sounds and loops. Tracklib is for original recordings you can license. WhoSampled is for research. CrateSeek is for digging through real records one at a time on iPhone, filtered by genre, decade, country and how few people have heard them.