hmmm well, I have found that in most cases the less popular or less successful samples/records would normally be the ones cheapest in cost....in most cases not all...there are alot of technicalities as well like if the original owner is still even alive, or how long he has been dead etc. there is a span on an artists death which after 15-20 years the material then becomes royalty free to the public, but I hear there is also some technicalities to this as well...
but the thing to think about is "contract" more then anything...if you are a producer it's not "illegal" to sell a beat with an uncleared sample...if you make it perfectly clear that the sample has not been cleared...you will still be paid for the arrangement of your creation, but if the lable/artist feels he wants to take his work and your beat to a commercial level, it will be his responsbility to clear the sample used....
generally if your not moving more then 10 thousand units your not making enough money for some one to sue you for copyright infringement and normally most won't even bother, but if your looking to move alot of units or take your product nationwide with distrubution and all...then yes I would say you better have everything cleared/owned/copyright....
This is partially why some producers charge so much and some dont...and I think people fail to see that. For example myspace or soundclick has producers that just give away beats or sell them for 20-50 dollars...yet you have some that sell their beats for 2000-5000 and people wonder why?? alot of the times its skill, but sometimes its because the producer has already cleared the sample and is selling to whole beat sample clearance and all....
tuff game man, do alot of reading and make sure to over protect then under protect because you happen to be in an industry where everyone is trying to make a buck off of some one else....be careful and be smart...
