Hi Reddit,

Amateur musician here. Thus far I've played and sung just for myself and fam but I've been considering professionally recording something now.

I have a bunch of original stuff, but I also really like the idea of sampling existing snippets.

There are a bunch of chillstep playlists on youtube which are just instrumentals. I've always found myself humming lyrics on top of those while I would listen to them. Some of these artists are well known and some are not so popular yet.

How does one go about using those instrumental tracks and recording a song with vocals on top of them. How do you track down the contact info for them. And licensing/rights/permissions of using their work or even possibly collaborating with them, with the idea of potentially releasing a song professionally.

Is this a good idea in general? Is it common practice for newbies? Any better suggestions, tips and pointers appreciated. Many thanks!