Originally Posted by: ericthecableguy..to say..use a short snippet from a comedian as a sample in our song. It's not even 2 seconds long.

Check out the laws on 'public domain'. It may have changed since my days in school, but it used to be that 9 seconds was legal to use without a copyright infringement.

Most writers, photographers, comics...etc will usually okay it if you write to them with the content and intent. They may want to hear the final project before giving you their blessing, but most will do it without charge.

They get the benefit of additional exposure without the expense.

Some won't.

Generally musicians are the worst of the lot for allowing their work to be sampled.