Real music in RMXP

[eightyproof]

It is NOT acceptable to use a 10 second extract for free. That's just rediculous. You could rip a whole chorus. You can't use any part of a song in your work.

And it is still illegal even if you record the samples yourself. Most hiphop produce do record drum samples and instuments and whatnot from records they have bought but it's still illegal. Some of 'em actually clear the samples which means they get permission to use them...but most don't. And some samples I guess are just so widely used it would be insane to try to file a case against the person who sampled them. Like the Amen Break or Funky Drummer drum breaks which have been used in millions of songs.

 

[Phoenix647]

What about if the game is freeware? Super Columbine was loaded with songs from Nirvana and the dude who made it didnt et in trouble, and it was all over the news, he had songs from a lot of bands that are still out too.

 

[eightyproof]

He's distributing other people music for free. Definitely illegal.

 

[Sketch]

Ok, but then how does a site like http://www.ocremix.org/ exist without dozens of lawsuits shutting them down? This is mostly a curiousity question from me.

 

[madmax_vii]

Ok, but then how does a site like http://www.ocremix.org/ exist without dozens of lawsuits shutting them down? This is mostly a curiousity question from me.

Pure luck. Besides when you buy a CD or buy a song online doesn't it mean it's basically your property then?? Besides they're thinking of abolishing DRM anyway...

 

[Sketch]

Pure luck they've been doing this for over 8 years and haven't been shut down? :P There are over 1500 songs on that site.

 

[Lei]

I would suggest the following: Find the midi file and then use the melody but change it. Thus it would contain a feel of the original. Maybe changing the drums and adding or subtracting something to making it loopable. Then maybe it might be considdered legal. I'm not sure. People don't really care about the lagallity here to be honnest. Ripping sprites, songs, images from games etc.

The midi redesign would probably be your best bet.

 

[eightyproof]

I seem to just be repeating myself over and over in this topic. But hell might as well say it again.

Just because someone gets away with something does not make it legal.

 

[Lei]

True. Thus I push for the midi idea.

 

[mgbenz]

Correct me if I'm wrong but MIDIS are not real audio files. You don't get them through recording. A MIDI simply transmits digital data such as the pitch and intensity of musical notes to play, control signals for parameters such as volume, vibrato and panning, and clock signals to set the tempo.

As long as they are made by people who freely share their works on the internet and as long they're not used commercially, you can use them freely. At least that has been for the past years. You're not really violating any copyright if they were not made for commercial use. Kinda like open-source.

 

[eightyproof]

True there are plenty of good MIDI composers that offer there music for you to use royalty free but it seems this thread is more about using popular MIDIs like songs from Final Fantasy.

Even if you edit a MIDI it would still be illegal since the original that you edited was written by someone else.

 

[King Moogle]

As far as the OCRemix goes... you know Jeffrey Soule? The guy who composed music for game soundtracks like Oblivion, Morrowind, and Total Annihilation? He's actually composed/submitted a piece to OCRemix...

Not saying it's illegal, just letting you know-- the game music industry knows about it, but they clearly aren't doing anything to stop it. I'm not saying it's right, I just wanted to make the facts clear.

 

[eightyproof]

It's already been made clear that not everyone follows the rules.

 

[Anaryu]

A lot of this comes down to the fact that no one has brought enough of these cases to the court to get a solid standing yet. The music industry probably doesn't feel it has a strong enough hold to start bringing down violators of higher caliber, because if the courts make a decision on a big enough case, it'll take a higher court decision to over-ride that, eventually backing them into a corner where things "are" this way or that way.

Most of the smaller stuff doesn't get attacked because there is simply TOO much of it! It's expensive to shut down sites; at the base level they have to pay people to send out warnings, track who has been warned, the status, the resolution, answer questions, etc. Those costs can add up fast, and that's BEFORE you bring in the lawyers. Add in legal costs, and you can lose a lot of money trying to shut it down. Can you imagine what it would cost to ask all the projects that use illegal music to stop? You'd have to find each one, ensure that it has the tracks, make sure you didn't get permission, ask you shut it down, and then follow up regularly... not to mention if you just close the project and reopen it elsewhere with a different name, they're not going to get back to you quickly... exactly.

A lot of the digital rights and copywrite rules regarding digital media and licensing are, although spelled out, still un-backed by solid court rulings for legal cases to stand on, so for now it's just both sides staring each other down, each side taking minor pot-shots at the other waiting for someone to make the first "move."

 

[eightyproof]

You not heard of all the lawsuits files by the RIAA? There ain't no standoff. There are definitely strict laws about the use of digital media.

 

[Anaryu]

You not heard of all the lawsuits files by the RIAA? There ain't no standoff. There are definitely strict laws about the use of digital media.

There is also a lot of grey space around the enforcement of those, and not all of them have been taken as far as they can go. The legality and enforcement of things online haven't been set by a list of long-standing court cases yet; yes there are some, and many have set some good precidences, but nowhere near the clear-cut decisions that exist for other media avenues.

In terms of legality, almost everyone makes very free with intellectual property and digital rights; your own request thread had sprites from Ragnarok Online pasted onto screens from FF7, technically that's illegal unless you've asked Gravity, Inc. and Square Enix to use those images. (Even if they're just examples.) Good? No, probably not, but again the use is minor and the odds of them even bothering to take action against the millions doing it is pretty low.

Until the laws have been not only finalized more, and enforcement for them given to a more central or more stable paradigm, legal or not, many sites will exist that have technically "illegal" content on them. The edge between fair use and copywrite infringement has always been rather grey, and while it certainly isn't legal, nor am I condoning such actions, it does exist and isn't changing by itself, it will require something stronger to force the changes.

Are there laws in place? Yes. But laws can be changed if the right people and the right situation take it to the right court. Laws are not set in stone once created, and no two courts or judges will always make the exact same ruling in every case.

Again, I'm not saying do it, or that it should be done, just that it is happening and that's why there's such a large repository of examples and sources; could you get get away with using those songs? As long as you're not profitting it's very likely; whether you do or don't is up to you, just as it's up to you to take responsibility if the hammer DOES fall.

An example to keep in mind is J-walking; regardless of town-size it's still illegal, but in some of the smaller hick-villes like where I grew up, no policeman would EVER ticket someone for it. Just because there's a law in place doesn't mean it's universally enforced.

 

[madmax_vii]

You got a point, but if you remix something or do a cover version of something, technically it's no longer copyright infringement but classes simply as secondary-source audio as you didn't create it. Covers and remixes are OK, ripping music direct from the band without editing isn't

 

[life_247]

Covers?

It might be technically be illegal, but no one would ever ever sue in a million years. And rpgxp forum wouldn't get in trouble ofr hosting by any means.

Remix's though, if they contain the orginal song in them (edited or not) are subject to the same copywrite. So not an option.

So cover's yes, Remixes - no.

 

[Brewmeister]

Title 17, Section 106

....the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:

(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;

(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;

(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;......


Covers & Remixes are 'derivative works'. Both protected.

Read the law before acting like an authority on the subject.

(FTR, I did read the law, and am still nowhere near an authority.)

Be Well

 

[siggy]

Selwyn said:But will Square-Enix or Britney Spears give a shit if you use a midi of one of their song in your game?

The real question is; Wil Square-Enix or Britney Spears ever even get ahold of your game? If your not gona sell it then it should be fine, people burn cd's give em to friends all the time. People use other games, moves, artists ect songs in their games al the time. I havnt seen one probolem with any of it. Sure it may be ilegal but everyone knows people do it and the dont give a rats ass about it. just dont sell it and its basically legal