The Nikanoru   Members

One thing I've learned in organizing several platforms with volunteers: including money changes things. Sure, the people in staff now are not doing it for extra money, but that could be an incentive for people to push for being a staff member. You don't want that line of thought. It also spawns a lot more conspiracy-theories, something you also want to avoid when you're reliant on contributions of others (some if the theories are even going around now that the staff isn't even getting paid). Last but not least: you have to divide the money. Does everyone get an equal share? Or should you get more if you get involved more? Those can be toxic discussions as well.
My experience is that these things always get out if hand, no matter how good the intentions see. Compensation for expenses on the other hand works quite well usually (fully compensated travels to conventions and such)

I have no remixes posted currently ... but if/when I do, I'm opting in.
 

I have no remixes posted currently ... but if/when I do, I'm opting in.
 

I like the feel you've created here and really like your choice of instruments, especially the bass and drums. 
IMO, the 'melody' bass is a little too loud in comparison to the 'rhythm' bass, but otherwise, solid to me.

YESSSSS! - SO glad to hear someone is pursuing the storyline of Demon Castle War, regardless of what final form it takes. I sure hope some rogue developer tried to build something with it ...
I really like how there are hints of previous themes mixed in with original compositions. I especially like the feel behind Sanguine Moonblossom; like a long pensive look at Alucard, bringing past to present.
'Ecclesiae Strigam' is a really interesting name. 'Call of the Ecclesia' or 'Holy Shout' or something like that? Foreshadowing of some sort, no doubt...
I will be keeping an eye on this. Great work so far!

I think perhaps some people draw a strong line between web ads & YouTube ads, but I'm waiting to hear why that is - it definitely deserves to be talked about, and I'm going to apologize in advance to any artists who feel we should have informed them first BEFORE even testing the waters. We see these ads as equivalent to the existing web ads, as being preferable to them, and as not representing a change in our existing policy, and we wanted a "dry run" & to measure their impact as scientifically as possible.
I'm interested in where this thread goes, and eager to answer any questions. Depending on the outcome, an official announcement will be made & sent out to artists in case folks don't monitor the forums. Some quick points:
@Brandon Strader's right in that we started testing this on June 13th of this year Since that date, $130.99 in ad revenue was generated from ALL YouTube ads combined, a portion of which goes to our channel network This is considerably less than what web ads USED to make, but ever since we tweaked them to get rid of obnoxious & irrelevant content, web ads have tanked... so this is more than they ARE making at present. It's worth noting that it took two months for anyone to really notice... in my mind this is a successful experiment JUST in terms of gauging the impact to the average viewer/listener. Ads have NOT yet been enabled for the 3000+ video back catalog - we are waiting to do that based on the outcome of this conversation and after an official announcement. At that point the ad $$$ would obviously be more, but it won't be one video, or even one artist's videos, making a huge contribution to that - it's the aggregate. We were also hoping to time that announcement with a parallel announcement of filing for 501c3 status and debuting new artist pages which do a better job of promoting the artist than our current layout. So, why would we do this at all when the Patreon is completely covering the site's operating costs, with SURPLUS?
An extremely fair question. To be honest, I hate managing the money side of OCR, I didn't sign up for this, and it's not something I derive joy in even contemplating. For the 501c3 I'm hoping someone on staff can take on the role of treasurer so I can free myself of it. Nevertheless, answers to the above question:
I'm an IT guy. I have backups for my backups. I don't like having a single point of failure, and without a meaningful form of ad revenue, the site's existence would rest solely with Patreon. Membership in a YT network has other benefits... increased reach, an extra level of protection from content matches, etc. Mainly, at least for me, I saw that our web ads completely tanked after we tweaked them to exclude annoying/irrelevant content. I don't think Google's ad model for websites is as good as their model for videos. I'd love to remove most if not all Google ads from this site, and only feature completely relevant stuff like Super Audio Cart, OverClocked Records, and also use that space to promote our existing/upcoming albums. It absolutely is; our content policy still applies, and always will. For the 501c3 filing, there would be additional clarity required surrounding what specifically counts as an operational or promotional cost, tying our hands a bit further, in addition to more specific IRS documentation requirements.

Maybe it is due to a new update in YouTube's bot, design, or something else, as Ivan suggested. My association got a video monetized (due to the use of a copyrighted song) although our monetization is deactivated. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation (and there's no need to jump to OCR's throat without their explanation).

Well, since there seems to be a reluctance to pursue the non-licenced remixes route, and OC Records already has a presence on Spotify, then why not run with that and actively promote OC Records to streaming services? This would be a great way (IMO) to promote the name of OCR. Think about it: anyone looking for OC Records online will come across OC Remix anyway. If OC Remix has too many hurdles to jump, why not use the OC Records brand to promote OCR as a whole?
Just a suggestion.
 

First of all I'd like to apologise. I never wanted to even insinuate that you guys aren't doing a great job. Because you guys _are_ doing a great job. I probably should have formulated that differently. (Or not at all.) I also realise that you're all volunteers, and I respect the effort that you're putting into this (or the fact that you're even taking the time to read and respond to my posts, since I'm a relative outsider).
What really gets to me, though, is the apparent "all or nothing" mentality of these responses, as Liontamer mentions. (Thanks Liontamer!)
It's been stupid of me to not point this out specifically, but I never intended for _all_ of the OC Remix catalogue to be put on streaming services. Maybe some day, if possible, yes. But surely not initially. I was mostly considering the album projects. I mean, albums like Voices of the Lifestream would be pretty safe bets as they are easily licensed through, for example, Loudr (only one game per album for most of them), and from what I've seen Square Enix doesn't really make a big fuss about fan arrangements.
I mean, OC ReMix could start out posting just the albums on streaming services every week or month or [insert random timeframe here]. Starting with either Kong in Concert, which, from what I gather, would be easily licensable, or Relics of the Chozo if it's possible to license it. Or, of course, if you're feeling adventurous, just upload it rogue. (There are plenty of Super Metroid fan arrangements on Spotify already, so either they got successfully licensed or Nintendo just doesn't seem to care. But I assume OC ReMix respects the original copyright holders sufficiently to not post unlicensed songs.) From there you just continue on, trying to get as many albums on there as possible. That _would_ constitute a moderate amount of effort.
So yeah, baby steps. Just having a handful of OC ReMix albums on there would already be awesome. I would never expect anyone to undertake a complete "get all OC ReMix songs on streaming services"-project in one go. That's would be an insane amount of work. But I can't stand it when people just write of an idea all together without exploring all the options. There is almost always room for concessions. Just keep in mind this is not a black or white situation. I still believe OC ReMix could and should extend their songs to Spotify.
Also, let me make this clear: this has nothing to do with convenience for me personally. I have both an iTunes Match and Apple Music subscription. So every time new songs or abums come out on OC ReMix I just download them and drag them into iTunes and I'm set. I have all OC ReMix songs available to me where ever I go and I can listen them alongside all the songs on Apple Music, so I don't even need to switch app to listen to one or the other.
The colleagues, friends and loved ones that I wish to share music with, however, aren't all as proficient with their computer or smartphone as I am. Neither can I expect them to pay for an iTunes Match subscription, or set up a Plex Media Server, etc. Practically all of them use Spotify, however, so if I just send them a link to an album on Spotify the barrier for getting them to listen to these songs is greatly reduced. Also for a lot of fans like me it serves as additional confirmation of their music tastes not being just this obscure underground thing. This may sound ridiculous to some of you, but I am sure others can understand. 
Anyway, I really think we're getting off on the wrong foot and that is too bad. Part of this is obviously my fault because, frankly, yeah I have a big mouth and I can come across as quite arrogant when talking about subjects I'm passionate about. But I always try to push my vision of the best solution for a problem, until someone corrects me, then I re-evaluate, and push forward again. Being passionate like this works better when in personal conversation because people can better judge my reactions and I can quickly correct myself, but on forums I tend to get a hard time. So _please_ take my comments with a grain of salt. I'm not really as arrogant as I seem to be.
And I really admire the artists and volunteers that put their free time into this community. So keep up the awesome work.
 

I personally vouch for someone developing another streaming service that's dedicated to OCR music, so that we don't need to deal with the legal stuff involved in streaming.
qwertymoto, come back, plz...

Two things: first, you're severely underestimating the amount of work involved in obtaining licensing for the entire catalog of OC ReMix. We have nearly 1000 games represented in the catalog of individually posted remixes. We're well aware of Loudr and what they do, and even relying on an external service would still require too much work to obtain licensing for every last remix. This is not a "moderate amount of effort."
Second, and more importantly: stop invoking the site's mission to make your case. Here's our mission:
Appreciate and honor video game composers and their music Encourage artistic expression and development through fan arrangements Preserve and promote video game music of the past and present Provide resources and connections for the game composers of tomorrow Distribute great, free music to the world The last point seems to be what you're hung up on. But here's the thing:
We provide free direct and torrent downloads of all of our music. We have every individual ReMix posted in full to our YouTube channel (~112K subscribers). We post all of our albums to Soundcloud (~7K Followers) We promote all of our music on Twitter (~28K Followers) and Facebook (~53K Likes). We go to conventions and events throughout the year (upcoming: Otakon next weekend, PAX West and MAGLabs in Sept, etc.) to do panels and give out CDs. We're doing a great job of staying true to our mission. Would Spotify be a nice way to capture more listeners? Sure. But don't pretend for a second that not having the music on Spotify means we aren't doing our job. This is not about us doing our job well, this is about your convenience.
This thread was made 6 years ago. We didn't forget about Spotify. We're not ignorant of the modern streaming landscape and how it's evolved over the years. We've evaluated these venues and made the determination that it's not worth pursuing. There are better uses of our limited time; time that, by the way, none of us are compensated for.

I had one vote for Of Pendants and Crystals... (Thanks, @BlueJackG)
Maybe Hyrule Divided?
As for the voice samples, I was referring to the Ganon's Message I had promised to do, but I can do anything folks want me to. I'm more of a bass than tenor, so I'm not sure how good my Link would be - especially if I try to 'chipmunk' it - but I can try that too. I just like to be all kinds of villainous!
EDIT: Or Path to the Golden Land...

I had one vote for Of Pendants and Crystals... (Thanks, @BlueJackG)
Maybe Hyrule Divided?
As for the voice samples, I was referring to the Ganon's Message I had promised to do, but I can do anything folks want me to. I'm more of a bass than tenor, so I'm not sure how good my Link would be - especially if I try to 'chipmunk' it - but I can try that too. I just like to be all kinds of villainous!
EDIT: Or Path to the Golden Land...

Track Name for Lost Woods: "Fake Swords"
I estimate about two weeks to get this ready. Voice samples for Sunday at the latest. Life just keeps getting in the way...
Just a quick note about our title: Pieces of Courage is a name I feel would be better suited to a project of Zelda 1 or 2, as these games revolve around the Triforce of Courage. A Link to the Past doesn't focus on any one piece of the Triforce. Picky, I know - but I do feel a name for the album should reflect a little closer to the nature of the game.
... Not that I'm trying to steal any thunder from BlueJackG! It was a good suggestion. 
 

This is great! Really bouncy - had to groove a bit while listening.
Only complaint: I can barely hear that flute, and what I can hear, sounds ... not authentic?
Other than that, this is pretty darn complete. Great work!
 

Hi, I'm this threads Devil's advocate now. Remember how great it was when they "went back" with Sonic the Hedgehog 4? Ok I'm done here.

Hey, Rhino. Put me down for the 'Lost Woods,' if not taken. I'll provide a title soon. 
I have a voice-over idea for 'Ganon's Message,' too, if you're interested. PM me if you are.
It may take some time for me to complete. You have a deadline?
EDIT: Title suggestion: Agahnim's Grand Design or Of Pendants and Crystals

If there was one more Castlevania game...the safe bet for me would be another game like Order of Ecclesia but Bloodstained could be that craving. I would love to see a 3D Castlevania done right, that is at its most faithful. I enjoyed Lament of Innocence when it came out but its level design was just bad, may as well have been procedurally generated. I tried Curse of Darkness about a year ago and I thought it was alright but the level design was killing it for me again, didn't even finish it. I always stick up for Lords of Shadow 1 as being a really good game with great music, it just isn't Castlevania...there's definitely elements that evoke the series and I really appreciate those though. Lords of Shadow 2 was a real missed opportunity, but damnit the soundtrack is awesome.

The 3D Castlevania I want is pretty much Symphony of the Night, just done in 3D properly. I remember when the first Devil May Cry came out I would think to myself that if it wasn't split into missions then you have something of a decent castle location here with a metroidvania feel. It always baffled me why Konami could never at least do this. Now with games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, I feel I want something similar in style but only taking influence - it needs to be Castlevania through and through. The story for me isn't a big deal as long as it serves the game well and gives good characters. I imagine entering a castle at night, it's very dark and it's thundering outside, some of the windows are open and the curtains are blowing in the wind, lightning is filling the room with light every now and then. There is no music, no enemies...you make some progress and get a feel for the game. Then something happens, maybe your first boss encounter or something and suddenly it brightens up, maybe all the candles suddenly light up and become active, the music kicks in with this glorious style of the old games, then suddenly you're able to explore so much more and you know this is the Castlevania you know done right. You start seeing classic enemies all gloriously modelled with their traditional attacks, maybe they have new AI patterns due to the game being 3D. Weak enemies try to mob you, large enemies vary their attack patterns. I mean...it is what it is isn't it lol, explaining the series as we know it.

And if it's the type of game to have a Hard Mode Level 1 cap, I'm all for that! I particularly liked OoE's enemy mixups for that, getting through the forest at the start of the game was really fun to figure out.

For what it's worth, it is strongly hinted that Richter's demonic possession by Shaft is what motivates him to give up the Vampire Killer.  He doesn't need it anymore after Alucard has done the job for him, and is ashamed ingame that they came to blows.
I would be interested to hear how Julius Belmont reclaims the whip from Jonathan Morris, though that's likely part of a 1999 story (Morris would be 73 years old then).

Thx. +1 for the beer touch...
 

Holy crap, I wasn't expecting to EVER hear from this game again, LOL. I'd forgotten how jazzy the OST was for this game.
Great cover. I love the swingin' sound of the sax/piano/snare but the bass is too understated and the drums could be more interesting, IMO. 
Still, great sound. Can't wait to hear it finished!

Oh, awesome. Chiptunes are pretty sweet - glad I could introduce you to them! I think this came out in January, though
First post is updated with minor mixing changes, will not be working on it further (got more things to work on!). Thanks for the input, everyone, it helps greatly!

Hello, I'm the Nikanoru, retro gamer extraordinaire. I've been creeping the OC Remix website for a couple of years now, and after I downloaded my 12th remix album, I thought that I had run out of excuses not to say hi.
I am a bit of an audiophile and although I am very musically inclined, I seem to have neither the direction nor the time to pursue music these days, aside from listening to it and dreaming that one day I could play like some of the other artists out there. Speaking of which, I would like to contribute with a few tracks of my own one day - any advice for this noobie composer would be appreciated.
I like any music that invokes thought or feeling, whether it be acoustic, metal, symphonic, ambient, or just plain awesome.
Great to be here!

Well, I think there is still a difference between:
copying someone's notes intentionally (specifically verbatim or very similar), but is not necessarily a textural similarity (it could be). copying someone's notes by accident (a coincidence; may be verbatim or just reminds someone of a particular song), but is not necessarily a textural similarity (it could be). imitating someone's instrumentation (like the selection of instruments often used by a particular artist you like--- a stylistic similarity), but not necessarily their notes nor their exact soundscape's EQ, reverb, instrument placement, etc. imitating someone's soundscape (i.e. an extremely similar selection of instruments, similar panning, enough to call it a stylistic similarity, down to the frequency distribution, filter motion, etc), but not necessarily their notes. NOTE: This is a closer similarity than simply imitating instrumentation. While those are all forms of imitation... (which I think is when you said "in the end it's the same thing")
I think #1 is not OK. That, you might call "theft", because it was intended (unless it's a cover). I think #2 is excusable, and is not uncommon to have happen. However, if the person then realizes it, and does nothing about it, I would say it becomes intentional after-the-fact. It's like saying "oh, you're right, it sounds like so-and-so. Whatever, I don't feel like fixing it." I think #3 is OK as well. This is something I've done a few times, and I would call it inspiration, as it might remind someone of an artist, without leading them to accuse you of plagiarism. For example, this was inspired by Weather Report in the drums and bass. I didn't, however, copy exact notes outright---mostly, I used similar instrumentation and occasionally playing styles. I think #4 is a little sketchier, but can be OK. This can sometimes be construed as a remake or cover rather than an inspired-by, but this does not necessarily have to involve copying someone's notes. However, I think this can make someone say "huh, this reminds me of something..." and they might really try hard to convince themselves that you didn't intentionally steal notes, because it's so similar in feel. The point is, I don't mind if imitations or similarities occur - what matters to me is, was it 'malicious intent', so to speak?

I think maybe I'm hearing what everyone else is: To Slimy, it's the loud, 'unappealing' melody sounds and quiet bass with abstract feel; and to timaeus222, it's the density; I think what I'm really hearing is the intricacy of the melody and the sound wave sound chosen clashing with the equally intricate harmony line and organ synth. What I guess I'm getting at is with all that movement and focus that the melody is getting - which is by design, as you said - I can see why folks would say that the square wave sound is unappealing and the 'rest of the soundscape' is too quiet. Maybe the featured melody is too intricate in places, drowning out the soundscape and running against the smooth bass and beats.
Here are examples of what I mean:
1:33 - 1:38: I still think it sounds cluttered here. I'll use the analogy 'it feels like every melody and harmony part is trying to steal the spotlight all at once.'
1:39 - 1:54: In contrast, this part is perfectly balanced.  @timaeus222 @Ganaé Let me know if you two would agree.
1:55 - 2:28: This 'verse' part feels better, more organized.
I hope I'm being clearer than mud, lol. Just an observation about composition, really. I still really like the arrangement and I can listen to it just fine as is. Besides - you're the composer, so if you think this is done, then it is.