bwmusic Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) I'm reading a lot of contradictory info about this topic on the web. It seems that one still needs to acquire a mechanical license even IF they do a cover song or remix and give it away for free download. Can anyone put some light on to this? Considering that most users at OCR casually do covers and remixes...Not to mention virtually everyone doing it on places like Youtube... :/ Edited April 5, 2015 by bwmusic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Technically, yes. But some people who 'casually do covers and remixes' [of copyrighted music] might be saying, "well, I'll never be popular enough for the copyright holders to hear of me anyway, and hey, maybe they'll appreciate my advertising their pieces." Or something like that. Or they just aren't aware of copyright law. Or they have the mechanical license and didn't write it out explicitly. Hard to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moseph Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) As timaeus said, technically, yes. As far as OC ReMix is concerned, the generally positive response from game publishers (Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix soundtrack, Capcom-approved/licensed commercial release of a Mega Man anniversary album) and the fact that Square Enix's legal team said "Please don't use audio samples from our games" rather than "Don't use our music at all" suggests that the copyright-holders tend to be okay with what we're doing here. EDIT: Also, for what it's worth, I believe the licences for Valve games explicitly grant permission to use the art assets in non-commercial fan works. Edited April 5, 2015 by Moseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwmusic Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Technically, yes. But some people who 'casually do covers and remixes' [of copyrighted music] might be saying, "well, I'll never be popular enough for the copyright holders to hear of me anyway, and hey, maybe they'll appreciate my advertising their pieces." Or something like that. Or they just aren't aware of copyright law. Or they have the mechanical license and didn't write it out explicitly. Hard to say. Typed in how to get a license for a cover song on Google and I seem to get a lot of dodgy and unrelated websites for this kind of stuff. How does one even acquire a license if the original artist is from a place like Japan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moseph Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Typed in how to get a license for a cover song on Google and I seem to get a lot of dodgy and unrelated websites for this kind of stuff.How does one even acquire a license if the original artist is from a place like Japan? The Harry Fox Agency would be the first place to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpretzel Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Do you have to pay for a license to cover songs or do remixes? Technically, yes. To be clear, we believe that free fan works with non-commercial distribution and an emphasis on homage of & education regarding VGM fall under Fair Use exemptions and are part of what make a free, creative, and prosperous Internet possible. We do however strongly advise licenses for anything that's going to be charged for, whether that money is going to charity or directly into artists' pockets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 (edited) To be clear, we believe that free fan works with non-commercial distribution and an emphasis on homage of & education regarding VGM fall under Fair Use exemptions and are part of what make a free, creative, and prosperous Internet possible.We do however strongly advise licenses for anything that's going to be charged for, whether that money is going to charity or directly into artists' pockets. Exactly. This. ^ If you definitely plan to make money on the cover or remix, it's recommended that you do obtain a license for it (even if it's not obvious to the observer whether or not you'll actually get money for it). That's why I'm hesitant to sell anything that isn't all mine. But, as djp implied, the OCR community works hard to ensure it's only doing legal things when it comes to distributing reinterpretations of video game OSTs. Edited April 6, 2015 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chernabogue Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I'd add my two cents by saying that as long as you're not generating money with covers/remixes, you're quite fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSO Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 one word: Loudr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chernabogue Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 one word: Loudr Once again, Lourd would only be useful if you intend to generate money/profit from your remixes/cover. A free DL remix album on Bandcamp should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwmusic Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 (edited) Once again, Lourd would only be useful if you intend to generate money/profit from your remixes/cover. A free DL remix album on Bandcamp should be fine. Hmmm but I think Bandcamp has a free download limit of 200 per month? Edited April 6, 2015 by bwmusic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chernabogue Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Hmmm but I think Bandcamp has a free download limit of 200 per month? Indeed. Considering my own albums gets 3 DL total, I don't see a problem. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercoobie64 Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong) I thought in the US, when playing songs live (or DJing) the licensing fees are the responsibility of the venue, not the performer. The venue pays a fee to BMI or ASCAP, and that gives performers the right to play any song they want, including covers. Even if a bar does a karaoke night, they still have to pay the fee. A bar near me actually got sued because they weren't paying their fee, which caused them to shut down. One of the only music venues in the state, too ;_; This only applies to live performances, though. If you're recording a song and selling it, what everyone else said applies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Yes, you're correct. That is how live performance licensing works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.