Using Songs That I've No Right To

[MrDent]

Alright, this is going to be kind of blunt and kind of, probably, a frowned upon idea, but... I'm currently making a Visual Novel, and though it's still fairly early in development, one of the things that I wanted to do with it was use an entirely Trip-Hop soundtrack. Now, my game will be completely non-commercial and free in every way, and I kind of wanted... ...to use music I don't own. Like, music from some of my favorite bands. Now, I could use royalty-free music too, just as easily, so it really doesn't matter too much if I don't, but I wanted to know how other people feel about this matter. So, is using music that doesn't belong to me a cardinal sin, or is it passable?

[trooper6]

I am not passing moral judgement.

But I will tell you, it is illegal. And you could get sued, fined, and given a cease and desist from your band's record company.

[MrDent]

I am not passing moral judgement.

But I will tell you, it is illegal. And you could get sued, fined, and given a cease and desist from your band's record company.

Yes, I thought about that, and even considered making two different versions of the game with different soundtracks(One to distribute to anyone online, and one to give to pals at cons)... I was wondering if this sort of thing was a common problem, as I feel like it would be. The reason I wanted to use music that didn't be belong to me was for atmospheric effect, so they're not really essential. I may as well not. Thanks for the input.

[SundownKid]

No one's going to stop you from giving a game with whatever music you want to your buddies, but I'd suggest using the royalty free tracks if you release it to the general public. If your game hits it big, then someone might notice and slap you with a cease and desist.

[MrDent]

No one's going to stop you from giving a game with whatever music you want to your buddies, but I'd suggest using the royalty free tracks if you release it to the general public. If your game hits it big, then someone might notice and slap you with a cease and desist.

Alright, so my two version idea would work? I think that's what I'll end up doing: Make a version with royalty free music online, and the version I give to friends will contain the original music. Now I'm trying to think if giving the original music version to friends at cons would be a good idea or not...

[trooper6]

I wouldn't do friends at cons...that gets really close to distribution.
I also wouldn't give the pirated music version to anyone you don't trust not to redistribute the game.
The RIAA are a bunch of petty, vindictive folks and they will come after you if they get wind of what you are doing.

[MrDent]

I wouldn't do friends at cons...that gets really close to distribution.
I also wouldn't give the pirated music version to anyone you don't trust not to redistribute the game.
The RIAA are a bunch of petty, vindictive folks and they will come after you if they get wind of what you are doing.

Alright, I'll just make one version- It's simpler that way, anyway. Thanks for all the advice!

[Lyedka]

Sorry to get into the conversation but ...
What if advertising music? if you put the name of the band, the album and a "Buy it if you liked the song" it would still be wrong and could expose artists?
was that doubt me when I read all.

PD: sorry for my bad english ._____.

[LeetMusic]

Sorry to get into the conversation but ...
What if advertising music? if you put the name of the band, the album and a "Buy it if you liked the song" it would still be wrong and could expose artists?
was that doubt me when I read all.

PD: sorry for my bad english ._____.

Nope, not legal (in America) or morally acceptable. How would you feel if someone stole your game writing and put it in their own project and credited you but did not compensate you for it? Music has cost to make and "exposure" does not pay bills.

[Lyedka]

Sorry to get into the conversation but ...
What if advertising music? if you put the name of the band, the album and a "Buy it if you liked the song" it would still be wrong and could expose artists?
was that doubt me when I read all.

PD: sorry for my bad english ._____.

Nope, not legal (in America) or morally acceptable. How would you feel if someone stole your game writing and put it in their own project and credited you but did not compensate you for it? Music has cost to make and "exposure" does not pay bills.

wow! I thought that if advertises a song for the purchase without gaining anything in return, it could be less bad. (ok, no. is very bad XD)

at least in my country that does not sound too bad, it's like hang a "Buy it Now" at home without being the product owner. hahahaha~

On the other hand, if it feels being robbed. used a song that had created for commercial use D: D: D:

PD: I am not in favor of using songs with copyright. Let's be clear!

Bye o(^^o)

[fleet]

Sorry to get into the conversation but ...
What if advertising music? if you put the name of the band, the album and a "Buy it if you liked the song" it would still be wrong and could expose artists?
was that doubt me when I read all.

PD: sorry for my bad english ._____.

Nope, not legal (in America) or morally acceptable. How would you feel if someone stole your game writing and put it in their own project and credited you but did not compensate you for it? Music has cost to make and "exposure" does not pay bills.

It's also illegal in other countries.

[BlueWolfie]

It takes a lot of time and effort to produce an entirely original song (let alone a full length soundtrack) to an acceptable level of quality.

Hence unless the musician who you "borrow" tracks from is a philanthropist, you will need to directly contact the original musician and acquire/purchase the appropriate license (or permission) to use the song in your game or project.

This can be done either via music libraries, royalty free music sites or the relevant Performing Rights Organisations (PROs) in your country.

[Starshine]

If it's non-commercial nothing will happen but if it's commercial and you are getting money for the game you have created you are most likely to get sued. It's better to keep it a secret if your game uses a song you have no right to. I mostly use public-domain songs... as they have no copyright.

https://archive.org/index.php

[PN04]

If you knew of a local/unsigned performer that produced songs of the type you wanted then you might be able to contact them and come to some sort of cross-promotional deal, but yeah if it's just an artist that you have no access to you'll hear from their lawyers before you hear from anyone.

[trooper6]

If it's non-commercial nothing will happen but if it's commercial and you are getting money for the game you have created you are most likely to get sued. It's better to keep it a secret if your game uses a song you have no right to. I mostly use public-domain songs... as they have no copyright.

https://archive.org/index.php

That isn't true. There are lots of rights holders who will vigorously defend their copyright even against non-commercial ventures. Start doing a bunch of non-commercial games with Disney's stuff, for example, they will come for you if they find out about it.