Music Production Company

#1 No offense intended but, if you indeed composed music relevant to the games mentioned, I hope you have a license from the respectful owners of that music, you could have a very intense lawsuit on your hands especialy if your using this music to sell your services illegaly.

If indeed you do have the proper permissions, I will gladly consider you for future projects, thanks! :)

- Christopher Dapo ~ Ronixus

#2

Quote:
If you plan to sell it (which we don't), recieve money for performance of it (which we didn't), or recieve payment for publishing the arrangement (which we haven't) then proper permissions must be sought out.

While this is a popular myth, I'm pretty sure it is a myth. All that matters is you're redistributing other people's work. Getting paid or not is immaterial. You really need to consult with an IP lawyer.

#3 So basicly, if I asked if you could compose music for my game based on what I liked in the 'demonstration composition' you would do it free of charge right? ;)

After all, otherwise it would have sold me your services, correct?

Still, as Mark Mozynski has also mentioned, as in all effective media per redistribution and property copyrights, you should indeed have permission from all the companies in respect to their titles before attempting to use their property in any way, shape, or form.

Another thing, look at it from our point of view, wouldn't you like to make sure a possible deal with a fellow development team (in your case sound) would not be insued by a legal battle?

Again, just being straitforward :)

- Chris

#4 Mark, you're right. The "we're not getting paid, so it's OK" statement is absolutely, positively a myth!

To take an example from the music industry - restaurants (and other establishments) are not allowed to play music without first paying dues to the union which protects musician's interests (their name eludes me at the moment, sorry), and this union in turn redistributes these royalties to the musicians. Even though the restaurants are not 'selling' the music, they still need to pay to use it. Keep that in mind when you're enjoying the mood music and wondering why your steak costs $25.

However, Katie/Devin is also correct in that special permissions/cases exist for music. (Sampling is one small example.) However, I am NOT a lawyer, so I'm not going to comment further. So please, follow Mark's advice and consult one.

Of course this all really hinges on permission. If you have written permission, then no worries! Do what you want. But, if you don't have permission, you could be setting yourself up for a big fall. For more details on this issue (and some advice on how to get permission to use another's IP) go read Mod Copyright (Yes it was specifically written for mod startups, but it applies to everything IP related.)

#5 Devin,

I thought your medley was great. It was pretty fun and had a nice 'jazzy' feel. Maybe that was the clarinet?

I find nothing morally or ethically wrong with you guys putting a new spin on some nostalgic favorites. I'd just hate for you guys to end up in any hot water with the corporate lawyers, since (IMHO) this is on fairly shaky legal ground.

#6

Quote:I find nothing morally or ethically wrong with you guys putting a new spin on some nostalgic favorites. I'd just hate for you guys to end up in any hot water with the corporate lawyers, since (IMHO) this is on fairly shaky legal ground.

Completely my concern as well, after all, I'm hoping to get a copy of the official Smash Bros. Melee Orchastrated (sp?) Composition (The one which made headlines at the Sydney Amputheatre in Australia, composed of nastalgic and classical Nintendo game music!). Another notable nastalgic remix is the Namco Museum Remix featured in a few of their games!

I know there are plenty of others I could mention (I still love Killer Cuts!), and I think these only go to show how awesome this music would be to have in-game. ;)

Anyways, I also agree that even though it shouldn't be a serious concern, in alot of cases it is, and I'm just trying to look out for a team of great composers (I loved the medley :).

Anyways, good luck in getting your permissions, I believe it won't be too much of a problem unless you run into a cranky developer! I hope the sound of your voices (well, at least the music) is heard as clearly! :)

- Chris

#7

Quote:I find nothing morally or ethically wrong with you guys putting a new spin on some nostalgic favorites. I'd just hate for you guys to end up in any hot water with the corporate lawyers, since (IMHO) this is on fairly shaky legal ground.

Well, since Christopher beat me to seconding this, I'm gonna have to third it. ;-)

I understand exactly where you're coming from in regards to classical composers. But, its a differeent situation since they've been dead for more than 70 years. (Which is when copyright runs out.) Granted, even though 10 years is forever in the computer world, it's not that long when considering copyright. Which means that if they really wanted to, the original composers could raise a stink.

I'd just hate to see such a talented studio get in trouble over something so insignificant. (Yes I checked out the sight, and I must say I was very impressed! You guys are obviously out of my price range!)

#8 No sweat! ;)

See that little icon that looks like a note with a pencil on it near the trash can icon on every one of your post headers? That's the edit icon.

Instead of:

...Production Company/url]

It should read:

...Production Company[/url]

(The parts in brackets will dissapear then)

Glad to help! :)

- Chris