What music is legal in AGS games?

pipan · Thu 25/05/2006 21:41:56

I am just wondering what music is legal to have in a AGS game? Am I comitting a crime if I'm using music from my favorite CD or maybe my favorite game in my own AGS game, or do we all have to make our own music?

Edit: And yes, lets say I let other people have the game.

Ubel · Thu 25/05/2006 21:46:36

If you're not going to sell your game, you shouldn't have to worry about music copyrights too much. Of course original music is recommended but I'm pretty sure there won't be any problems if you use music from other resources.

Nikolas · Thu 25/05/2006 21:48:46

It is illegal to use music from your favorite CD. 99.9%! And it's not that I'm not sure or something, it's just that there may be 1 CD copyright free... Dunno...

Other than that, I'm not sure anyone will come after you if you use a song or something, especially if you're talking about a freeware game.

But generally I've never seen an AGS game with a Britney Spears song in it.

scotch · Thu 25/05/2006 22:09:20

Unless you specifically have permission, or there is no copyright holder, then you can't use anyone else's content legally. This applies to pirated songs as well as less commonly opposed things anime fansubs or abandonware.

There are some uses that are considered "Fair Use" and are allowed, such as using a clip from a copyrighted work to demonstrate something, or parody, but background music doesn't fall under that.

Those things are basically all you need to know about copyright for game making.Ã,Â Of course, there are lots of things that are against the law that you probably do anyway, and never get caught - that's up to you.

Squinky · Thu 25/05/2006 22:55:26

Quote from: Nikolas on Thu 25/05/2006 21:48:46
But generally I've never seen an AGS game with a Britney Spears song in it.

Pirate Fry 1 has a cheesy B spears midi in it....

pipan · Thu 25/05/2006 23:16:24

Ok, thanks for all the posts.

I guess it's hard to find anything not copyrighted but then again, laws are there to be broken...right?

Squinky · Thu 25/05/2006 23:28:54

Truthfully, you should be able to get someone to make a midi or two for you. That is really the better way of doing it, check out the ACR thread.

Radiant · Fri 26/05/2006 02:04:10

Quote from: pipan on Thu 25/05/2006 23:16:24
Ok, thanks for all the posts. I guess it's hard to find anything not copyrighted but then again, laws are there to be broken...right?

Not really. (1) there are some free midis in the AGS resource set; (2) a google for "free midis" will likely turn up a lot BUT also read the disclaimer because people have varying definitions of "free"; (3) http://search.creativecommons.org/ offers a lot of stuff that is truly free, and (4) in my experience many internet music artists are very agreeable if you ask them politely if you can use their music in your freeware game.

Using copyrighted music is something you will likely get away with, but in the event (estimated 10% chance) that you do not, lawyers can force you to stop distributing it, which is likely not what you want. Be forewarned, this has happened at least half a dozen times already.

Renal Shutdown · Fri 26/05/2006 02:14:31

I'm with Squinky. ACR thread is the way to go. There's loads of folks who can make original MIDI files for your games. Some can even do MP3 or OGG files. Either way, you'll have something that's original and more importantly fits the mood of the scene.

Better that than a random tune that doesn't fit.

Drawken · Fri 26/05/2006 06:27:47

I'm stupid. Where is this ACR thread you're talking about?

Gilbert · Fri 26/05/2006 07:03:31

This thread in this forum, for some reasons it's renamed, probably to make the subject more easy to understand, but we still conviniently call it ACR.

seaduck · Fri 26/05/2006 08:12:03

You can also use music if it's copyright expired, such as classical music. This is what they did in the Nyet3 dos game and in this particular case it worked great. - This applies only to the music itself, not to a recording! You would have to either sequence it yourself, or find a free midi.

BTW: 90% of websites offering "free" midi actualy offer stolen files, that are copyrighted. By "free" they mean they let you download them without paying - but they don't care about copyright.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Fri 26/05/2006 08:49:18

If you're not taking credit for the music you use or selling a product that features the music I wouldn't worry about it. I used a few popular 80s hits in Dance Til' You Drop because they fit the theme- of course I made fun of Richard Simmons too, and he hasn't sued me yet!

Don't sue me Milton, please!

pipan · Fri 26/05/2006 15:31:58

The ACR thread sounds like a good way to go. It's going to take a while until I finish my first game though.