What do I use for music in Commercial games?

[RagnarokZero]

I'm currently working on my first commercial project. The way I see it is that there are 4 aspects to making an rpg: Story, Scripts, Art, and Music. I cover the story, and Yanfly (with other generous scripters) cover the scripts part. I just need Art and Music. For Art, I'm pretty much stuck with rtp with few exceptions...

So, now I'll actually get on topic: I'm using Classical music for my game: Mozart, Debussy, etc. These people are obviously all dead and won't accuse me of copyright infringement. But, what about the orchestras that play the version I use in my game? How can they tell it's their version of the piece?

I'm picky with my music and a lot of the rtp stuff isn't good so, I'm looking at other options. Does anyone have any suggestions for where I can get "Commercial-ok" music.

 

[Shaz]

Have you seen this?

 

[RagnarokZero]

Oh yeah, I saw that earlier... I guess I'm still trying to stick to classical music. I'll definitely use some of Aaron's stuff if the classical music is copyrighted.

 

[Scinaya]

Unless, you buy the lisence or the terms of use state it is free to use (also commercially), it usually is not legal to use the piece commercially. You can always try to contact the musician in case.

 

[Monthigos]

The compositions are public domain 75 years after the composers death if there is no one to claim / renew a copyright, but the actual recordings are still the intellectual property of whomever recorded them. Your best bet in the music department is to find some free to use, royalty-free pieces.

 

[Mouser]

You actually have a few options.

As has been pointed out, the copyright on Baroque classical music ran out decades ago (I say Baroque because 'classical' music is still being written today). Anyway, if you don't mind a synthesized sound, which most games have anyway, you can get some music software (Cakewalk, Sonar, ProTools, whatever), enter the music manually, and let it "play" the piece for you. It's time consuming, but will probably actually yield the best results.

If you know some musicians, you can get them to play pieces for you. Most background music is based off a single riff, so if you have a buddy jam for you on guitar, then go back and listen to it, you can probably find a few short sections that you like. Then have him (or them at this point) play for a few minutes improvising keeping that riff as the theme. Lather, rinse, repeat for each cool riff you find.

You can probably find some garage bands that will play for you or let you use their music cheaply (or free) just to get their name out there in front of people - especially if you use their actual songs.

The last option (not really the last, just the last I'll list) would be to go to the Harry Fox agency online and license whatever music it is you want to use. This way you're not limited to classical music, and you have a lot more choices. I'm not sure exactly how licensing works for a game as opposed to public performances though, so you'll have to research that yourself.

 

[Nemoide]

For classical music, your best bet is to find recordings which are specifically stated to be public domain. A quick search led me to this site, which might have everything you need.

Don't use recordings you aren't sure about. Classical buffs can tell different performances/recordings apart and you could find yourself in very hot water if you're using something without permission.

 

[RagnarokZero]

Thanks! I thought I'd have to give up on using classical since it's not always easy finding recording over 50 years old that don't have a copyright on them anymore.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I heard that the copyright on recordings is 50 years so, anything before 1962 is fair game.

 

[Nemoide]

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think that's correct information, I believe copyrighted works can be protected for much longer than 50 years. At least, I don't think that "Meet the Beatles" is two years from becoming public domain.

 

[RagnarokZero]

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think that's correct information, I believe copyrighted works can be protected for much longer than 50 years. At least, I don't think that "Meet the Beatles" is two years from becoming public domain.

I know that intellectual property is usually protected until 75 years past the author's life. But, I heard that in the case of musical recordings it's 50 years after the recording was made. I think it has to do with the fact that original composer has long been dead and the performer doesn't have a copyright on the composition itself but merely their performance of it. But, obviously more research is necessary.

I hope this thread is helpful to a lot of people. Copyrights are really the only thing stopping me from doing exactly what I want in my game. I'm sure it's the same case for a lot of indie developers. I'll have to be moderately successful before I can spend funds for custom-made material. I thought classical music was a nice way to bypass some of the problems... but, that appears to not be the case.

 

[Mouser]

I know that intellectual property is usually protected until 75 years past the author's life. But, I heard that in the case of musical recordings it's 50 years after the recording was made. I think it has to do with the fact that original composer has long been dead and the performer doesn't have a copyright on the composition itself but merely their performance of it. But, obviously more research is necessary.

I hope this thread is helpful to a lot of people. Copyrights are really the only thing stopping me from doing exactly what I want in my game. I'm sure it's the same case for a lot of indie developers. I'll have to be moderately successful before I can spend funds for custom-made material. I thought classical music was a nice way to bypass some of the problems... but, that appears to not be the case.

The Sonny Bono (Mickey Mouse Preservation) Act changed a lot of that - retroactively. Pretty much anything pre-1923 is public domain. Anything after that I would assume is still copyrighted unless I have positive evidence to the contrary. Also remember that while a piece of music may be public domain, any actual recording of it becomes copyrighted. Ditto for the actual printing (photo-offset) of a book.

As a final point, you own the copyright for anything you write/produce. However, you may not enforce said copyright unless you've taken the time to register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office (I'm talking for the United States, of course). The process is pretty painless and not very expensive. You can also 'bundle' your writings - so you could submit a whole slew of scripts or tilesets as a single 'work'. Without that, if someone does use your scripts/tilesets whatever, you have no recourse unless you can show the registration - it isn't a matter of proving you have the copyright, it's whether or not it can be enforced.

Edit: The above goes for completed games as well.

The office has a great FAQ that takes you step by step through the process of what exactly you need to do to protect your work.