Kualan Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Hi folks. I'm currently exploring how to add custom music to a mod, and think I've grasped everything I need to know. I have identified a piece of music I would like to use - it is a cover version of a copyrighted track. I suspect I know the answer to this already, but figured I would ask anyway. When wishing to use a cover version of a piece of music in a mod, does one only need permission from the cover artist, or the copyright holder of the original piece of music that the cover is based on? I would guess the latter, but if anyone with a deeper understanding of such issues could clarify that would be great. Thanks,Kualan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bben46 Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 The actual copyright holder - who may not be the author but a mega coporation that owns lots of music that they may be willing to allow - typically for an absurd fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kualan Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 Ah, unfortunate but not unexpected. Thanks very much for the prompt reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pevey Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Kualan, I have a mod with a lot of music, so I can share how I went about finding stuff I liked. First, jamendo.com is an excellent resource. It has tons of stuff that is free to use for non-commercial purposes (attribution required, of course). Secondly, the youtube search filter has a really handy checkbox that will allow you to search only through stuff that is available for reuse (Creative Commons license). You can easily convert from mp4 to wav to xwm, which is the best music format for Skyrim. Thirdly, do a regular youtube search and reach out directly to the artists. The response rate is pretty low, but higher than you might expect, especially for artists who aren't well-known. Soundcloud.com is also a possible resource, but it's much more difficult to search just for stuff that is available for use. Sometimes, the song pages don't say anything at all about permissions, which is frustrating. If it sounds like this method takes forever...you are correct. It's a whole project in and of itself. But it also has the benefit of giving exposure to some relatively unknown artists, and when you find something in the neighborhood or what you were looking for and that you really like, it's exciting. One tip: Adding "traditional" or "trad" or "original" or "orig" to your search terms on youtube can help exclude songs that might be available for use except that they are covers of songs originally by other artists. Sometimes uploaders mark covers as Creative Commons, but that's not really possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kualan Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 Those are some excellent tips LP1, thanks very much. I'll definitely be putting them to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rennn Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 And of course, it's allowed to use most anything for personal use. Putting it online is the illegal part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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