If I were to use a midi from another wad, would it be ok for me to take it without asking the creator as long as I credit them?

[Scrapz]

This is a question I have been pondering for a while now as I can't quite decide where this goes on my moral compass. There are a lot of midi tracks out there I would like to use in future wad projects (sunlust map02 midi for example) and I want to be safe and make sure I do what Is morally correct.

[MFG38]

Well, the MIDI that plays in Sunlust MAP02 specifically appears to be a MIDI rendition of a music track from The House of the Dead, most likely grabbed from vgmusic.com, which is only one of many sources people usually grab their MIDIs from. And I'd imagine Sunlust MAP02 isn't the only map where that MIDI has been used. Anyway, when it comes to grabbing MIDIs from other wads, it's generally not frowned upon as long as the source is credited at the very least. But it's also good practice to credit as thoroughly as possible. As an example, in the case of the Sunlust MAP02 track, you'd ideally give the title of the track, the name of the game it came from, the original composer and the sequencer of the MIDI.

[Sonikkumania]

I think it's fine, unless the author has prohibited the use of work.

[volleyvalley]

As long as you would credit the composer, you'd be okay.

[RonnieJamesDiner]

This reminds me of the deep, deep sadness I've often felt about wanting to use midis from Scythe 2, and having to remember that the text file says:

 

Authors may NOT use the contents of this file as a base for
modification or reuse unless written permission is obtained from the author.

...and Erik Alm seems practically unreachable these days :(

[RHhe82]

1 hour ago, RonnieJamesDiner said:

This reminds me of the deep, deep sadness I've often felt about wanting to use midis from Scythe 2, and having to remember that the text file says:

 

Authors may NOT use the contents of this file as a base for
modification or reuse unless written permission is obtained from the author.

...and Erik Alm seems practically unreachable these days :(

 

But... many of the Scythe 2 midis are renditions of songs by other bands. Like Symphony X and Nightwish. I doubt mr. Alm sequenced them by himself?

 

(Unless your lament was a joke, then I made a fool of myself :D But for the sake of argument...)

Edited October 22, 2023 by RHhe82

[RonnieJamesDiner]

3 minutes ago, RHhe82 said:

But... many of the Scythe 2 midis are renditions of songs by other bands. Like Symphony X or Nightwish. I doubt mr. Alm sequenced them by himself?

 

It's a fair point (and it's crossed my mind haha), it's just always felt like a grey area to me. Obviously the midi rendition of "Compression of Time" doesn't belong to Erik Alm, but, no one would hear it and not think "Scythe 2: MAP20". Then it's like... do I want to start arguing about where it came from? Does it really matter? I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking it :P

[Mr. Freeze]

As long as we're credited, we're fine. 

[LoatharMDPhD]

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html

[Tristan]

38 minutes ago, RonnieJamesDiner said:

 

It's a fair point (and it's crossed my mind haha), it's just always felt like a grey area to me. Obviously the midi rendition of "Compression of Time" doesn't belong to Erik Alm, but, no one would hear it and not think "Scythe 2: MAP20". Then it's like... do I want to start arguing about where it came from? Does it really matter? I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking it :P

 

I would say they're not his MIDIs so it's not his call to make on whether people can re-use them. I think a lot of time mappers would upload to idgames and check that box to say no reuse, but probably only really considering the maps themselves? or at most, any assets especially made for the project.

[MEMEAIDS]

As far as I'm concerned (and well, copyright law obviously) it's Fair Use, so it really shouldn't matter. Credit is obviously important, and I get pretty anal about making sure I have explicit permission to use a track composed by a contemporary author (See: Doomkid's Dirt covers).
Last thing I want is to piss someone off, obviously, so I try to tread as carefully as possible.
I know what I'm like, but I can't account for others. 

So when in doubt, and the song author is easy-ish to reach, just ask, if you're really worried enough.
 

[Gez]

53 minutes ago, RonnieJamesDiner said:

It's a fair point (and it's crossed my mind haha), it's just always felt like a grey area to me. Obviously the midi rendition of "Compression of Time" doesn't belong to Erik Alm, but, no one would hear it and not think "Scythe 2: MAP20". Then it's like... do I want to start arguing about where it came from? Does it really matter? I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking it :P

Eric Alm really should sue Nobuo Uematsu and SquareSoft for having stolen the Scythe II soundtrack.

 

But don't worry, you don't have to take any midi from scythe2.wad. Instead of taking "The Compression of Time" from Scythe2, you can take FF8_Time_Compression.mid from VGMusic, and since it's not sourced from Scythe2.wad, you have not infringed on Eric Alm's unquestionable copyright ownership of this piece of music. If you feel like this version is too similar, then there are plenty of others.

 

Sarcasm aside, people who've used third-party assets presumably without the permission of their creators or right holders (I do not believe Eric Alm contacted Mr. Uematsu or the SquareSoft legal department for a license to use this MIDI), then they have no moral standing to be the arbiter of whether other people can use them as well.

 

Where it becomes relevant is if you want to use a midi that was actually created by the author of the wad. Then it can become a gray area if the person didn't specify you could in the wad's text file, and isn't contactable anymore. Like say if you want to reuse one of Vile Flesh's songs. Text file says nothing about reuse and the author was last seen in 2014.

 

Fortunately the large majority of custom midis are either from third parties like the aforementioned vgmusic.com and therefore free to use, or made by one of our many resident composers who also usually allow free reuse in mods (I'm not aware of any exception to that rule).

[Bucket]

you are not allowed to use any of my music unless you first donate $5 to the ASPCA

[bofu]

Just because some authors are okay with it doesn't mean others are. It's always best to ask unless the author has specifically indicated that the MIDI is free to use, and no matter what you do, credit.