VGMdb
Go Back   VGMdb Forums > Discussion > Video Game Music Discussion > Album Discussions
Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old Mar 24, 2021, 09:03 AM
Jedi QuestMaster's Avatar
Jedi QuestMaster Jedi QuestMaster is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 518

Is this legal?!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old Jul 3, 2021, 05:57 PM
Chris Porter's Avatar
Chris Porter Chris Porter is offline
Trusted Editor
VGM Artist
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Okayama, JAPAN
Posts: 2,002
Default

Any word on if this release was properly licensed?
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old Jul 3, 2021, 06:36 PM
Chris Porter's Avatar
Chris Porter Chris Porter is offline
Trusted Editor
VGM Artist
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Okayama, JAPAN
Posts: 2,002
Default

A member of my VGM Facebook group found this which leads be to believe this album was properly licensed for distribution on 1,000 vinyl. Is there anything else this would need to be considered properly licensed?

https://idblm.org/Pages/Album.aspx?q...mdk8dQpEV_4XcI

More detailed view of album licensing: https://www.easysonglicensing.com/pa....aspx?p=269546
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old Jul 4, 2021, 04:03 AM
TerraEpon's Avatar
TerraEpon TerraEpon is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 585
Default

Yeah if it's on the 'Easy Song Licensing' site it's legit
As long as all the music has been previously released then this would be considered a 'cover' and you just have to pay a 'mechanical' fee, which goes to the publisher, to make it legit.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old Jul 24, 2021, 07:07 PM
Jedi QuestMaster's Avatar
Jedi QuestMaster Jedi QuestMaster is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 518
Default

Could someone theoretically do this with Super Metroid (find the samples, painstakingly recreate it in MIDI, license each track) and finally release a high fidelity soundtrack?

My main concern is the licensing aspect of it.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old Jul 24, 2021, 10:07 PM
Aifread's Avatar
Aifread Aifread is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 713
Default

The tricky part with Super Metroid is that aside from a few tracks on Play it Loud! and some promo discs I don't think most of it has ever been released outside Japan and so wouldn't be available for license in America, for example. Though I'd rather just see Nintendo/Columbia do a proper re-recording of the original game sound...
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old Mar 30, 2022, 02:59 AM
zierts zierts is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 285
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jedi QuestMaster View Post
Is this legal?!
Yes and no, I'd say. The songs are definitely licensed and they paid for that, so it's a legitimate release and not a bootleg.

Now, using the exact samples the original songs did but at the same time not, that's a pretty clever licensing trick. He's using the original samples before they were compressed to something the SNES could use. You'd probably have to talk to the rights owners directly to get permission for such a use in the licensing agreement because getting as close to the originals as possible certainly stretches the definition of a "cover" as they call it. But it's highly unlikely legal action would be taken against something like this. Where they definitely crossed a boundary is creating the arrangements by using and modifying the original music data. Again, you'd have to talk to the rights owners before you do that, and I doubt an intermediary licensing agency would go to the trouble.

I respect what they tried with the album. Obviously, a lot of love and labour has gone into this. It starts out really strong and sounds phenomenal yet faithful in the first half. It's in the second half that the arrangements (let's call them arrangements because the music data was changed and he added endings to the songs) start to diverge from the originals a bit more. The most jarring example is the electric guitar in "The Credits Concerto". It's things like this that make me appreciate the original, or rather compressed sound source just a little bit more.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old Mar 31, 2022, 07:16 PM
Jedi QuestMaster's Avatar
Jedi QuestMaster Jedi QuestMaster is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 518
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by zierts View Post
Now, using the exact samples the original songs did but at the same time not, that's a pretty clever licensing trick. He's using the original samples before they were compressed to something the SNES could use.
This has me interested in doing a Ninja Gaiden "NES" trilogy arrangement album:

Ninja Gaiden I-III's NES music has been released under Brave Wave outside Japan. So far, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (SNES) has not had any release, and I don't really care for it, but I would be interested in finding the original samples to try my hand at recreating a 16-bit soundtrack.

The thing is, some tracks take vast liberties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrt...93829&index=61

Trying to claim that as a cover of this would be quite a stretch:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...B9200A82A93829

I already dislike the SNES conversion's arrangements enough to not use its MIDI data, but I would like to implement some of the arrangement styles already present in the SNES game. Where does one draw the line here?
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old Apr 1, 2022, 04:13 AM
zierts zierts is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 285
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jedi QuestMaster View Post
This has me interested in doing a Ninja Gaiden "NES" trilogy arrangement album:

Ninja Gaiden I-III's NES music has been released under Brave Wave outside Japan. So far, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (SNES) has not had any release, and I don't really care for it, but I would be interested in finding the original samples to try my hand at recreating a 16-bit soundtrack.

The thing is, some tracks take vast liberties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrt...93829&index=61

Trying to claim that as a cover of this would be quite a stretch:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...B9200A82A93829

I already dislike the SNES conversion's arrangements enough to not use its MIDI data, but I would like to implement some of the arrangement styles already present in the SNES game. Where does one draw the line here?
The simplest and most accurate answer to this would be: "Ask your trusted lawyer, then try your luck".

The more convoluted answer is: I'm unfamiliar with Ninja Gaiden (I guess you wanted to do a comparison between a SNES and a NES track but mixed up the links somehow?), though if the SNES music has never been released, then those particular arrangements are off-limits unless you contact the rights holder of the SNES game and get permission to cover them. A compulsory license (which is what this album used) can be issued without the explicit consent of the rights holder for music that's been released but it doesn't give you permission to re-release the exact version of a song as it was recorded by the rights holder (or someone that got a license to release it). Neither does it give you permission to cover any arranged version of your choice that hasn't been released before. So if you were to get a compulsory license for the NES music but use the SNES arrangements as a base or include elements from it somehow, then that would be illegal. Whether that would lead to litigation and whether the rights holder could prove that you infringed their copyrights of the SNES version somehow, that'd be highly dependent on your arrangements.

I'm positive the people involved in this album got some sort of legal advice before the release.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Original... Prime Blue Album Discussions 11 Jul 26, 2019 02:43 PM
7250-Winter95: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest The Original Donkey... avatar Album Discussions 18 Mar 16, 2019 01:13 AM
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest The Original Donkey... (reprint) CHz Album Discussions 2 Apr 26, 2012 01:33 AM
OCRA-0002: Kong in Concert: Donkey Kong Country An Arrangement Collaboration Calatia Album Discussions 1 Feb 27, 2011 01:49 PM
OCRA-0017: Donkey Kong Country 2 ~Diddy's Kong Quest~ Serious Monkey... Akumu Album Discussions 5 Apr 10, 2010 05:12 AM