Soundtrack Improvement Project

[ancestral]

Not to spoil your party, but you cannot release a mod to the public with copyrighted music. You’d be violating copyright laws at least in the United States by distributing most if not all of the music linked here. I’m sure the people running the forums wouldn’t be too keen on being targeted by the RIAA and such.

That being said, creating a text playlist and having a thread to inspire people, allowing them to obtain the music on their own is surely okay.

 

[W|M]

I think music from Youtube bypasses copyright laws due to being already available to everyone.

 

[ancestral]

I think music from Youtube bypasses copyright laws due to being already available to everyone.

No. There’s basically two grounds where this could be a problem:

1. If you don’t own the music you don’t get to get it for free.
2. You aren’t allowed to re-distribute copyrighted content without permission.

Linking to YouTube videos is fine. Copyright claims are addressed to YouTube, since they’re the ones hosting the content. It’s presumed that people upload content which does not contain copyright works, but obviously, that’s untrue. So YouTube and the various media companies attempt to police YouTube. I’m sure while browsing YouTube at some point you’ve noticed that some videos were removed due to copyright claims. I’m sure you’ve also noticed other videos that contain muted sound, for the same reason. That’s because they were in violation. Other times YouTube strikes a deal with the music and motion picture companies to license the content on the web site in exchange for large amounts of cash. However, just because it may be legal for some content to be on YouTube certainly doesn’t make it automatically okay to download the same copyrighted content from YouTube.

Additionally, making copies and re-distributing copyrighted works without consent is called piracy, or copyright infringement. Music artists, composers and their companies get money for each album and song sold. They aren’t making money when people pirate their work. This is exactly why Napster, Grokster, Madster, eDonkey and now Limewire have been shut down.

So, downloading your own soundtrack music from YouTube is likely a violation of copyrights, and, if you already owned your own soundtrack and want to put that in a mod, distributing copyrighted music, especially on the Internet, is a major violation and could result in fines, lawsuits, and the RIAA knocking on your front door.

 

[W|M]

But the music on Youtube is already available to everyone - No further payment is needed, as it is already available, and that stays within the law. You yourself stated that some content is removed due to copyright, and yet none of the links on the previous page have had content removed, and they are generally official music videos.

Also, almost all the money gained from sales aren't actually given to the musicians themselves, who made the music; Few musicians actually care about piracy due to this.

The RIAA is only in America and only targets big companies, not individuals or small groups - When was the last time you heard of someone be arrested for downloading a few albums of music?

 

[hoplitejoe]

What is copyright infringement? Copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.

If the videos are not from an official account they are already legally in the wrong but as in this mod the song is included in the package it counts as distribution.
As for your own moral decision on this I leave that to you.

 

[Graceheart the Leopard]

I think it's safe to say that nobody really cares outside of law enforcement. Even then, the police where I live said that they're only targeting piracy if it puts the health and safety of the public at risk or if organised crime is involved.

 

[ancestral]

I want to preface this by saying, just because you don’t agree that something is unfair doesn’t make it right for you to disobey the law. If you feel that a stop sign they put up outside your house is stupid it doesn’t mean you can legally ignore it. A policeman could ticket you. You’re still subject to laws whether you agree with them or not.

But the music on Youtube is already available to everyone - No further payment is needed, as it is already available, and that stays within the law.

Yes, YouTube can be viewed freely, but the content on there is not available for download. If you read the Terms of Service, you’ll find section 5, subsection B says:

§5.§§B. Content is provided to you AS IS. You may access Content for your information and personal use solely as intended through the provided functionality of the Service and as permitted under these Terms of Service. You shall not download any Content unless you see a “download” or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content. You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content. YouTube and its licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted in and to the Service and the Content

Just because you can play it on the web site doesn’t mean the content isn’t copyrighted:

§5.§§A. The Content on the Service, and the trademarks, service marks and logos ("Marks") on the Service, are owned by or licensed to YouTube, subject to copyright and other intellectual property rights under the law.

Additionally, you do not get to distribute the content aside from linking to it as in an embeddable player:

§4.§§A. You agree not to distribute in any medium any part of the Service or the Content without YouTube's prior written authorization, unless YouTube makes available the means for such distribution through functionality offered by the Service (such as the Embeddable Player).

You yourself stated that some content is removed due to copyright, and yet none of the links on the previous page have had content removed, and they are generally official music videos.

Yes, some of the content is licensed to be viewed, but you do not have any license to download it. Also, YouTube doesn’t claim everything is free of copyright claims, which is why they state:

§8.§§A. If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any Content infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail).

Also, almost all the money gained from sales aren't actually given to the musicians themselves, who made the music; Few musicians actually care about piracy due to this.

Yes, with many music contracts a small amount from sales goes to the artist. That’s between the artist and the record label. Yet some musicians care a great deal about honoring and protecting copyrighted material (see Lars Ulrich) where others don’t so much (see Trent Reznor) but keep in mind, that’s merely a philosophical stance on the issue. Again, any contracts they have are between them and their labels.

This is much like a farmer who makes milk; he only gets a small amount on a given sale, but that doesn’t make it okay for you to steal the milk from the grocery store, on the rationale because he wouldn’t lose much. You’re still stealing, and it’s illegal.​

The RIAA is only in America and only targets big companies, not individuals or small groups - When was the last time you heard of someone be arrested for downloading a few albums of music?

That is entirely incorrect. They have targeted individuals and they will likely continue to do so.​

 

[The_J]

Moderator Action: Ancestral is right, this mod here would be piracy and so also against our rules.
Therefore closed here.