What Do You Think?

[metal_head]

For a long time I have been asking myself something, that I couldn't answer, so I decided to ask you.
I've been listening to that Ill Nino band for a while and I got a little crazy idea:
To write an e-mail to them with the following offer. I put lot's of posters of the band in my game, give them a credit and give a link to their site in mine, and in return I want them to give me the permission to use one of their songs as a soundtrack for my completely FREE game.
It sounds stupid and crazy, and I don't think I'll have any chance to get the track whitout paying a license, which is impossible for me.

What do you think?

[bernie]

It's not the band you need to write to. It's the Copyright holders you need to talk to, THE RECORDING CO who the band have sold their soul to are te people who usually hold the copyright.

[paradoxnj]

You will have to pay for it. Look at it from a business angle...you will not have 1000 people playing your free game. It is not a good investment for them.

You may have some of the people in this community download it to check it out and critique it. Realistically, I would not expect a whole lot.

[metal_head]

yeah, that's what I tough too

[ardentcrest]

I dont think.

It hurts my brain cell

[metal_head]

Yeah,the same with me, but I started thinking a lot and that killed all my brain cells, now I don't feel pain when i think

[scott]

It may be possible, if not many people play the game then not many people will hear it and then the record company isnt losing out that much, on the other hand if alot of people do play your game then they have a large advertisment opertunity there, either way you look at it ti could be good or bad, its worth a try, no halm done

[ardentcrest]

My brain still hurts.

[metal_head]

It may be possible, if not many people play the game then not many people will hear it and then the record company isnt losing out that much, on the other hand if alot of people do play your game then they have a large advertisment opertunity there, either way you look at it ti could be good or bad, its worth a try, no halm done

Yeah, I was thinking about this too! It's just a little funny and stupid maybe, because I've never made a computer game before, and maybe I'm taking all this a little bit too seriously.I'm just ...how can I say it..shy to ask them, because of that.

[bernie]

Bear in mind MH that you will be asking permission from people that have tried to sue Dead people, Old Grannies and a 4 year old child for breach of copyright. So from that point of view I don't think you are likely to get any joy from them. They will definately require money and BIG money and on top of that if you don't take it up they will be watching you loike a hawk & if you put one foot out of line..... I leave it to your imagination.

[paradoxnj]

Why invest in your game when they can invest in a TV ad or a radio spot? They can post hundreds of free ads on the net for publicity. Trust me on this...you are not going to get permission to use any RIAA governed music in your game for free. Look at Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The soundtrack for that game cost them almost as much as the salaries of the artists. The soundtrack consisted of tunes from 20 years ago. Imagine what that would cost you with new music.

In addition, Ill Nino is not a very popular band. I'm sure they are hard up for cash. They need all they can get to stay afloat. After all...a signed band is a business just like a store or a corporation. If you cannot cover your expenses, you go belly up and lose your contract.

[metal_head]

Well yeah, saddly all of you are right
Good luck I found a nice guy, who is making the music really cheap, he's just interested in the game and he'll be able to advertise his studio a little (I hope).



What about putting their song for a background music for a trailer of my game with giving them credit in the beginning of the video? I won't ask them for epermission, I would just make it.There are so much videos on the net with songs of groups, which names aren't even showed. Will I get sued for that?

[bernie]

What about putting their song for a background music for a trailer of my game with giving them credit in the beginning of the video? I won't ask them for epermission, I would just make it.There are so much videos on the net with songs of groups, which names aren't even showed. Will I get sued for that?

Most definately yes you would. The RIAA would sue their own mothers for less that that. You don't mess with those guys.

[paradoxnj]

To clarify a bit...you are not allowed to redistribute copyrighted music (or anything copyrighted for that matter) in any way without obtaining written permission. This includes making a copy of a CD and giving it to someone, using it in any other media (game, video, website, etc), and making it available for download in digital format. Most of the time, written permission comes in the form of a license cost.