Remixing illegal?

[DjXcessive]

Hello,
My question is.. If you remix a song, and post it on newgrounds for example but do NOT make money out of it. is that illegal? copyright bla bla?

Sorry if this already has been a subject before - couldn't find any information about it.

Greets, DJXcessive

[Mich]

It is against Newgrounds' rules to post a remix that contain copyrighted material. You can, however, make a cover of a song if you re-create everything by yourself. If the song you're remixing is published under a creative commons license (and the CC license type allows you to), you can use samples from the original, most likely if you also credit the original author.

A good deal of common sense mostly works here.

[Step]

At 12/6/09 02:24 PM, DjXcessive wrote: Hello,
My question is.. If you remix a song, and post it on newgrounds for example but do NOT make money out of it. is that illegal? copyright bla bla?

Sorry if this already has been a subject before - couldn't find any information about it.

Greets, DJXcessive

Practically, as long as you don't just go on Audacity, speed up the tempo, add reverb, and change the pitch, it's OK. Just make sure the remix is a remix and not a MIDI rip (you grab the .MIDI file and change all of the instruments only) and as Mich said, don't use any copyrighted samples. Also, mention which song you're remixing, for example, if you're making a Tetris remix, the name should be something like 'Tetris Remix' and not something like 'Falling Blocks'.

[Khuskan]

Due to the fact that when you upload to reason, you are releasing under a creative commons license, it is illegal to upload any material that cannot legally be re-licensed in that way.

If you remix a track and 'release it' for listening only, then you could get away with it under fair use, but that isn't the case with newgrounds. Everything you remix with must be eligible to be used under a creative commons license.

[Rucklo]

At 12/6/09 03:41 PM, Supersteph54 wrote:

At 12/6/09 02:24 PM, DjXcessive wrote: Hello,
My question is.. If you remix a song, and post it on newgrounds for example but do NOT make money out of it. is that illegal? copyright bla bla?

Sorry if this already has been a subject before - couldn't find any information about it.

Greets, DJXcessive

Practically, as long as you don't just go on Audacity, speed up the tempo, add reverb, and change the pitch, it's OK.

No it isn't. The submission rules are perfectley clear, you must have full rights using the samples in your music. Othervice you're not allowed to submit it. You may find material in the AP that contain samples that aren't legit according to the rules, but that's only because no mod have managed to come across the tune.
There is zero tolerance on these things, however we obviousy try to hunt down the biggest rule-breakers first, like those guys who submit AWESUM EMINEM/LINKINPURK MASHUPS LOL ITS AWSUM. I ALSO PIUTCHED UP THE TEMPO N NOW EM SONDS LIEK UH CHIPPMONK LOL

Just make sure the remix is a remix and not a MIDI rip (you grab the .MIDI file and change all of the instruments only) and as Mich said, don't use any copyrighted samples. Also, mention which song you're remixing, for example, if you're making a Tetris remix, the name should be something like 'Tetris Remix' and not something like 'Falling Blocks'.

Read through the CC-license (links on every tunes page). Covers submitted under the license is OK, though full credit must be given + you may not use any samples from the original copyrighted tunes (as long as the original isn't submitted under a similiar license that would allow remixes/re-arranging of the tune).

youo're right about MIDI-rips though, they are not to be considered a cover just because you tossed some FL-preset synths on the instruments.

[DjXcessive]

Thank you for this information :)
Greets, DjXcessive

[InGenius]

Read through the CC-license (links on every tunes page). Covers submitted under the license is OK, though full credit must be given + you may not use any samples from the original copyrighted tunes (as long as the original isn't submitted under a similiar license that would allow remixes/re-arranging of the tune).

youo're right about MIDI-rips though, they are not to be considered a cover just because you tossed some FL-preset synths on the instruments.

Actually, Rucklo, because there are numerous ads and ad revenue made on this site, specifically a topbar, bottombar, sidebar and Ads by Google, on every audio page, you would need the mechanical rights of any song you wanted to remix/cover, even if all sounds are your own, original sounds, your own rearrangement, etc. If it's close enough to the original track to be considered a remix/cover and it makes a profit, which the ads make for NG's ownership, then it's considered for-profit and cannot be covered under CC licensing.

http://www.worldwideocr.com/Rights_Mecha nical_FAQ.asp
http://www.harryfox.com/public/FAQ.jsp#6

Pretty clear definition of when you need Mechanical Rights for a recording, which include anytime you want to record and distribute a cover or any other form of a song originally copywritten to another artist. Digital distribution is an included format of phonorecord for the purposes of the Mechanical Rights section of copyright law.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-n c-sa/3.0/

Noncommercial addendum in the CC licensing negates usage of CC license across the board on NG since there is no place on NG offering the audio licensed under the CC license without ad revenue being earned, ie. commercially. I've brought this up time and time again. I am beginning to wonder if anyone bothered to check with a lawyer specializing in copyright law in the US and other countries served by NG.com before slapping the CC license AND the ads up on the site?

[deathteknoX]

I was banned from the audio portal for making a remix, but I dont care about that anymore, insted of subbmiting my music to newgrounds crappy audio portal, I now subbmit my music to sampleswap.org.

there rules on remixing music are far more relaxed then NG's pantysshuveduptherPMSherpyassholes backwards ass audio moteration

[Mich]

At 12/7/09 01:48 PM, deathteknoX wrote: I was banned from the audio portal for making a remix, but I dont care about that anymore, insted of subbmiting my music to newgrounds crappy audio portal, I now subbmit my music to sampleswap.org.

there rules on remixing music are far more relaxed then NG's pantysshuveduptherPMSherpyassholes backwards ass audio moteration

You know, the rules are made so no legal action needs to be taken against NG. The rules are also there so we can have some originality. NG is all for your own work, the more work you put in it yourself, the better. And of course, there needs to be a solid line, to avoid a whole lot of vagueness. If you don't like it here, then you did right, you went elsewhere. But if you go elsewhere, don't come complaining about the way it's like on here.

[nathanallenpinard]

At 12/7/09 01:48 PM, deathteknoX wrote: I was banned from the audio portal for making a remix, but I dont care about that anymore, insted of subbmiting my music to newgrounds crappy audio portal, I now subbmit my music to sampleswap.org.

there rules on remixing music are far more relaxed then NG's pantysshuveduptherPMSherpyassholes backwards ass audio moteration

So why are you still here?

And it looks as though sample swap is allowing remixes of CC content only, same as NG. The difference is the moderation is more relaxed, and they pin the entire responsibility on you, just like NG. Except NG actually tries to prevent you screwing you and themselves over.