I am sorry if this has been answered before. I looked but didn't see anything, although I am sure it has been answered. Here it goes...
I recently watched a portion of a video of Adam Pollard teaching how to create sample packs. In the video he used Serum and showed how to generated different types of sounds really fast as a way to create more presets.
Is it legal for me to use a soft synth to create wav files for resale if I start from init? I see a lot of packs out there and was wondering how they do it.
Thanks!
Virtual Synth Sampling Question
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- KVRAF
- 2475 posts since 6 Jul, 2013
I'd guess it follows the same general rules for hardware synths - if it's generating waveforms from scratch, and/or doing analog emulations, then you are mostly free to make up your own sounds and sample them and resell.
If those synths are using sound recordings (eg PCM samples) as a base component of their sound, then the copyright of those is not owned by you, and so sampling them out (even when modified by the synth engine) is generally a bad idea...
Marketing is also a factor - so if you are selling a "Serum Presets & Wavetables" sample pack, then that's also pretty bad form...
If those synths are using sound recordings (eg PCM samples) as a base component of their sound, then the copyright of those is not owned by you, and so sampling them out (even when modified by the synth engine) is generally a bad idea...
Marketing is also a factor - so if you are selling a "Serum Presets & Wavetables" sample pack, then that's also pretty bad form...
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thecontrolcentre thecontrolcentre https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=76240 - KVRAF
- 35169 posts since 27 Jul, 2005 from the wilds of wanny
Read the EULA of the synth you intend to sample. It will usually state that derivative works (samples) are not allowed to be sold or redistributed.
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- KVRAF
- 2475 posts since 6 Jul, 2013
A EULA though is not a legal requirement - it's a developer trying to assert rights that they may or may not have if tested in court. Copyright doesn't officially recognise things like synth patches, or wavetable data, though if you were abusing this, it's possible the copyright holder could come after you with a cease and desist etc.thecontrolcentre wrote:Read the EULA of the synth you intend to sample. It will usually state that derivative works (samples) are not allowed to be sold or redistributed.
A sound recording (eg PCM sample) though comes under a legally recognised Sound Recording copyright, and does have legal weight.
That's how we've arrived at the current best practice recommendations for sampling these things...
