KVR Audio

P.T. · Post by **P.T.** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 11:19 pm

Many sample sites say that the samples you purchase are for non-commercial use. They are for personnal use only.

How do you sell music that you have made using these samples that you have purchased?

Are there standard procedures such as purchasing a commercial license?

What type of added costs are typical if it turns out that someone wants to buy your music?

lawapa · Post by **lawapa** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 11:56 pm

I have a few Prosamples disks. I won't be buying those anymore but. SonicImplants has a policy that allows use in music with out further cost. They request a mension but that's it. That means if you use these sample sets and your piece becomes commercial you won't have them breathing down your neck. I now alway check this point when buing sample sets. And if the lisence in not closed on purchase I don't buy. If you got samples from the internet for free I'd give the copy holder an email and see what further responcibility is on your part.

Vegetarian · Post by **Vegetarian** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 12:09 am

I wouldn't go buying samples if you can't use them commercially, unless of course there's some sort of commercial option ... But that's just me, and I shouldn't really be bringing my personal opinions into this.

Erm, typically you have to ask the copyright holder's permission to use the samples in your music (getting the samples cleared, in other words). If they agree, that usually means they become a co-writer of the track, even if their only contribution was that sample and nothing else

That also means they're entitled to a percentage of any royalties you make on that track (worked out between you and the copyright holder/s). That's it in a nutshell ... Usually it's not that hard to get your samples cleared, so it's not too much to worry about

Also, there's a few different organisations that take care of commercial royalties which are all bound to have different names depending on where you live, so it'll make life a little easier for you

Not always doable, but if you do manage it, cool.

edit: i use too many smilies

tee boy · Post by **tee boy** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 3:41 am

I honestly can imagine why anyone would sell, let alone buy, samples which forbid commercial use. WFT is the point! Who in their right mind would pay to license samples which they cant use... that doesnt even make sense?!

Truth is you can sample anything and everything so long as you dont release any derivative material. You have no need to worry about licensing samples until you want to release it, so therefore its pointless paying a sample developer to license their work. Basically, its a f**king SCAM.

XanaX · Post by **XanaX** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:23 pm

I don't know of ANY samples that are licensed for "non-commercial" use only. Where did you happen to find such a thing?

I know some sample sets have restrictions as to whether or not one may use them in the production of library music.

There are Hip-Hop backing tracks out there that are licensed for demo use only, with additional fees required for commercial use, but these are not "samples" in the commonly accepted sense.

spectrum · Post by **spectrum** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:29 pm

Almost all commerical sample libraries are "license free" which allows you to use them on as many commerical projects as you wish at no extra charge. That's certainly the case with all our products at Spectrasonics.

There are only a handful of "non-license free" products out there(George Clinton's CD for example)....and they are usually very inexpensive (about the same price as normal music CD)

Hope that helps!

spectrum

zvon · Post by **zvon** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 12:19 am

I certainly would not buy any sample that's not licensed for commercial use and I don't even download free sounds that are not license free for commercial use. And if I don't see it is, I assume it's not. This way I'm not taking any chance to have a sound in one of my composition that's not cleared.

The samples we sell can all be used in any piece of music for free (after you bought the samples from us of course), so even if you make millions with your song, you don't owe us an extra dime. The only restriction is that you are not allowed to sell or distribute the samples themselves without authorization and this is true for our demos too. And I think this is pretty standard, but to be safe, one really has to read the license agreement of any samples that are going to used in anything that is going to be released, even if it's a non-commercial release.

Loops are usually a bit trickier, for example this line is often used license for loops: "any rhythm loop samples must also be combined with other types of samples or sounds to effectively form a new composition, rather than simply being looped." or something similar.

This means you have to add something to the loop while it's playing, on top of it, not just before or after.

P.T. · Post by **P.T.** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 10:44 am

XanaX wrote:I don't know of ANY samples that are licensed for "non-commercial" use only. Where did you happen to find such a thing?

I know some sample sets have restrictions as to whether or not one may use them in the production of library music.

There are Hip-Hop backing tracks out there that are licensed for demo use only, with additional fees required for commercial use, but these are not "samples" in the commonly accepted sense.

This is from the soundfont.com website. I was trying to buy a soundfont bank and was presented with their licence agreement. This is a part of the agreement;

NOTICE: SOFTWARE YOU DOWNLOAD AND/OR PURCHASE FROM THIS SITE ("SOFTWARE") IS LICENSED, NOT SOLD, FOR YOUR PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE. THE SOFTWARE AND ANY ACCOMPANYING INFORMATION (THE "TECHNOLOGY") ARE SUBJECT TO WORLDWIDE COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, AND OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND TREATIES, AS WELL AS THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, DISPLAYED FOR ACCEPTANCE PRIOR TO PURCHASE (OUR "AGREEMENT"). YOU MAY REJECT THIS AGREEMENT BY SELECTING THE "I DECLINE" BUTTON BELOW, AND YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO PURCHASE THE TECHNOLOGY.

References herein to "Technology" include any and all whole or partial forms of the information and materials purchased from this web site. Software purchased by you is licensed to you by E-mu Systems, Inc. dba E-MU / ENSONIQ ("E/E"), or its supplier, on a nontransferable non-exclusive basis for use on a single computer. The following direct or indirect activities are not permissible regarding the Technology, except as expressly pre-approved in writing by E/E or its supplier, or at applicable enforceable law: reverse engineering or other attempts at the derivation of source code; copying for distribution; encumbrance, relicense, or transfer in any manner or form; and, disturbance of any included legends or notices.

Maybe the NON COMMERCIAL use they refer to in the first paragraph is referring to the activities listed in the following paragraph.

I asked about this on this forum because I can't get in touch with the company. The emails I send keep getting bounced back to me as unsendable.

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:00 am

This license agreement refers to the software itself. Don't redistribute it, just use it by yourself being a non-commercial individual.

Its like you bought a hammer & saw, and only you may use this hammer & saw for hobby projects. It doesn't state who owns intellectual property of any furniture you have built with it. Because they know thats yours, they merely provided the tools.

Personally I think if you made a piece of music with this in your spare time and release it "indie", then nobody can touch you legally. Things change ofcourse if making music is your profession.

Right or wrong?

XanaX · Post by **XanaX** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:30 pm

Wow...I just can't believe the Emu EULA means what it sounds like it means. It's as if they took a standard software agreement and are trying to apply it to soundware, which simply does not fit. It doesn't make any sense. My gut (and common sense) tells me you're perfectly within your rights as a licensed user to incorporate the samples within your musical compositions, commercial or non-commercial.

I'd try to establish a dialog with an actual human being at Emu to clarify this issue.

Licensing issues with purchased samples.