Hello guys!

Yeah, I think many in this forum think 'what the fucking question is this?' but I really want to know, if these downloads are legal. I won't have any troubles with it, so I hpe you can help me.
I downloaded many Sonic Soundtracks and I want to download others too so I want to make sure that all these downloads are legal or save.
I hope you can understad my question and I hope you can answer it.

Thanks and it means a lot!

shadow the hedgehog

None of it is legal. The sharing of any album is not legal. The only legal download is the one you buy. The rest is...err...stealing, whichever way we justify it.

legal or not of soundtracks download here depending on country laws where you live. some countries, if you own game, soundtrack is ok, others nothing is ok.

Oh, okay. Thak you!

People buy and share stuff on here all the time. It's what makes the world go round !

Absolutely. I am a big partaker of that. But I was answering the technical question posed.

@shadow the hedgehog : Without spending any money for the content you download, it is illegal.

Unless it was already free :P.

or in your country sharing for personal using is legal :D

Or... you could just go purchase it yourself with your money instead of downloading for free.

If something is good, and it is not the usual limited out of print soundtrack, then I'll buy it anyway. I see the whole file sharing as a means to getting to know things I would never know otherwise.

Then you get the fan-made releases that sometimes are even more complete than the originals you might buy. I could find some around here.
As it happenned in the past when people were content with tapes and after that cdr copies, now some people are fine with mp3's. But I see that as a compulsive necessity when you cannot possibly buy everything that comes out. I mean, I can afford to buy three or five cd's every month, but I understand not everyone can afford that. So downloading it while saving up to buy it, if you liked it, is not necessarily an evil thing. :)

it's only illegal if you get caught

it's only illegal if you get caught

That's stupid logic.

That's stupid logic.
Not entirely, it's all a matter of perspective :D We can all agree that from a moral standpoint downloading isn't the best thing to do (though, there are artists and composers which don't condemn the try-before-you-buy approach, nor care if you download their old stuff), but an individual gets to suffer the consequences of his/her actions only if the legal authorities... "take an interest in him/her", something which usually doesn't happen: such folks are more likely to strike the uploader/provider of the material, or the place itself.

To the answer OP's question:
No, a great amount of downloads offered on this place (Galbadia Hotel included) aren't legal, but look at the evidence... The Shrine had been around of years, it would be fair to assume that nobody gives a crap if you download some VGM albums.

Thing is Leon Scott Kennedy, the Final Fantasy Shrine wasn't always a download site. Only for the last 5-6 years it's had the download section added... prior to that, it was just a forum for discussion about Final Fantasy series, general gaming etc.

The question was "Is it legal", not is it good, ok or whatever. Not, will I get caught. Is it illegal? Simple answer is yes, pretty much. The other details...don't change that fact.

Thing is Leon Scott Kennedy, the Final Fantasy Shrine wasn't always a download site. Only for the last 5-6 years it's had the download section added... prior to that, it was just a forum for discussion about Final Fantasy series, general gaming etc.
Well, as you have just stated, it's already been a while... I'm fairly sure that Galbadia Hotel alone hosts enough MP3 files to get the whole domain nuked, yet this place is still around. Sure, one could argue that it is because of an "egoistic" approach, even on the labels' and software houses' sides. At any rate, what one gets to download here can be called "niche-material", chances you end legally prosecuted for downloading/sharing 'it' are slim. Most "troubles" get resolved with takedown requests, or banning of 'X' stuff.

Of course, if the OP or anybody else fears for his/her "safety", such individuals are always welcome to not engage in illegal behaviours.

In any event, my own personal belief is, that a person should go and buy whatever it is either at a retail store or online store. Downloading without any form of monetary value being exchanged for said product is illegal. That's my stance on it.

In any event, my own personal belief is, that a person should go and buy whatever it is either at a retail store or online store. Downloading without any form of monetary value being exchanged for said product is illegal. That's my stance on it.

I agree with this in MOST cases. I buy about 4-7 anime soundtracks a month and i feel like a gitty teenage girl whenever my package arrives in the mail. However since i've been at this game for a while now i know that not everyone can really afford to constantly be buying stuff that they want especially in this day in age.

There are some soundtracks that freaking expensive as hell to get a hold of because Japanese publishers are well aware that they have a good amount of music lovers out there (like me) who will go to ANY lengths to get their hands on a soundtrack. So with their great wisdom they have started putting soundtracks in enclosures (blueray/dvd). The soundtracks are usually not put on the japanese itunes and you are pretty much FORCED to buy the enclosure if you want the music. Most enclosures these days cost around 70-120 dollars. Asking that much from a normal high school/college student (which most people here are i'd guess) is a bit much imo.

The worst case i've seen was with an anime called space brothers. In order to get the soundtrack you had a buy a 383$ blueray set.
I'm glad someone was able to share it at some point because as much as i liked the music there is no way that i was going to blow that much money on that BS.
There is also another trend where publishers will spread the soundtrack out throughout the enclosures of the series.

With each enclosure you would only get about 10 tracks. So basically you have to buy 6-8 70$-90$ enclosures to get the full soundtrack.
THOSE are the cases where i will gladly wait for someone to upload them eventually to give a the middle finger to those money grubbing dicks lol.

Anyways those are the few instances i believe that downloading it online would be perfectly acceptable since most of the time publishers that do this could care less about the music since it is treated as an "extra" and not released on it's own like it SHOULD.

In any event, my own personal belief is, that a person should go and buy whatever it is either at a retail store or online store.

Last time I tried that with Yoko Kanno before realizing someone had collected on a single torrent even more then I was able to find - or need - in Japan devoting an entire wage to the cause I was nearly having an heartache! :)

A month's wage is a month's wage and I should not be the only one entitled to join the fun because I have a job and I am not a student anymore.

I grew up with tapes and cdr's only to find myself looking for what I kept listening over the years and buying it.


Downloading without any form of monetary value being exchanged for said product is illegal. That's my stance on it.

If it is always them to decide what's legal we're all doomed perhaps. :)

I will have to agree with you obviosly, but if someone resolves to go the illegal way I'm afraid there should a reason. Otherwise most people would not be here at all. As pointed out the forums were something different before the download section was added.

Have you ever felt cheated after having bought a soundtrack on iTunes or the likes only to find out that the actual cd and profesionally printed artwork including shipping is costing about the same?
Buying the actual cd will support even more people including the last but not least postman delivering it to your door.

Perhaps if they would put a half full stop to their greed people would be able to support who really needs to be supported and keep the world going round instead of making record shops disappear by the day and getting computer geeks salesmen that don't even understand the concept of a basic lossless waveform on their place.

Something is going wrong. The legal way as it keeps being handled.

But we're going off topic, aren't we? :)

In any event, my own personal belief is, that a person should go and buy whatever it is either at a retail store or online store. Downloading without any form of monetary value being exchanged for said product is illegal. That's my stance on it.

And, factually speaking, it is a correct stance in most instances. Which is all the op asked. "Is it legal?" Answer: No. Now is it moral, or to what degree do you justify it and all that nonsense gets personal, as we all have our reasons. Most of which, if we are to be truly harsh on ourselves, are totally selfish and greedy reasons. I own that. We all say "well I would", or "I sample first", or whatever we say. Bottom line, at least for me (being honest) is I want an item or items, I cannot afford them and food and meds, so instead of doing the legal and "moral" thing by going without, I come here and essentially steal my "luxury" items. I figure all of our justifications in the end would basically boil down to that.

That said, I have no guilt about it whatsoever. I'm told by some that this is because Imma sociopath, which may be a fair point.

@Leatherhead333 & viola 2003 : Yes the soundtracks may be expensive, I don't deny that. But I'd rather have the actual physical copy (CD and Case) than just the digital version. There's something about having the case in my hands, that makes it worthwhile. Buying them, instead of resorting to piracy, gives one a better sense of ownership I feel. That and I've earned the income I get from employment, and while others may not be able to earn enough $$$, it still doesn't change the fact that it is a illegal practice. I have never used iTunes or other online store etc to get items. I either buy from ebay, or go into a retail store which has the items or can import them. I prefer to hand my money over to a retail store (and support the retail industry) than by working against them and buying from Amazon.com or other online stores.

@Amanda : I have to spend a lot on medication, food etc as well... but it all comes down to how one budgets their finances. If I can't get something I want right away, there's at least layby or lay away for them. I will admit, I have downloaded digital OST's in the past (as they came via a downloadable code from a game or whatever I purchased... which may not be the same thing but meh... whatever), but have always preferred to have the physical version in it's case, on my shelf with the others CD's etc I have.

I've been called a compulsive hoarder for this attitude... and I suppose that's right as I still do have my collection of videogame consoles, games, DVD's etc from 20 years of collecting. At least... I'm going the moral, ethical and LEGAL route.

All things equal, I would prefer to have the physical copies as well. I am not even remotely trying to justify my downloading. It's wrong, I know it, I do it anyway. :/ And, that's a course everyone has to decide for themselves. I admire you for your ethics, I do. I am just not that strong regarding my impulses, so....

As far as purchasing though, many releases are becoming digi download only. Do you just forgo those, or what? I'd be hard pressed to find a retail store close to me that would import anything at all. The section I use (Soundtracks) usually has about 6 titles, if that...

I will admit, now... the only digital download OST's I have, are for Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. I purchased the ME2 OST from BioWare's online store with some leftover credit on a prepaid debit card and the ME3 OST was included when I purchased my ME3 N7 Collector's Edition. Would I prefer the physical copies? Of course, but at this time I have other things to worry about... besides, a friend of mine HAS them and is going to sell them to me next week for $10 AUSD each, so I WILL have them.

True... many releases are becoming digital download only, but I only purchase things which really interest myself nowadays. OST wise, I know of at least half a dozen stores who will import many CD's whether mainstream music or anime/game OST's. Only thing that'll hurt my pocket, will be the drive to some of them... but at least the ends justify the means from my perspective.

Been downloading stuff since 2009 never got caught then its ok as long you don't get caught

Besides I download albums that are rather hard to find such as The Indiana Jones Soundtrack Collection which back in 2008 it was at a ridiculous price. And then I was searching for game rips from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for Playstation 2 and I came across this site and then intead of what I was looking for I came across a Thread on here. I didn't know you could download stuff

So to the question people do say it isn't ok to download but I do it anyway like i said I never been caught and as long as you don't burn it to a CD and then sell it your fine.

He did not ask if it is ok. He asked if it is legal. Two different questioned. I dislike the logic of it's ok if I don't get caught. If a serial killer/rapist kills and maims for 20 years, is it ok, cause he's not caught? If it is illegal or "wrong", then it remains so regardless of if you get caught.

As far as purchasing though, many releases are becoming digi download only. Do you just forgo those, or what? I'd be hard pressed to find a retail store close to me that would import anything at all. The section I use (Soundtracks) usually has about 6 titles, if that...


Yes the soundtracks may be expensive, I don't deny that. But I'd rather have the actual physical copy (CD and Case) than just the digital version. There's something about having the case in my hands, that makes it worthwhile.

I have never used iTunes or other online store etc to get items. I either buy from ebay, or go into a retail store which has the items or can import them. I prefer to hand my money over to a retail store (and support the retail industry) than by working against them and buying from Amazon.com or other online stores.

I have downloaded digital OST's in the past (as they came via a downloadable code from a game or whatever I purchased... which may not be the same thing but meh... whatever), but have always preferred to have the physical version in it's case, on my shelf with the others CD's etc I have.

Sometimes I feel as Rick Deckard might have felt about sleeping with an android on the Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? novel.

Will I be feeling something as "remorse" downloading a digital album costing 15 dollars when I bought other 5 in the same week not having anymore the attachment of the actual physical copy?

The places where I used to shop closed down for good and the few remaining just have really few titles. The cd single has disappeared from the shelf and the common remastered editions of older cd's have taken their place.

If you are into dance and electronic most of them went completely digital since a couple of years.

Some of those titles, even having been download only, are not available anymore.

What if the whole record industry will go totally into the digital approach?

Most bootleggers are starting pressing cdr's on vinyl and mp3's on cd and their business is going strong with the new wave of collectors on the likes of eBay because that is the only way they can get hold of something at times.
Some cd's I have bought on eBay were just the same mp3's I had but professionally pressed with a decent cover.

I have bought some titles on Amazon and CDBaby lately and what they are doing is simply burning a copy on cdr adding the artwork and sending the package to your door if you do not wish to download that.

This sad thing is called cd on demand. :(

Will I be feeling something as "remorse" downloading a digital file that is costing as a real one should have costed but without the benefit of the real one?

Our entire collections will fit into shoe boxes if burned on cd or backupped on dvd. Not to mention a safety backup on external HD! Dreading! :)


Been downloading stuff since 2009 never got caught then its ok as long you don't get caught

So to the question people do say it isn't ok to download but I do it anyway like i said I never been caught and as long as you don't burn it to a CD and then sell it your fine.

I would not put it as being caught, but more like a sex addict hanging in the park in a long coat on a summer day and finding himself in front of a couple busy as bees making their things under a tree. That's the internet! :)

Either you carry on walking, either something else. ;)

Out of all the posts, this one makes most sense.


legal or not of soundtracks download here depending on country laws where you live. some countries, if you own game, soundtrack is ok, others nothing is ok.

Entirely dependent on several things:
1) Country

1a) State laws
1b) Provincial laws

Some have flexibility to allow you to make personal copies to transfer to your iPod while other places make it absolutely illegal to do that even if you have no intent on distributing/sharing on the internet to friends/family/strangers.

But, generally, even if you do have the content on CD/DVD/BD, etc that you have personally purchased, still largely no.

You would have to read up quite a bit about your local laws to find any loopholes to protect you.

"Morals" about pirating is simply a human factor and not likely to be taken into account in any legal dispute.
Using "morals" as a pro/anti defense is simply to gather people to your claim, all of whom will serve no purpose nor cause to your legal issues.
Morality is a completely useless human function when it comes to piracy. It's as useful as bringing pictures of cats to a court case on a completely unrelated subject.

Legally, in most cases, it is illegal to download what others have uploaded.

Mostly, you are able to upload content that you purchased, but only if you do not share or publicize the links for other parties to download. (in most cases, it's even illegal for file sharing hosters to download your content and view it! read the fine print! and also local state/provincial laws)

If you make a rip of something and want to secure it's existence, you can back up to a CD (in file format system, not CD-A system), DVD (likewise with CD in file format), external HDD, or cloud service.

That's initially what all these file hosting sites and cloud services were intended for: personal backups.
The option to share was mostly intended for business or software developers to distribute their legally developed software (plus demos, etc).
Or maybe to share photos and home videos of your kids so your grandparents 5 cities over can keep up with times (since not everyone uses facebook or youtube or tumblr or wants their private lives to be public!!! --- true social networks have privacy settings and security measures but not everyone will know how to implement those features to their full extent!!!).

It wasn't intended for you to upload your rip so a friend or strange can download it.

---------- Post added at 08:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:18 PM ----------

Besides all that, your ISP is not legally allowed to monitor your traffic.

ComCast has had a really bad reputation of monitoring their clients and informing them of torrent downloading.
There have been multiple lawsuits against them about a "breach of privacy" but I don't know how they turned out.

I don't even know if ComCast is still illegally monitoring their clients or if they reviewed/changed their practice.

ComCast is damn scary, if you ask me.

I'm in Canada, ComCast doesn't exist for me.

But for everyone soul in the USA, ComCast is your Big Brother and will rip your soul out like a T-800.

I strongly believe ComCast to be one of the first industries to invoke SkyNet.

hi guys, I have a slightly related question. I just moved to the States. I were from a country that allow us to download anything everything ( they don't control your identity through IP) . I like to download soundtrack and put in my Ipod. Just wondering if I download soundtrack through mediafire,mega,rapidfire,etc links, what is the chance that I get into trouble with the government? also what if in the download link, the person upload it change the name of the file, like ASH209.rar instead of TheGreatGastbysoundtrack.rar , is the chance that I get caught higher or lower or doesn't matter ?

hi guys, I have a slightly related question. I just moved to the States. I were from a country that allow us to download anything everything ( they don't control your identity through IP) . I like to download soundtrack and put in my Ipod. Just wondering if I download soundtrack through mediafire,mega,rapidfire,etc links, what is the chance that I get into trouble with the government? also what if in the download link, the person upload it change the name of the file, like ASH209.rar instead of TheGreatGastbysoundtrack.rar , is the chance that I get caught higher or lower or doesn't matter ?

Yes. America loves to hate.
Won't matter if you rename it if they find out that it's been renamed.

it's along the lines of "get away with it as long as you can before you get caught".

There's no telling what you will get sued over.
Not all of Stallone's movies got treated like the first Expendables when it was pirated.
Not even the second Expendables film got a big stink over piracy.

Very independent labels for music might be more bitchy and want to sue you for blood magic. Maybe not.

Common scenario is an email saying you were a bad person.
And DMCA takedown on the download link.

Worst case scenario is the distributing company subpoenas your IP address to tar and feather you in public.

Hmm thats interesting