Just wondering, what are the legal things that go with distributing VGMs? Is it that you have to own the game to have the songs, or what? I've always wondered about this, so if anyone has anything to say to shed some light on this with ACTUAL credibility, I would appreciate it very much. :)

I would say that if there is an officially released soundtrack for the game, you need to buy the soundtrack to follow the law %100. If there is no official release, it might still be illegal, but I don't think it would be...

Either way, I just see this opening a huge can of worms of an argument.

Legally, you're not supposed to rip CDs, even if you bought them. Ever. And distributing them on the Internet is an even bigger no-no.

And here we are.

From what I understand, the same laws that apply to mainstream music do not apply to music that it not commercially available, i.e. video game music.

Sarah, the admin of this site, clearly posted a sticky about music that may NOT be posted for legal reasons (Thread 49829) so that we all know what can and can't be shared here. Btw, if you haven't gotten the chance to read the legal sections for this and many other websites that specifically deal in sharing video game/anime music, it's usually stated that they will work in compliance with the law and with the wishes of copyright holders and individual composers by placing restrictions on any and all music related to them if requested.

One thing to note about sites like this one is that they are good for exposing people to different types of music that otherwise might not have been heard. And who knows, maybe one of those big-name composers might not have become as popular as they have become distributed, since it's usually not advertised like mainstream music. Although, I do think that it's good to encouraged people to purchase video game/anime/movie soundtracks if for nothing else then to help support the composers who's music they enjoy.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. :)

you can rip any cd you want. it's only when you distribute it that it's illegal. and it's only when the recepitant activates the cd that he is comminting a crime.





if u buy a game u can rip it all day long. but as long as u keep the rips to yourself.



the copyrights have expired on most of the game music. or they have become freeware / abandonware. or the music is freely availble on the composers / games website.


i don't think a company can say u made them lose profits on a game they made 20 years ago.


however the modern soundtracks do have more of a risk factor. even so no one cares.

CyberSpark's explanation seems like an attempt to justify his downloading of video game music [in lossless format] without having to pay for the actual soundtrack.

As far as legalities go, I'm certain that if there was ever a commercially released soundtrack to a video game, then it's illegal to distribute it without obtaining rights to the music or permission from those who hold the rights to the music. Of course, different countries have different laws, so it might be difficult for those that own rights to the music to seek legal reparations in a country outside of its origin.

Within the United States, I'm pretty sure if taken to the right organization, then legal action originating from outside of the U.S. is possible.

In any case, downloading an officially released soundtrack/album (especially in lossless format) is stealing.

I think if you talk to a lawyer, they'd tell you that copying any part of the game is illegal, the music being one of those. Doesn't matter if there's been a soundtrack release or not, all parts of the game are under copyright and duplicating any of it is illegal, as is the case with CDs. And I think it was on the old VHS tapes where they'd have a black screen before the movie started that would tell you in white text making copies of any of it was bad, they specifically mentioned the soundtrack.

I read a whole thing about copyright in regards to ROMs where a lawyer debunked a whole bunch of myths about loopholes people invented to make themselves seem without fault in distributing them and playing them with emulators. It doesn't matter if they're not selling the game anymore or anything, the company owns the copyright for a much longer period of time than any videogame has existed for. And I think in the End User License Agreements the companies can restrict you from making even a backup copy, somehow. If I remember right. Don't know where I read that now.

That's not to say any of this stuff we're doing here is good or bad or moral. There's a lot of good cases to be made on both sides, but since I'm here, I think you know which one I think makes the better argument. But, strictly speaking, the law does not agree and I'm pretty sure anyone who says otherwise is either misinformed, uninformed, or just making excuses.

CyberSpark's explanation seems like an attempt to justify his downloading of video game music [in lossless format] without having to pay for the actual soundtrack.

I'm sorry but that is incorrect, you've misunderstood me. I've always supported and promoted the purchasing of video game music but I was simply stating that sites like these are useful for exposing music that may otherwise have not been heard unless the person already owned the game, and I don't know of anyone that would blindly purchase a soundtrack without having listened to it first.

It has been and still is my intention to build upon my physical collection of video game music CDs, no matter what audio format I currently have the soundtrack stored in. In fact, a good example of this is when someone had shared a soundtrack with me online, in lossless format, and when I found the opportunity to buy it, I did just that. I plan on continuing this when funds are available but in the meantime I will continue to search for differnt types of music, find out what I like best and purchase it when I am able to do so. Anyway I just wanted to clear that up. :)

In terms of the legalities behind distributing video game music specifically, I had read many different opinions in various websites regarding the matter and no one could seem agree on anything. One of the arguments made, and one of the reasons why I had stated what I did in my previous comment, was that even if something is unlawful in one country this does not mean that it's unlawful in another country and, therefore, it falls into what is called a 'legal grey-zone' or so it was describe. This can probably be disputed and all but am just simply passing on what I had read.

Good day to you all.

I'm sorry but that is incorrect, you've misunderstood me.

I don't know about that.

This discussion with you is similar to one I had with another member in the Rockman topic in that you both seem to think you're entitled to have something just because you are unable to afford. In his case, I believe he said that video game music was not available in his country and the total cost to import video game soundtracks to his country was "too expensive" (he lives in Canada). So, he believes it's acceptable to download video game music for free for that reason and for some others he brought up though the other reasons were not as compelling. I eventually asked him why he thought he was exempt from paying for a certain Final Fantasy soundtrack that he downloaded from this forum as he could have easily purchased it from Itunes.

I believe he declined to answer that question as well as an implied question involving whether or not he owned any current video game systems. That latter 'question' was more of an inquiry as to what he was spending his money on as I think there are quite a few people on here who could afford to purchase video game music -- They just choose to spend their money on other, similar interests which aren't as easy to obtain for free.

Anyway, this also brings up another issue I brought up [somewhere] with regards to why it was necessary for some people on here to request free, lossless copies of video game soundtracks. You don't need a lossless copy to preview music or even to appreciate the composition. You don't even need to download a full copy of a soundtrack to preview it.

All in all, I don't think you're as big of a hypocrite as that Canadian, but you're not nearly as innocent as you think you are.

In terms of the legalities behind distributing video game music specifically, I had read many different opinions in various websites regarding the matter and no one could seem agree on anything. One of the arguments made, and one of the reasons why I had stated what I did in my previous comment, was that even if something is unlawful in one country this does not mean that it's unlawful in another country and, therefore, it falls into what is called a 'legal grey-zone' or so it was describe. This can probably be disputed and all but am just simply passing on what I had read.

I think it works pretty much the same in all countries that signed onto the Berne Convention, that big international copyright agreement, and that covers just about everyone on this site I'm sure. The author owns the copyright and they are entitled to their intellectual property not being infringed upon. In regards to music, the company who developed the game may own the rights or the composer may, but in any case it isn't any of us and distributing their IP is illegal.



All in all, I don't think you're as big of a hypocrite as that Canadian, but you're not nearly as innocent as you think you are.

I don't think it matters. It's the same amount of illegal whether it's a 128kbps MP3 or a lossless format. If you're gonna be doing this stuff at all, might as well go all out. He's no less right than you, because as far as the people who own the copyright (and their lawyers) are concerned, we're all wrong. It's as black and white as that.

I don't think it matters. It's the same amount of illegal whether it's a 128kbps MP3 or a lossless format. If you're gonna be doing this stuff at all, might as well go all out. He's no less right than you, because as far as the people who own the copyright (and their lawyers) are concerned, we're all wrong. It's as black and white as that.

Well, that's assuming that I download the soundtracks from here and keep them for an extended period of time, which I do not. My physical soundtrack collection was huge and is still relatively large even when I sold most of them off. I'm also not prone to sharing soundtracks, so I do believe I'm not guilty to the same degree as someone like CyberSpark or the Canadian I mentioned in my earlier post.

I'm not a fan of downloading music from legitimate music websites, but is the price for downloading a song in a lossy audio format the same as the price for downloading the same song in a lossless audio format?

With that said, I'm not completely innocent as I have used this site to preview older, out of print video game soundtracks, but I'm not delusional enough to believe that I'm somehow entitled to download soundtracks without having to pay for them, which was my initial point.