Music covers in games...legal?

#1 Nope, can't do it without permission from the artist and their record company. I don't know the details, but you're going to have to get permission from at least the record company... and that's not gonna happen for free.

Although, you might want to look into it. Some covers (of old, obscure songs) would be allowed, and chances for legal retribution are slim. The songs which I'm assuming you're trying to "borrow" are probably fairly popular and would be guarded well... but who knows? Bands who do covers and get played on the radio (my personal favorite is the Ska-Punk version of "Last Resort" by Papa Roach) make money (by selling more records if people like what they hear) but I am not entirely sure if they pay to use it.

Either way, covers don't really sound professional. When I've grown to love a song it's the original. Not some different version by some different band.

Good luck though.

#2 Yuck...Papa Roach...Anyhow, when dealing with cover songs by other artists, you'll have to contact their record company for permission. I know the deal for doing cover songs on albums is something like 7 cents per song that goes to the artist, so I would assume you'd end up paying X dollars per copy of the game you sell. The music biz calls em "mechanical royalties" (I was/still am a musician, have read many books...).

But (kinda) what Matt said, it would be weird to have cover songs that your band performed in your game. If you're going to go ahead and do it, make sure you get a good quality recording. Go and buy some studio time at a local studio to lay it all down (unless you have a friend with a good home studio). And in most cases, the music should be instrumental...I guess it depends on how you're gonna put the music in there.

#3 And Papa Roach lifted the riff from Last Resort from Iron Maiden. I like covers that are played differently from the original:

Van Halen - The Kinks' You Really Got Me
Nevermore - Simon & Garfunkle's The Sound of Silence
Angel Dust - Rainbow's Temple of the King
Gamma Ray - Pet Shop Boy's It's a Sin
Metallium - Deep Purple's Smoke On the Water

geeze I could go on forever - and yes I like metal!

#4 Evan,

You can't even do covers of the songs. If you did a cover you would get out of the "performance" part of the royalty you would owe to the RIAA, but you would not get out of the "author" portion of the royalty.

It's a very cool idea to put your own music in your game. Write your own.

Jeff Tunnell GG

P.S. I used to play bass in a garage band. It is amazing how many people that are in the games biz used to play music.

#5 So much for our idea of using changed, and mid-evilized versions of Cure songs for our game. I had a perfect version of A Forrest for the music in the woods too...

-Pat

P.S. Guitar, violin, vocals...it's gotta be the bouncy-creative nature of the whole industry

#6 [plug] Hey, I still play in a band! If anyone is in the Orlando area next Friday drop me a line and I let you know where we are playing.[/plug]

...shameless...

#7 Heh, i have done a lot of recording and mixing and stuff for bands, and a buddy of mine and I write and sing some rhymes now and again. Small world it is :) Being a DJ doesnt hurt either, which i am on saturday nights :p
ryan

#8 Thanks a bunch for all the answers guys. I'll just have to speed up my songwriting. :)

-Evan

#9 Or you could always hire your ole pal Ben to write some classical pieces for your band!

OR BETTER YET!!!! I could play my euphonium at the infamous "nightclub" part..that alone would sell the game methinks

*coughs*

((i know mr. hamilton))