Male
United States
Joined on 2/4/06
Posted by BlazingDragon - January 15th, 2011
Recently, I've found out that several of my pieces have been used in sponsored flash games without my permission. In other words, someone uses my music in a game and then sells the game for profit to sites such as Armor Games or Coolbuddy. I definitely want to continue uploading free music, but experiences such as these are making me more cautious. Do I stop putting my music up on newgrounds because of a few people stealing my music? Is there anything I can do about it?
What are your thoughts?
Was it uploaded to Newgrounds? Because under the CC licensing it gives them permission to use your music. Making revenue may be a different matter. That's the risk with putting your music on a widely visited public site. As long as they credit you, I dont see why you should be frustrated as the exposure IMO is more important the meager-ish royalties. You should contact the author of the submission to sort it out either way. If you havent.
The piece was uploaded to newgrounds. However, this person used the piece without permission, did not credit me in the game, and then sold the game to a sponsor for $5,000. The game received close to a million views across multiple sites, and my name was mentioned nowhere. Furthermore, people were posting yahoo answer pages saying, "What is the music in this game? I love it but can't find out who the composer is?" I found out and contacted the game's author. In the end I received compensation, but only after a long, stressful process with an author who was being rather unfair in my opinion. So, exposure was missed out on and CC licensing terms were broken.
That situation caused me to do a fair amount of research and open my eyes to sponsored flash games. Since then, I've found that a few games have used my music in sponsor games without my permission. They do credit me though, and I'm not sure whether to leave it be or act.
I was referring to the game-was it used on Newgrounds? The author automatically has the permission to use any of the music tracks on the audio portal. Either way, looks you got jipped in this case. I suppose you are entitled to royalties but the author is definitely in the wrong by not acknowledging you as the creator of the music.
I still feel the exposure is enough IMO. To my knowledge, I've had my music in four sponsored flash games- all credited, but only two notified me and offered royalties. they spend more time developing flash games than I would put into two or three songs. I personally don't think my music is pricetag quality yet. But most of all, they werent comissioing me to write music for them. I didnt have any deadlines or stress when making my music. I put lots of work into it yes, but I just did it for fun, and I'm just lucky that someone thought it was suitable for their game.
If theyre making a million dollars though, I want my cut ;)
It was uploaded to NG and I did get credit here. However, that was only the slightest fraction of views. The vast majority came from ArmorGames and similar portals.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even if you don't think that your music is commercial quality, the game author did. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used it without permission in a commercial setting for profit. I never have tried selling my music because I thought it was crap. However, if people are stealing it out of all the other stuff out there, I guess someone likes it.
If I had been asked permission, been credited in the game itself, and gained all of the exposure, I would be happy and let it slide. What angers me is that it was done behind my back, against common sense, and money was made without me even getting half the exposures that the game did. :/
Sue.
I'm not even kidding, you have legal license attached to your song, if it is used for profit without your permission then it is breaking your license, and you have every right to contact armorgames and tell them whats what. It may sound cheap, but if you're looking to do this professionally (which you should) then you need to start taking action against theft.
You're awesome btw, and I can't wait for that sheet music =D
I did threaten to sue in one case. The sponsor compensated me by sending $350 and arranged that they'd take that amount out of the flash author's next payed project.
On the other hand, doesn't it cost a lot to sue? I don't have a lot of money to put toward legal fees, and some of these projects with stolen music are only worth a couple of thousand (or even hundred) dollars.
(And sorry about the wait on the sheet music. My desktop computer is having problems, so I'm stuck using my laptop. The sheet music is on my desktop!)
Quite honestly ( in my Non-muscian oppinion) I think that I would be mean enough to have the games pulled untill you got credit for the music, it's common sence to atleast ask to use something that isn't yours. If iI offend anyone, then stop reading lol. I know iI don't have much space to talk because I have not poasted anything to NG but simply stealing the music is petty thieft because of the CC licensing, but it just seems like a blunt insult to you, having someone steal the idea of a song without even asking or compensating you. But hell look around... maners are all gone, but you would think that they would pay attention to the CC licensing to atleast be able to keep their buts safe from having a lawsuit. and as far as the ones that atleast credit you, I think you should let those slide because they atleast took the time to give people a way to find the awesom music you make, but thats all just my oppinion. hope you find some little part that might be usefull.
I felt as though it was a blunt insult. Someone uses my music in a game without asking, sells it, makes profit, and doesn't even have the respect to credit me. Then, when I asked him about it (he was 28-years-old and had made commercial games before), he said that he didn't know any better despite the clear CC license.
In cases where I am credited, I at least have gained exposure. In a case where an author makes thousands of dollars and does not ask permission, though? Should I go through the effort of demanding compensation/suing?
I have. A question! If we ask owner for permission to use there music can we upload them here in new grounds?
EspioSempai
I would have an idead for you to do but I cant think of anything at the moment. I would do the same thing your telling the bloggers out and seek for opinions ot help. Im sorry to hear about your problem but I hope you wont stop making music.
BlazingDragon
I don't think that I'll stop posting music anytime soon. I might do commercial projects that don't go on here in the future, though.