Free music online. Is it legal?
Hey guys,
There are some blogs, websites and even on soundcloud that provide free download of the music.
We’re not talking about rapidshare, nothing on those terms. I guess that these are provided by the artist.
So… is it legal to mix on a gig these tracks?
If its free through OFFICIAL channels, then it is legal to gig these tracks. They will be considered promotional material, and are likely there so you buy other tracks from the artist / label.
Music provided by the artist on soundcloud is technically licensed under a creative commons license. This usually means that you can create derivative works (aka mixes, mashups, remixes etc.) but you can’t sell the original work. There are a few variations on the license though. You can get the details here: http://help.soundcloud.com/customer/portal/topics/39593-legal
Now technically (and in my case) a track on soundcloud could use unauthorized samples which puts it in a legal grey area. I give away my soundcloud tracks specifically because they use samples that would be a pain in ass to clear so would probably never get signed in the first place. I’m def not alone in this. Most labels however are not going to go after you for using a sample on a track that you are giving away for free. There have been cases where this was not true like the grey album.
i´d say that 90% of the blogs sharing “free” music are doing this without the permission from the producers. also a lot of music provided via blogs isn´t 302kbps like most of them state.
imho be careful and always do a background check on free music!
What do you think it’s the better way to use these?
Contact the producer directly and get a letter like “I authorize”? Of course this won’t be always easy to get to the producer.
i´d say. the safest way is always the check if the produce put the song you´ve seen on a blog out as a free dl. most of the time they´ve uploaded it on soundcloud or on their facebook/homepage. if this isn´t the case: double/tripple check if the blog you´re going to dl a track from has more of those “unknown if legal”-tracks. if so this is the case, don´t dl anything from there except you´re 100% sure that it is safe.