Hey guys
got a question about playing tracks (especially reworks/bootlegs) in my DJ sets that are not released and nowhere to be bought nor made downloadable by the artist.
am i allowed to “pirate” tracks like these and play them out? or is that illegal?
just to be said, i buy all of my tracks or download them from the official artist’s soundcloud-accounts or sites, i never play any pirated music.
it doesnt add up Volpe
dont get me wrong but you said you get the tracks from the “Artists sound cloud page”
and or you buy them from online shops.
If they arent released then yes its a pirate track once you “SEND” it. And by sending it you are either
broadcasting it
filesharing it
passing out a mix with it
the action is basically the song leaving your posession and going elsewhere. (SEND)
but later in your comment youre letting us know you never play any pirated music.
Again dont get me wrong. Im not trying to call you out but i dont think you understand the legitimacy of playing unreleased music
or maybe you dont quite get the differance between “unreleased and still legal for use (vs) pirated music”
there actually is a big differance
Since you get it from the artist, then you should ask if you can use it in a mix.
if you get it from an online shop, then yes, its released. It cant be SOLD online unless its authorized to do so and with that, its a release
Thanks for your help and sorry about the confusion.
What i am trying to say is that i get my music either from beatport, traxsource, itunes etc or if it’s an unreleased tune i get it directly from the artists soundcloud IF there is a “free download” button. I never use any sites which let sou download tracks from soundcloud that aren’t for free download, yet i know it’s possible.
Sometimes i find tunes that cannot be downloaded officialy neither be bought somewhere. I add these tracks to my soundcloud favorites and wait for them to be released. For some reasons this doesn’t always happen (like with the track i posted) so i’m asking if it was legal if i WOULD download that track via another source.
Apparently it’s not, so there’s not much i can do about it.
I wrote a msg to the artist on soundcloud, just hoping they will respond now
Ty again
This is incorrect - since when does an artist put a free track up on their website/soundcloud/portals and then request every single person that downloads it contact them to ask them if they can play it?
The guy is asking if he can play out free tracks he gets from official pages, which he can.
Guys i’m not asking if i can play remixes and stuff that i downloaded directly from an artists page, the question is can i play a track thats not released and not for free download and i guess i cant since i would have to “pirate” that track…
Thanks for your replies anyway
I think I understand the question a bit better now that I’ve visited the SC link.
The remix that the SC page owner has made is NOT downloadable - so you’re asking if you can “pirate” it so that you can own that remix, right? Record it from SC, and then play it out, right?
Again, I’d say if you want to you should - but recording from soundcloud is not advisable. You won’t be able to get a very good quality rip of it.
Now, if you e-mail the SC page owner and ask nicely, he/she may be happy enough to send you a d/l link to a high quality (.wav/320kbps .mp3) version. No harm in dropping them an e-mail and asking.
And, then, if they give you a d/l, play it wherever the hell you want!
Dropped a message to the remixer, let’s hope for the best
Thanks for your replies all
And yeah, i’m not a fan of ripping stuff from soundcloud/youtube either
Seriously. I have never thought once about the legality of playing a song and I’ve been djing for 15 years.
Pretty much every DJ out there is pirating music even if they say they’re not. Just play it, you’re not gonna get sued, you’re not gonna get arrested.
Chances are the song you’re so worried about will be released in a week and then forgotten about forever in 2 weeks so do whatever you want with the music!
That depends who happens to be at the venue, and dj’s HAVE been sued in the past, sure in a local disco bar its unlikely, but if it was a semi-highend club, dodgy.
Where it comes to sound cloud, artists have the option of making a track downloadable for the very reason of avoiding piracy of an unreleased track.
If they make a track stream only I would not consider ripping it. (1) Plain bad manners (2) IS illegal (3) Sound quality would suck anyhow.
If they make a track downloadable though (which requires extra mouse clicks after upload), sure I’d play it as they made the effort to share it to the world.
If you’re playing at a high end club you would’t be asking this question. You wouldn’t be worried about playing pirated music either.
If you play a streamed track that is not available for download you’re just a bad DJ anyways.
Who has been sued for playing an unreleased track? link me an article please.
Most legitimate nightclubs and venues out there will have a license which allows them to play music in a commercial environment. It’s a blanket license that essentially lets you play anything you want. Just go for it.
This is correct. All commercial venues pay a licensing fee for the music. In Canada, even at weddings you pay what we call a SOCAN fee, which is the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers. This license is required for all events regarding music style, whether it be a night club or a live event. The price is determined by the type of establishment or event, how long it is open throughout the year, and capacity. So they pretty much cover their arses when it comes to Music.
