Changes to the game's music
For those of you who aren’t my patrons or don’t follow the dev logs, I’ve mentioned a few times that music plays a big role in the game. I’ve got a few artists providing music, which is awesome, but I also used to buy tracks from certain platforms.
This issue actually came up last month, so I was aware of it, but I decided to wait and see how things would play out before saying anything. That’s why I haven’t mentioned it until now.
So, here’s the deal:
When the new year rolled around, these platforms changed how they handle developers like me. They added a ton of new restrictions for using their music, including new licensing terms. And, of course, they’ve gotten a lot stricter about NSFW content in projects.
At first, I thought, "Well, I have a license to use this music, so why should I care?" But after thinking it through and considering all the risks, I decided it was best not to use the music, even though I ended up losing a decent amount of money in the process.
I didn’t have the time to consult a lawyer, but my gut tells me they can’t just change licenses that have already been purchased. So, it might not even affect me in the end. But if they do try to enforce these changes (even if it’s maybe illegal, I guess?) what could I do? I’m not going to take on some of the biggest companies on the internet - there’s no way I’d stand a chance.
Because of all this, some great music won’t make it into Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. I’m not sure if I can replace it in time, so there might be more "silent" sections in the game. I know a lot of players don’t even listen to the music, so I don’t think it’s a huge deal, but I just wanted to clear up any confusion that might come up.
//Dream
Comments (8)
Hi Dream, this is going to be an interesting experience to know this game will start to feel like The Unbroken by STWA (Something to Write About) though that dev to my understanding is going from a largely silent game for a few years now to a game with tracks once it's Steam version launches. I don't know if you know them though if you don't maybe ask for advice since IMO they are friendly and a good member of the AVN community and though they are busy with finishing the current content for release they may be willing to give some advice on a music service or artists. This is just an idea that I hope helps, it's possible it may not work, or STWA may be too busy so this all might be just wishful thinking. I wish you the best of luck in your continued efforts for your work!
There is music in the game, because not all music comes from these websites. My problem isn’t about how or where to get music. As I mentioned in the comments below, it’s always about money. A lot of artists charge a lot, which is fair, but not everything is affordable for me. The websites that ended up causing issues were offering music at a better price - that’s why I went with them
This may be a bit long, but unfortunately the topic requires it. I fully understand your point of view, but the thought is in my head that if you let, let the big music licensing sites modify the previously concluded and live licensing contracts at their own convenience, sooner or later your options will be completely narrowed. Not long ago, a similar message was received from Caribdis (developer of Eternum), but similar cases have happened to others, see Ocean (developer of Summer's Gone, Where it All Began), or Drifty (Leap of Faith, developer of u4ia). My suggestion is that you developers should put your heads together and work together on a common platform to fight this trend. If you don't do this, or if you are not able to come to a common position on this issue, you will simply be trampled underfoot by the big multinationals.
Well, I can't speak on behalf of other devs so just clearly from my experience, but... Most of the artists I’ve contacted while working on the game (and there have probably been hundreds by now) usually ask for a lot of money. I don’t see that as a problem, but I just can’t afford it. When they’re asking for €2,000 or €3,000 per track, that’s just not something I can do On the other hand, these platforms (which I won’t name for certain reasons) were offering music at a good price. At the time, it felt very different from what other devs had experienced in the past regarding music, so there didn’t seem to be any obvious problems - at least not for me Yeah, I heard about Caribdis, but I don’t know what his issue was. It could have been a completely different platform and situation, especially since a lot of them made changes when the new year started But the damage is a few thousands euros
Caribdis made a post earlier on saying the same thing about Eternum, so it sounds like this is going to affect anyone using music from whichever platform has made these changes :( It's a shame, but Beyond Tomorrow stands up strong in so many other areas so I can't image it'll impact things too negatively 🤘
A lot of other devs are dealing with this too, just not everyone talks about it publicly And thank you for your kind words ♥
I love music in my AVNS (thanks to Ocean's SG for making me realize how much music adds to an AVN). I've seen a bunch of my Devs deal with this previously. It's alright. It's understandable 😁👍🏻. Besides, I can just fill the silence with my own head music, or I could just use music from my AVN playlist that I collected throughout the years 😆.
I can sing something if you want I treat you like milk, lalala I’ll do nothing but spoil you, lalala badm tsss