I don’t have much to share right now (due to people hiring me for things) – but I’m working on a new piece, and I figured I would share the work in progress. She has a long way to go yet. And you get to see how changes happen over time!
Cheers, all!
Egg’s Guide Part 9
These guys are quick. I just finished the score yesterday!
Enjoy!
Game Pack 1
The video explains most of it.
More info here.
Don’t forget to head to the “Get it here” link on the packs page to download the sample files! :-)
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If you don’t want to buy the whole pack (regular price $40 – currently half off until Monday, March 4th), I have each of the four main pieces available like normal.
– Jaunty Gumption
– Move Forward
– Ambler
– Mellowtron
Decline
Copyright Limbo
I’m sure it is no surprise to anyone that copyright is not a simple thing. When you deal in international law, things get even worse.
As base, there are compositions that are under copyright protection, and there are compositions in the Public Domain (no copyright protection).
Public Domain
If you were to record Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (written around 1715) – the compositions are in the Public Domain, and you can release your recording with no worries about paying licenses to anyone.
Copyright in Effect
On the other side – if you record Regina Spektor’s (who is still alive – and also quite good) compositions – you would certainly need a license.
International Limbo
And then there’s people in Limbo. “Also sprach Zarathustra” was written by Richard Strauss in 1896. That means the work is in the Public Domain in the US (and many other countries). Strauss died in 1949 – which means the work is not in the Public Domain in Spain (and many other countries).
So, if I record and release “Also sprach Zarathustra” in the US – I’m all good… until you watch it in Spain.
Let’s go to the map…
Image by Balfour Smith at Duke University
For every new color, there are some composers in a different kind of limbo.
Argentina-Canada limbo (e.g. Prokoviev) is different from Spain-Australia limbo (e.g. Gershwin).
While trying to figure out a good rule of thumb for worst-case worldwide copyright to Public Domain timelines, it becomes evident that there is not one.
You can be reasonably certain that if a piece of music was written before 1833 – it is in the Public Domain pretty much everywhere. There are certainly pieces of music written in 1910 that are in the Public Domain pretty much everywhere. There may be pieces written in 1828 that are still under copyright somewhere (I have yet to find an example, though).
I hope that I have cleared up one thing… international copyright is insane. Check with the laws in each country you plan to distribute your media.
Some or all of the information in this post may be highly wrong… I did the best I could.
Happy Bee
Happy Bee! Fun times for all… in a sort of non-threatening way.
Hitman Extended Version
I did the scoring for “Bite-Sized Minecraft 2″, and a few people have asked for bits to be released on my site.
The problem is, they are really really short.
I took one of the longer ones and made it much much longer.
Local Forecast
There is just something about this kind of music that screams “weather forecast” to me.
Luckily, changing the tempo changes the character, so you can enjoy three different feelings for the price of one!
Local Forecast (93 bpm)
Local Forecast – Slower (77 bpm)
Local Forecast – Elevator (for when you need some music in a lift)
Happy February, all!
Great Publicity
“Will you score this incredibly complicated action movie I’m filming for my 6th grade film class? It’ll be great publicity for you because my whole class will see it – and you’ll be in the credits!”
That’s what I deal with all the time. Great publicity and $10 will get me lunch*.
If you are a content producer, please do not try to sell “publicity” to anyone. I get the “publicity” sell continuously – and what it generally means is that the product is abysmal.
Professionals understand which projects will increase their profile and which ones will not. No need to mention explicitly.
Now that I’ve annoyed everyone who has ever sold “publicity”, I’m going to go back to my music-hole and work a bit. I’ll probably not get much publicity by doing that, though. hmm…
*Please donate $10 for Kevin’s lunch.
Plaint (for Bassoon and Harp)
This is a piece for dramatic use when someone is dying or crying or both.
The high strained-sounding basson brings a calm tension, and the harp smooths it out a bit while giving some grounding.
There is also a zip file of sheet musics available (all with accompaniment in C):
– Bass Clef in C (One octave off)
– Tenor Clef in C (Bassoon)
– Alto Clef in C (Viol de Gamba – playable as a duet with 2 viols)
– Treble Clef in C (Whatever)
– Treble Clef in Bb (Clarinet)
– Treble Clef in F (English Horn)
Go Cart mixes now live!
Go Cart
Go Cart – Drop Mix
Go Cart – Loop Mix
A beautifully clean piece with a nasty edge.
Thanks to everyone who donated for this piece!
Cheers.
– km
Gorillas
“Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda”
For some reason, I freaking love gorillas. These are some unsettlingly up-close ones… with a cool soundtrack. :-)
Go Cart – Week 2
A week ago, I posted about a new piece of music that I was going to release, “Go Cart”.
I think it is one of the best pieces I’ve done in a while, and it was a direct response to a lot of requests I’ve been getting.
Turns out, the people who were asking for this don’t donate* – quite a surprise, actually!
*The few who did donate are the obvious exception.
Why I’m pushing donations
A few weeks ago, donations hit a low. A major low. A one-donation-per-50,000-people low. That’s terrible, and a bit demoralizing.
So, I figured I’d give donors a premium, and see how popular each piece of music – is all at the same time!
If you don’t like “Go Cart”, you can still donate. Just put in the note that it is not your thing, and I’ll probably not
produce much like this (which is fine by me, because Go Cart was SUPER time consuming!).
The Craigslist Scammer
I’ve not done anything on Craigslist for a long time.
Within minutes of my first posting in a while… a scammer shows up.
Go Cart Super Offer
This is a brief preview of an upcoming release, “Go Cart”.
If you donate $8 or more online, I’ll send you the entire piece today in mp3 and wav format.
I’ll also send you 2 other arrangements… Drop Mix, and Loop Mix.
I’ll also send you a pile of loops that you can arrange in your DAW to make your own mixes.
UPDATE! Donation goal met for this piece!
Donate $8 or more: