Old games and their soundtracks - can they legally be used freely?

[Jumbo]

Hello. I am making a music addon for Gaias Retaliation ORPG and therefore, naturally, looking for some great RPG music. At the moment looking for royalty free music everywhere on the internet.

I was thinking about old games like Pharaoh (City building Sim, Sierra) and Castle Strike (Data Becker). Can I use those soundtracks legally or do they still require some kind of license or perhaps they are completely off limits. I know that these 2 examples are very specific, but if anyone has some general experience of a similar case, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[PublishedShadow]

I mean if you aren't trying to profit off of the music, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use them. It isn't hurting anything. I'm no expert on the laws for this kind of thing but I reaaaaally doubt someone is gonna come for you for using the music in a mod for a custom warcraft III map (If anyone ever finds out about it at all). An example I can think of is Youtube - they generally just ask them to remove it if they don't want it there. Chances are, if you can find it on youtube, you can use it.

 

[Dr Super Good]

In theory it is not legal unless the music was specifically licenced such that you can use it free of charge (seldom if not never happened).

If the game is abandonware chances are you can get away with it. It does not make it any less illegal but the very definition of abandonware means that chances are the owners will not complain about it.

 

[Jumbo]

Thanks for the answers. I thought going strictly legal would be cool, but I may have to change that stance a bit .

 

[Ardenian]

As Dr Super Good said, as long as the company who hold the rights still exists / someone else has the license to only use the music, it is not legal to use music from other games.

Just because they are on YouTube it does not mean anything. You would be shocked what content is uploaded to YouTube breaking laws.
If you take anime soundtracks, for example, they are usually fast removed. Many soundtracks of any source are still there because none cares, I guess.

Basically, it is not legal to use them for own purposes, even if you do not make profit with it.
You could ask the license holder for a permission, but this is a bit over the top, I would say.
But, also as Dr Super Good said, I doubt it would have consequences you get punished for it if you use them. There are other issues that are more severe and none cares about you using two very old tracks then.

_{no responsibility can be taken for the correctness of this information , just saying...}

 

[Rheiko]

Many soundtracks of any source are still there because none cares, I guess.

Guess it's not that nobody cares, it's just troublesome to remove so many of them at once.

 

[Jumbo]

But what are the rules of the Hive on this subject? (Yes I can read the rules myself, but dunno where to look for such specific information). In my case, uploading the mod and linking it on the Hive for everyone. Currently I only use royalty free music, but will the Hive admins potentially remove the link if I include abandonware/old games soundtracks?

 

[deepstrasz]

Why not have someone make some music for the RPG. I'm sure you can find people here on Hive. Look in the Sound/Music Art section of the forums and try contacting people.