Use of my music

It’s been super exciting to see so many people cover and perform my compositions. Seeing the music exist and continue to grow beyond my own creation is very humbling. There have been many requests from people for permission to do things with the music, and while I can’t address everything on this page, I hope to provide a bit more clarity on the matter. This page is subject to reasonable change.

Social media and YouTube creative content

  • In keeping with game publisher’s licenses (such as Team Cherry’s FAQ here), including videogame music I have written in published creative content on platforms like YouTube and Twitch that contain the gameplay (such as let’s play’s, streams and reviews or other types of commentary) is completely fine and can be monetised.

Covers:

  • Performing and releasing covers and remixes on YouTube (as video uploads), Twitch, and social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram is totally fine. If you are planning on commercially releasing (i.e. digital music distribution) a cover/recording/performance of my music, I ask that you take the necessary steps to do so legally. Please also note:
    • Releasing any form of my music as an original work (not a cover, and giving it an entirely different name) is not allowed.
    • Copying and pasting the music, and playing it back as-is, or at a different pitch without any meaningful elaboration is not allowed. Remixes using direct samples of the originals are also not allowed without direct permission from me (a remix is not a cover).
    • I don’t allow any use of the music that is in bad taste, disparaging or hurtful. This includes combining it with album artwork that is in poor taste, hurtful or offensive.
    • Please don’t credit me as a featured artist on the display artist field of Spotify/Apple Music etc. While I appreciate the sentiment, I can only be credited in this way if I am involved in the production of the project. That is, if it is an official release.
    • I do not give permission for any artist to opt their covers into YouTube’s Content ID system (also known as “YouTube Money” or “YouTube UGC”). Only game publishers can use this system for game music, and it is a very unstable system which causes many problems for content creators which we rely on for marketing our game and soundtracks.

Performances

  • If you are a student or someone representing a primary/secondary or tertiary school, and wish to perform the music in a concert at an educational event, please feel free to do so.
  • If you are a non-for-profit community ensemble seeking to include my music in your program for a low-budget one-off (non-touring) concert, you can, provided that it is not marketed as an officially branded live act of the IP. I state this as the composer, so anything related to the other aspects of a game’s IP (logos, screenshots, footage etc.) needs to be clarified with the owners of that IP, i.e. the publisher or developer.
  • If you are not a student/school or community ensemble, please reach out for license/permission.

Other uses

  • If you are studying and doing an assignment, essay or a thesis, and wish to include either transcriptions or recordings of my music as part of an analysis or similar, please do, you have my permission.
  • If you are a producer, filmmaker, or broadcaster seeking to use any of my music written for games in a TV show, advertisement, film or other unrelated (to the original IP) project, you may not. My videogame music is under exclusive sync license arrangements with the game developers and publishers I work for, and that music is not available for further sync licensing.