I wasn't sure about this and couldn't really find the necisary info on this so...

Is it ok if I use music (or a sample) from a popular band (in this case, Cure for the Itch by Linkin Park) in my map? I know that I can use the Portal music and I've seen people use Hamster's stuff while asking him for permission, but I just don't know about music by popular bands (The one's that I can't just ask).

Could someone help me with this confusion?

(PS: i do realize that Portal Prelude has songs from popular bands, but I just want to double check with you guys since you have a policy with copyrights and legal issues.)

Pretty sure there's no problem so long as you give credit to the band and not make profit off the map.

Duffedwaffe wrote:
not make profit off the map.

I wouldn't be doing that anyway because you guys are cool and don't make people pay for stuff.

Thanks for clearing that up.

To be completely safe, keep it at or under 30 seconds long. But you should be safe either way.

P.S. - Linkin Park is terrible.

Just because your map won't cost any money doesn't make it legit. There's a word for what you're talking about and it's "Fair Use". Look under Common Misunderstandings:

Wikipedia wrote:
Noncommercial use is invariably fair. Not true, though a judge may take the profit motive or lack thereof into account. In L.A. Times v. Free Republic, the court found that the noncommercial use of L.A. Times content by the Free Republic Web site was in fact not fair use, since it allowed the public to obtain material at no cost that they would otherwise pay for.

It is almost certainly outside the bounds of fair use to use the music, but it's also very unlikely that LP's music label will do anything about it. But as soon as they DMCA the site, the file comes down and never goes back up.

Ok. I'll just try to come up with my own music...

(wait, that's too hard)I'll find someone else to come up with music for me. That sounds like a better idea.

Stylinkyle wrote:
I'll find someone else to come up with music for me.

Paging Doctor Hamster, Doctor Hamster Alliance.

You are free to use music by independent artists, put on the internet for free, as long as you credit them. Those artists fall under a different copyright type, and they did that deliberately, because they see music as something that should be free. For example Nine Inch Nails or, it has been said before, mr. Hamst3r.

Ricotez wrote:
You are free to use music by independent artists, put on the internet for free, as long as you credit them.

I think it's worth noting that this is only if they explicitly release their work under an open license / copyright such as Creative Commons like Hamster does. I'm just saying, as long as I'm playing amateur lawyer: just because it's on the interwebs for free does not make it free to use.

But, yeah, good call Ric.

Stylinkyle wrote:
Ok. I'll just try to come up with my own music...

(wait, that's too hard)I'll find someone else to come up with music for me. That sounds like a better idea.

It;s not too hard to make your own music on the PC these days. Get Fruity Loops or Acid. No musical composition skills required and many samples are available free of charge and copyright.

I guess so. Then I can work on each together and have them work off each other. Music inspires game ideas that inspire music