Most of my music, stems, and artwork are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License and will be marked as such with the tag "CC BY-NC-SA" where applicable. Most of my music is safe to use on platforms like YouTube with no risk of revenue sharing or takedowns and will be marked with the tag "YouTube Safe" where applicable. Here are some examples and exemptions I would like to make in addition to the CC license… 1. As per the license, you may use my music in any not-for-profit sense. Wanna share my music with a friend, file-sharing community, or the internet at large? Go right ahead! I’m happy that you find my work valuable enough to share with others. My only requirement is that you attribute me correctly. 2. In addition to the license, you may use my music in a for-profit sense in the specific case of background music for YouTube videos and live streams. I will not use any form of content recognition system to take away your ability to run ads on content you create using my music. (except “Drowning” which I have no control over – explained below) All I ask in return is you credit me and link to my website when reasonable. (I know it’s hard to do/unreasonably inconvenient for live streams, so it’s not a huge deal for me) 3. As per the license, you have my blessing and encouragement to make remixes/covers of my music in a not-for-profit sense. However, should you desire to release a remix/cover of my work through for-profit channels (such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), reach out to me and I’ll come up with a very favorable deal for you that also protects my (our?) music from the dangers of content recognition systems. I appreciate that you have found inspiration in my work and I want to do my best to enable you to express yourself through it. Again, attribution is appreciated using a format like this: Shaping The Silence – SongName – (YourName remix/cover). 4. I will make additional exemptions as requested. If you want to use my music in a way that I didn’t make clear here, please reach out to me on Discord. I’d love to figure something out with you! Some additional notes… I will be SUPREMELY upset if anything created using my work ends up in a content recognition system. These systems are broken, corrupt, and stifle creativity. If you sample my music or use any part of my stems in your own productions, you MAY NOT place that content under any kind of content recognition system such as YouTube’s Content-ID, Twitch Soundtrack, Facebook/Instagram distribution or any other similar system. To do so is not only immoral, but a violation of copyright law. If you would like to sample my works in your own creations, please reach out to me before you release it. I can help by listening to it and figuring out the best way to avoid the pitfalls of copyright while still allowing you to benefit from your work. If you sample my music in your own productions, I ask that you credit me as a featured artist. (feat. Shaping The Silence) Should you want to profit from that work, I ask that you reach out to me so I can ensure that the way you do it doesn’t involve any content recognition systems. It’s easy to accidentally get into them, so I want to help you avoid that. About “Drowning” and why it affects my view on content recognition systems… Back in 2013, I released the original version of “Drowning” on a compilation. I gave the organizer the right to distribute that song for me, but he does not own the copyright. In the years since, I didn’t give it much thought, but when I started remaking the song, I ended up getting copyright strikes on my live streams where I worked on it. This was despite the fact that the song had changed key, the vocals had been re-recorded and the entire production had been overhauled. I’ve tried reaching out to the guy in charge of it, but he doesn’t think it’s a big deal and frankly doesn’t seem to give a crap about the whole thing. Legally, I own the copyright and have every right to have that removed, but I don’t think it’s worth the time, energy, and money to get legal with it. If you want to use “Drowning” on YouTube, do be aware you will get ads placed on your video by that guy. You may dispute the claim citing this web page as proof that you have my permission to use it, but I cannot guarantee that he will allow the counter claim through. I hope you understand. This is why I have such a strong view on content recognition systems. It doesn’t matter if you make a remix, cover, or anything using a part of my song. If you put it under such a system, all works including mine and other remixes and covers will get recognized and claimed. This takes away the opportunity for others to use my music the way I want them to and in that way is a strong violation against me and others in a moral and legal sense. Please don’t mess around with this stuff. I am more than happy to work with you. Any more questions? Let me know! [email protected] https://discord.gg/skyefm4a3x
