pouët.net

This year, I started doing acapella (ish) recordings of songs I liked on youtube - lots of old gaming music, that sort of thing. Mostly I've been ok with just doing it because youtube has a reasonable content attribution system so original creators get covered for their works when there's derivative stuff made (or I've used stuff that's public domain or open, or old enough that mostly it doesn't matter too much).

But Demos are an interesting one for me - my preference is to make sure that creators are correctly attributed and nobody feels hard done by. The demoscene is something I grew up around so I guess I find it more important to get it right?

What should be done when trying to make covers of demoscene music? Do I just reach out to individual artists one by one?

The demoscene is OK with borrowing stuff as long as original authors are given credits. There's no need to inform artists beforehand when remixing another scener's song.

...and there's also a long history of borrowing stuff without even mentioning the original authors especially during the early days, so some people probably accept even that - but it's usually frowned upon so don't do that.

(You probably don't aim to make money but if you do, then I'd say it's good to discuss with the original authors.)

Yeah money isn't the real goal here. I just want to do stuff. If I ever get to the point where I'm able to monetise the channel it'll be my own stuff that I monetise.

And good to know - I suck at reading the room so it's good to ask sometimes :)

I would contact the original authors and ask for permission. Sometimes they don't agree with their music being used.

Yeah when you use it verbatim without credit. If you remix or reinterpret just give credit to the creator, that should be fine (I’m still so sorry Saga and Bacter 🥺)

When I did my amiga-acapella-medley I contacted the authors beforehand. I think it's just a sign of good manners. But I understand that it's sometimes hard to reach people who are not active in the demoscene anymore.

at least you should "credit" the producer of the soundtrack. If you use it for commercial stuff its a must in my eyes to ask for permission and also give credits and also donate some money if possible.

You could also advice them how to find psychological help if your remix (or your proposition to make a remix) causes anxiety or other uneasy states in them.

I don't personally have to be informed; all of my tunes one can find can be tweaked in any way wanted (non-commercially, if we are talking about monies then it's another talk) BUT i would also say it's good behaviour to ask, and in the past some people haven't been happy when their tunes were used without asking first.

Your *what*? Where can I find it? I'd love to hear that.

OK so question for people here: one of the songs I want to cover is Cream of the Earth (Cebit '90, Red Sector) - but I'm having trouble tracking down contact details for Romeo Knight. Anyone know how I could get in touch or can speak for them?

Amiga Cappella

You can try contacting Romeo Knight via Soundcloud.

That was a lot of fun :) thanks for the soundcloud suggestion, I'll give it a whirl.

Do it. Credit. Post a link.
Everyone is fine when its non commercial.

Once I get my glops up a bit you can believe I will :)

Hi there,

I'm actually pretty easy to find me on Facebook or Instagram, however, Serpent was kind enough to point me here.

Regarding myself, pretty everything that was stated is correct. Do your cover, just credit me, no actual need to ask for permission, anyway a notification or a link to the stuff you did is always appreciated (and might help spread it online).

If it comes to money it's a different story though but I see that's not the case. Have fun!