Clarification on Licensing for Musescore Basic sounds
I've been looking into licensing for the Musescore basic sounds and the license around using music made with musescore soundfonts as part of a commercial project (a video game). I believe the EULA for Muse Sounds allows commercial use as long as you're using it to make music (https://musescore.org/en/node/344132), but as the files in MS Basic.sf3 are not provided by the same agreement I would assume it would not apply.
There is a MS Basic_License.md file in the sound folder of musescore alongside, the MS Basic.sf3 file, which I assume is intended to be a License for the soundfont, but the License is from 2020 and refers to MuseScore_General.sf2 which I assume is an outdated name for the soundfont.
My question is, does the exported audio from the MS Basic.sf3 need to be accompanied by licensing information or not as per the MIT license of the soundfont or the GNU license of musescore or is the exported audio not considered a derivative work (of either musescore or the soundfont) and therefore not requiring licensing, if that is even how it works?
Thanks in advance for anyone who can help.
Comments
As far as I know, no one who posts here is a lawyer (tell me if I'm wrong!). This is really a question you should be putting to a lawyer specializing in copyright issues. Trusting legal advice from random, anonymous people on the Internet is ... not wise :-)
In reply to As far as I know, no one who… by TheHutch
Thanks, yeah very prepared to take everything said with caution but thought it was worth posting as there may be others with similar concerns and that previous post did get to the bottom of the eula concerns. Hoping there might be someone who's involved in the musescore project that knows about that license file, as its still in the current musescore build or someone who has a bit of experience of using sound fonts might know about whether or not they need to be licensed or someone who's used the soundfont or license before.
In reply to Thanks, yeah very prepared… by fraserwaddell
I found a good idea that you posted this question here. i have the same doubts as you about the use of the sounfonts used in MuseScore. I also are not lowyer, but I think in the MuseScore' handbook should be a capitel explaining the licences clauses when using the soundfonts (Basic am Muse Sounds) for the different purposes:
a) Using the soundfonts in compositions or music for personal use only, not to be sold or use in any commercial way.
b) Use in a composition to be sold or to be use with commercial purposes.
In any case I think the content of the files .sf2 or .sf3 with the soundfonts cannot be "reengenering" .i.e. taking part of them and using a "single sounds/instrument" or part, for privat o commercial use. I think, I can not extract a sigle "sound" of the Basis Sound library and include it in my new created instrument.
Maybe I am wrong.
For sure if one works on a project which could become "commercial" it would be very important the opinion of a specialist lowyer.
In reply to I found a good idea that you… by puggbma
No information posted here would be of the slightest use in more than one country. It would not even be more than mildly useful even in that one country. This website is not a place to even ask for legal advice and it should not offer any. If the website, or any individual here were to offer legal advice--even with the caveat of IANAL--they could be liable to being sued or, in some jurisdictions, even arrested.
You shouldn't offer legal advice here, nor should you ask for it, nor should you expect to find it.
In reply to I found a good idea that you… by puggbma
Thanks for that idea, I had a look at the handbook and did manage to find this (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/soundfonts-and-sfz-files) which has a list of soundfonts including Musescore General.sf2, and what appears to me to be a matching license, which I to this point haven't been able to find. I know nothing about liable so as per TheHutch, maybe best not to have discussion or advice on the legal side of this.
It would be really good however if anyone from musescore sees this if the github and musescore 4 downloads included an up to date license for the current MS Basic.sf3 files, which would save confused people like me having to ask stupid/awkward questions. I think in every place the license appears its the same text for the Musescore General.sf2 just with the file name changed and not the text, so I have no idea if that would be considered a valid license.
If anyone finds this somehow there's another forum page from when the soundfont was being made that contains discussion on licensing, including concerns raised similar to mine, which might make interesting reading for anyone with similar concerns - https://musescore.org/en/node/269869. Obviously, again, not legal advice, but there is context to the creation of the Musescore General soundfont and its licensing.
In reply to If anyone finds this somehow… by fraserwaddell
My tldr summary as someone who is definitely not a lawyer or even particularly legally informed would be;
Musescore is released under the GPL which allows use but any derivative products are required to be released under the same license. A recording using the soundfonts in musescore could be considered derivative which would mean the GPL would not allow you to release that recording unless under GPL. I think musescore intend you to be able to own the recordings made with musescore basic not under the GPL, (and say on the website that you own the recordings made with musescore), but when it was discussed on the above thread S. Christian Collins who made the Musescore General release decided to release it under MIT, I believe with the intention it could be used under the terms of the MIT license without using the GPL, although that license has not been updated since that release so I dont know if it applies to musescore basic or even to any particular version of musescore general.
I suspect this all mostly pointless and any way would be fine because everyone involved probably wants you to be able to use it but I dont know and I suspect that no one really knows 100%.
In reply to My tldr summary as someone… by fraserwaddell
What about the FAQ is unclear?
Consider this from the FAQ section.
Can I use MuseScore commercially?
Yes, you can.
MuseScore does not impose any ownership or license on your work, whether it's sheet music, exported audio files or the .mscz files themselves. What you make is entirely your own creation and you decide what to do with it,