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Answerman - Are Cover Versions of Anime Songs Legal?




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TooLazyToComeUpWithaName



Joined: 05 Jun 2014
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:46 pm Reply with quote
What anime is the article cover?
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EmperorBrandon
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 04 Oct 2002
Posts: 2209
Location: Springfield, MO
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:49 pm Reply with quote
TooLazyToComeUpWithaName wrote:
What anime is the article cover?

Macross 7, if I'm not mistaken (never seen the series).
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Brand



Joined: 30 Jan 2006
Posts: 1028
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:49 pm Reply with quote
TooLazyToComeUpWithaName wrote:
What anime is the article cover?


It is Macross 7.
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Gemnist



Joined: 10 Feb 2016
Posts: 1754
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 4:11 pm Reply with quote
Wow, this was actually very helpful to know. Though it begs the question why almost all of them are switching to new instrumentation (I guess to make money off of it?). I actually really enjoy these covers, as long as they stay close to the instrumentation. Plus, some of these artists even do dub work later on (e.g. Amanda Lee, Morgan Berry, Nathan Sharp). Even some actual dub actors get in on it, such as Cristina Vee.
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xchampion



Joined: 21 Jan 2009
Posts: 370
Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 4:17 pm Reply with quote
What perfect timing to this question. I just discovered pellekofficial on youtube that does this very thing(He's awesome btw so check him out, especially if you like metal renditions). I was wondering if people like him needed permission to cover these songs. I just thought it fell under fair use, since it's their own versions, but I guess not.
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Rune Lai



Joined: 02 Nov 2016
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 4:55 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for answering this! I love covers and regarded them more or less as fanworks like fanart or fanfic, but got concerned when I started seeing them pop up on iTunes and Amazon, because that's more clearly a revenue stream on a legit service. In some cases I actually can't find the original Japanese version on iTunes but will find a dozen covers! And I figure some people will buy them just because they're the only version available.

I'm glad to hear that iTunes and Google Play ask for information so the composers can get their share of the payment. It's not as public a job as the singer/band performing the work so I'd hate for them get left out.
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Suena



Joined: 27 May 2012
Posts: 289
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 5:50 pm Reply with quote
Whenever there's a anime OP/ED song I really like, I usually check Amazon music at some point. It's pretty rare for the original song to be up for sale as an MP3, which is to be expected, but I almost always find a cheesy music-box-sounding cover of it. Now I know how people get the rights to do that.
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Lord Dcast



Joined: 07 Nov 2014
Posts: 644
Location: 'Straiya
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:04 pm Reply with quote
As a musician, I can safely say that at least in Australia this can apply for certain performances as well. If its a bar or a small gig then nobody really cares, however if its a festival often the big companies catch wind of it and ask for lists of songs that have been played and ask to be paid up.

This even happens with Jazz. I did a gig at the Manly Jazz Festival and they asked for a list of the songs we played so as to pay the respective companies.

On another note, once I uploaded a live big band performance and we were so close to the original it got taken down for copyright.
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DLH112



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 115
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:08 pm Reply with quote
Finally, after about 2 or 3 years I hear about what the Harry Fox Agency is. They had a BS audio copyright claim on one of my videos of me speedrunning zelda ocarina of time. The videos audio was just the game audio and a skype conversation. They claimed my video contained a song called Barcelona lol, and I couldn't do anything to fight it. luckily the strike eventually expired. Hearing that name still makes my blood boil a bit though.
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vision33r



Joined: 27 Oct 2008
Posts: 90
PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 6:33 pm Reply with quote
I don't think cover songs should be legal without permission. Because you are technically borrowing someone else's hardwork without permission for personal gain. Most record companies will send take down notices to anyone who doesn't have consent.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 11:54 pm Reply with quote
I'm actually curious now: With the Harry Fox route, how far are you allowed to remix a song? Can you take, say, a grunge song and make a waltz remix out of it?

I've been considering studying music theory and getting some equipment once I'm ready for it, because one thing I'd like to do is take existing songs and remix them into a genre far removed from the original.

vision33r wrote:
I don't think cover songs should be legal without permission. Because you are technically borrowing someone else's hardwork without permission for personal gain. Most record companies will send take down notices to anyone who doesn't have consent.


With that logic though, fanart would be illegal too.
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