Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So when I was much younger, I would go on youtube to search for music in video games. These would be done by recording it through an IPod or MP3 player mic (the quality was terrible). I'm thinking of trying it again but I kind of feel weird doing it. Would it be alright to keep doing this or would it just be stealing? One more thing I should mention. If there is an available soundtrack for the game music I'm looking for, I will buy it instead of recording it. Really, this is only for game music that doesn't have a soundtrack to buy. So, would it be stealing?

I would say that if it's impossible to purchase the soundtrack then downloading it is ok. You could also get better quality by using a youtube converter of some description rather than recording it on a mic.

It's still stealing. That's pretty unarguable.

Whether or not you're OKAY with stealing in those circumstances is up to you. Me? I'm totally sanguine. In your described scenario, steal away.

I would agree with Corpses. Lots of game soundtracks don't get released at all, and when they do they become increasingly harder to find as a years go on. It is stealing, but generally my philosophy is that if I'd never pay $$$ for it anyway (I will never buy manga, so I suffer no qualms steaming it over the internet) or I can't acquire it in the US I will rip it off youtube. There are several MP3 converters on the net that just need a URL and will convert the file for you.

Well, the quality is horrendous, and I'd feel pretty bad about that.

If its on youtube by people.. id generally say its a non issue as they couldnt post it on there in the first place if it wasnt legal to record it.

 Spyder68 wrote:
If its on youtube by people.. id generally say its a non issue as they couldnt post it on there in the first place if it wasnt legal to record it.

By that logic most things should be legal to steal.

And yeah when it comes to game soundtracks, unless they released an official soundtrack theres no other way of getting it in the first place, unless you want to go through the trouble of extracting the files from the game.

You can use software like goldwave to record directly from your sound card. So it's quality is however high the uploaded video is. There's also one called free maker YouTube or something along those lines that does the same thing.

And I'd say If you feel weird about it, find a way to donate to the creator of the music in some fashion.

Anyone can post anything on YouTube. They only remove stuff for copyright if there has been a complaint. The proprietor of the music may not be aware it is on YouTube without his permission, so you can't take its presence as permission.

The originator of the music is not obliged to make it available for purchase or download. Technically you are violating the copyright to make a copy.

That is the official position.

I've done it. I got the music to Age of Empires II a while back. Used a youtube downloader and put it on a disc. Probably not legal but they don't have any other way to get it.