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© 2010 Christian Andersson - Craze Music Productions. Copyright and All Rights Reserved.
My work is registered at Swedish Musicians' Union and STIM - the Swedish Performing Rights Society.










Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How does music licensing work?

Question: What does 'Non-Exclusive License' mean?

Question: What is an 'Exclusive license'? Can I buy your songs with Exclusive license?

Question: I am making an indie game. Should I buy a Non-Exclusive License, knowing it could be used in other games/films/ads/whatever?

Question: What if I like one of your songs, and I want to make it exclusive for my game, but I can't pay a full Exclusive License?

Question: If I ask you to write a completely new song for, me... Will I get the Exclusive License rights on it automatically?

Question: Can your work be used with contracts of the type 'Works made for Hire'?

Question: For how long is the license valid if I buy a song from you?

Question: If I buy a song, can I then use it on multiple game platforms?

Question: Why don't you have your songs in WAV format on your site?

Question: Why don't you have your songs in .ogg format?

Question: Why don't you have your songs in MIDI format? Can you convert your songs to MIDI?

Question: Can you convert MIDI to mp3 format? How much would the cost be?

Question: Why should I buy/license music from you?

Question: Why should I trust you when making a deal?

Question: I would assume a professional site like yours to contain many more songs. Why don't you have more to offer?

Question: Why do the prices on YouLicense-QuickLicense and AudioSparx differ a lot?

Question: What is the difference between the contracts offered at different sites?

Question: You say that Indie Game Developers can get lower prices. Why is that? How can I know that I am an Indie Developer?

Question: You say that you can re-work and prolong existing songs FREE OF COST? How come? No one works for free.

Question: I want to buy a song from YouLicense, but what if I don't like the contract?

Question: I like the contract at YouLicense, but there are just a few things missing. Do I have to write a completely new contract and offer you that?

Question: What if I select at YouLicense that I will use the song for a web clip, to get it cheap, and then instead I use it for my game?

Question: What if I plainly steal your music?

Question: What if claim to be the original writer of one of your songs?

Question: Can you tell me more of your previous deals and sales and what prices I can expect?

Question: You have many dark and gothic songs. Are you depressed?

Question: Do I have to pay royalties?

Question: I have read your stories on your "New Music" page. Do you write the story before the song, or the other way around?

Question: It is some nice art that you illustrate your songs with. Did you paint all those yourself?

Question: I paid for the song at YouLicense through PayPal, but I can't find the 'Download Song' page.

Question: How does music licensing work?

Answer:
For the standard Non-Exclusive License, you pay a one-time license fee to use my song 100% legally in your production. You are then permitted to make money a your production containing my work - that is really what the license fee is all about. You want to make money using something that I have produced. So you pay a license fee for using my work for commercial purposes. There is no time limit on the license - you can use the music as long as you want in your production. For Exclusive License, see corresponding topic in this FAQ section. Note that if you want to use my work for other than commercial purposes, but still in public situations, like free web sites, on a local free museum exhibition, etc, it is per default NOT allowed, but if you contact me, I might authorize that kind of usage.


Question: What does 'Non-Exclusive License' mean?

Answer:
The 'Non-Exclusive License' means that after you have purchased the right to use the song with your production, the song is still available to other customers. In the music industry, it is very common with Non-Exclusive Licenses. You will see that this is really THE standard type of contract for film/TV, ads, theathres, museums, etc. For the video game industry, it is very common for Indie Games (as they have a smaller budget), and less common for huge game productions (as they have a larger budget). You can read more about Non-Exclusive licenses on the YouLicense site.


Question: What is an 'Exclusive license'? Can I buy your songs with Exclusive license?

Answer:
You can order NEW songs using the Exclusive License. This license will be more expensive, since I cannot make money on this song ever again after such a deal. I can't offer the song to any other customers.

For my existing songs, I can't give you Exclusive License on them in their current shape. All my songs are available for sale at several professional music agencies.
But no worries, mate: it can be solved. I can make modifications to the existing song of your interest, and then it can be licensed as new derivative work exclusively for you.
You will then have a song that will be unique for your project, and you will have the exclusive license on it (and it will be MUCH cheaper than ordering a completely new song!).


Question: I am making an indie game. Should I buy a Non-Exclusive License, knowing it could be used in other games/films/ads/whatever?

Answer:
For an indie game, I'd say this is really the typical Non-Exclusive License case. There is a very small risk that someone recognizes the tune. I would say that buying a non-exclusive license from me would be pretty original, as I am not one of the major dealers of non-exclusive music and sound loops. And even if someone would recognize it, it's not a big thing. People are only paying maybe 1€ - 20€ to buy your indie game. They will not expect it to have 100% exclusive music. It is much more important that the music fits well with your game. The big game/movie publishers, aiming to sell >10 000 or even > 100 000 copies that will cost 20€-100€, will likely use the Exclusive License or "Works made for Hire" contracts, where they
A) use artists that spend hundreds or thousands of working hours to write tailor made music
B) buy songs with Exclusive License which could cost thousands of dollars
as these big companies will have a much larger budget, allowing them to spend much more on their sound track.


Question: What if I like one of your songs, and I want to make it exclusive for my game, but I can't pay a full Exclusive License?

Answer:
No problem. I could re-write part of the song, exclusively for your game, for example changing the ending, the beginning, etc, I could preserve the things you like from the original song and improve it with some things that you want to have. Our deal would then include that I will never offer this specific exclusive additions to any one else. Then you will have a song, similar to one of my existing songs, but tailor made and exclusive for your game, but to a much lower cost than a full exclusive license of the original song.


Question: If I ask you to write a completely new song for, me... Will I get the Exclusive License rights on it automatically?

Answer:
That will be part of our price negotiation to settle these conditions. You probably could if you pay a little more, or you will get a lower price if you allow me to sell it non-exclusively. Of course, we could also enter into deals like "During 1 year, I am not allowed to sell it to others, but after that (when your game has been sold in x thousand copies), I am allowed to start selling it." The negotiation options are infinite - it's totally up to us to decide. :-)


Question: Can your work be used with contracts of the type 'Works made for Hire'?

Answer:
Yes. We can enter into such a deal. It means that I will work for you for limited time to produce music that you will own.


Question: For how long is the license valid if I buy a song from you?

Answer:
There is no time limit in the YouLicense contract. You can use it as long as you like.


Question: If I buy a song, can I then use it on multiple game platforms?

Answer:
The YouLicense contract allows negotiations for more than one platform. If the initial contract is for 1 platform, and then later on, you decide to release the game on other platforms, contact me through mail, and I will likely give you a discount for using it on another platform.


Question: Why don't you have your songs in WAV format on your site?

Answer:
All my songs are already uploaded to YouLicense in both mp3 and WAV format. WAV files take a lot of space, so that is why I don't store them on my own site. You will get the WAV file if you buy the song from YouLicense.


Question: Why don't you have your songs in .ogg format?

Answer:
I have chosen mp3 because it is a common format. If you need OGG format, you can convert the WAV file yourself, or I can help you to convert it for free.


Question: Why don't you have your songs in MIDI format? Can you convert your songs to MIDI?

Answer:
It is not trivial to convert my songs to MIDI. It requires that I rewrite the song since most of my instrument libraries do not work in MIDI format. Songs in MIDI format is an older technology and the problem with MIDI is that one MIDI song can sound very different depending on the quality of the sound hardware where the song is played. If you need MIDI format of a song, I can re-write the song for MIDI. See the Services page for more info.


Question: Can you convert MIDI to mp3 format? How much would the cost be?

Answer:
Yes, absolutely. See the Services page for more info.


Question: Why should I buy/license music from you?

Answer:
Here are some reasons: So... can you get a personal relation and negotiate with a major license shops or can you negotiate prices directly with a personal contact at their sites? It will be tough. In the end, of course, it's up to you and if you like my music and style. I hope you do, and I hope that I can be part of your great production, making it a huge success. :-)


Question: Why should I trust you when making a deal?

Answer:
Here are some very credible reasons:

Question: I would assume a professional site like yours to contain many more songs. Why don't you have more to offer?

Answer:
I have more songs, but I don't publish all of them here. Some of my songs have not been made public because of deals with the buyers. Some of my songs do not fit my "brand" as a music writer of mostly orchestral music, even if they are OK in their own genre. I constantly work to write more songs and the number of songs on my site will increase continuously.


Question: Why do the prices on YouLicense-QuickLicense and AudioSparx differ a lot?

Answer:
All sites have their own business models. Some sites take 50%-65% of the sales price in a commission fee. The YouLicense price is a "Quick License Default Price Package", decided by YouLicense. It is there to make it extremely fast and simple for you to buy a song without my involvement. However, if you don't like the price or contract format, you can select the "Make an Offer" option. I am very open to all kinds of negotiations depending on your budget and usage of the song and I will always accept a price that is 25% lower than the corresponding AudioSparx price for the same song.


Question: What is the difference between the contracts offered at YouLicense and AudioSparx?

Answer:
To get the latest up to date contract, it is best that you read through them yourself. Please, visit the corresponding site to check the current contract details. Note that the YouLicense contract is just a default contract and can be overridden with your own contract or complemented with an addendum if you want to add/remove options to that contract. I have a YouLicense addendum template where I can add options to your liking.


Question: You say that Indie Game Developers can get lower prices. Why is that? How can I know that I am an Indie Developer?

Answer:
If you ask, you are probable an indie game developer. :-)
Indie Game Developers are typically individual programmers or small teams without financing from a publisher or big game house. Many independent game developers often have a very low budget and cannot afford to spend 200-600€ for only one song. Even if I don't make much money on deals with indie game developers, I will get credits in the game and some new and interesting relations in the industry which is also valuable. And you will get some great songs! :-)


Question: You say that you can re-work and prolong existing songs FREE OF COST? How come?

Answer:
Of course, it depends on what the offer is on the song. If you want to use a song for a web clip, giving me 6€, you probably can't expect me to completely re-work a song and make it 2 minutes longer. ;-)
But of course, smaller things like making it fade in/out in a nice way. On the other hand, if you pay well for a song, you can expect me to do quite a lot of things to make that song fit for your project.
As a general "rule of thumb", I'd say that if you pay 50-200€ to license an existing song, I am willing to spend up to 1 full working day for free to remix/adapt/evolve the song to suit your needs.


Question: I want to buy a song from YouLicense, but what if I don't like the contract?

Answer:
You can select "Make an Offer" and replace the contract with your own. However, the YouLicense contract is written by professional lawyers, and it is designed to give both buyer and seller a fair and legal protection.
I prefer to use the YouLicense as a base contract, and then prepare an addendum contract for you, granting you whatever extra rights that you are looking for.
I have several "addendum templates" from previous customer deals where this "YouLicense Base + Addendum" business model has been used.


Question: I like the contract at YouLicense, but there are just a few things missing. Do I have to write a completely new contract and offer you that?

Answer:
Not at all. On the contrary, I prefer that we use the YouLicense contract as a base, and on top of that, I will write an "Addendum" with extra rights.
If you miss something in the YouLicense contract, or if something is unclear, I have prepared an addendum where I can grant/clarify additional rights.
I will then sign this addendum and send you a photocopy of it. This model is simple, fast and safe, and have already been used in many of my license deals.


Question: What if I select at YouLicense that I will use the song for a web clip, to get it cheap, and then instead I use it for my game?

Answer:
Please don't. The default contract at YouLicense grants the seller of the music the right to get information from the buyer about where and how the music is used. The worst case would be a lawsuit for breach of contract, and nobody wants that. If you want a lower price for the song to be used in your great game, let's have a negotiation instead, and very likely, you will get a great deal.


Question: What if I steal your music by not paying the license fee?

Answer:
I offer my music for you in full length and high quality to enjoy for private purposes. You could even use it in your private production when you try it out before licensing.
However, you may not under any circumstances, without licensing contract or written permission, use the free downloaded music with your product to
- directly or indirectly make any money on it
- use it on public web sites, such as your own, or flash game sites sponsored by ads, etc
- use it in any public situations without my authorization

By providing all this music in high quality, free for private listening in addition to providing prices down to 10€ a song, I am giving you a lot of possibilities knowing that I have spent thousands of Euros/Dollars on equipment to buy the best tools on the market, putting all my time into making this music. The music is not just a hobby for me: it is what I try to make a living on. So instead of you ending up in court, or forcing me to protect all my material by not publishing the high quality music here, let's build a great relation, discuss your needs and make a great game/film/whatever together!

(It can be useful to know that my music is partly owned by STIM, the Swedish Performing Arts Organization, meaning that I will not have to protect my music, as a private person, hiring lawyers an all that. Through STIM, I've got a full staff of lawyers up my sleeve to protect the music, always ready to press law suits against illegal users. However, I both hope and believe that it will never come down to nasty things like that.)


Question: What if claim to be the original writer of one of your songs?

Answer:
When I complete a new song, it is immediately registered at the Swedish Musicians' Union by sending my CD with all materials, projects and rendered sound files in all possible formats. It gets a time stamp and the CD is stored there for future reference. This means the music is protected my international copyright law of equal strength and level with for example U.S. Copyright law. The song is also registered with STIM, the Swedish Performing Rights Organization (immediately upon creation the artistic work is co-owned by STIM). So if this would become a problem, we would need to find out who wrote the song first. It could of course happen that I have written a song that was already written by someone else, and vice versa. It sometimes happens in this industry, and then we will just have to sort things out in a civilized and peaceful manner by contacting the necessary legal authorities, checking the dates of compositions, etc. Hopefully, it will never happen, but one never knows.


Question: Can you tell me more of your previous deals and sales and what prices I can expect?

Answer:
I will soon publish a page containing some of my most recent projects. I cannot disclose all details about customers, previous prices and deals. This is both for the sake of my clients, but also part of keeping a solid business model, not sharing all the details with all the other extremely skilled musicians competing for the jobs in this business. But if you have any more questions, feel free to mail me at craze@craze.se to ask any questions you like and I will answer them as good as I can.


Question: You have many dark and gothic songs. Are you depressed?

Answer:
No, not at all. Dark songs are fascinating and exciting. I have played many video games that offer this kind of dark and exciting atmosphere, like Gothic 3, Daggerfall, Oblivion, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Dragon Age Origins, Age of Conan, Ultima 8 & 9, etc. Most of these games have both dark and bright songs and very melodic, dramatic and beautiful themes. That is why I also try to make my own songs interesting, melodic and exciting! And I also have some bright and happy songs... :-)


Question: Do I have to pay royalties?

Answer:
As a producer or a game developer, you shouldn't need to worry about this. The game developer, film producer or a TV-show producer would typically not pay any royalties, as the production itself does not publish the intellectual property. When applicable, royalties are usually paid by the distribution channels, which would be the TV-channel or the cinema that broadcasts/shows the production. For games, it could be iTunes, paying a yearly amount of money for their right to stream all their music and sell all their games that contain music. So... as long as you don't represent a TV channel, a cinema distributor or likewise, I'd say the answers is no. However, if you are a major game publisher (not talking about indie game developers), you may have the distributing role that I mention above which is why you may be interested in a "Works made for Hire" contract.


Question: I have read your stories on your "New Music" page. Do you write the story before the song, or the other way around?

Answer:
It can be both ways actually. Most common is that the music comes to into existence by itself, and in that way, the music tells me a story that I try to envision and then I write it down. "Night Walk in Sleeping Town", "Rejoice in Triumph" are examples of that. The song "Catacombs of Unrest" came into existence at the same time as I started the story. Then I finished writing the story, and only then did I know how to finish the song. :-) However, my story is not THE story. If you associate my songs with something else, it's great that you can envision your own story, maybe completely different! That's what great and exciting about music. We all have our own perceptions and associations when we hear something new. Feel free to share your stories with me!


Question: It is some nice art that you illustrate your songs with. Did you paint all those yourself?

Answer:
I try to find a picture on the net that matches the mood of my song, and then I try to get in touch with the artist to ask for a written permission to use a miniature of their art on my New Music Page (which is a non-commercial page with free downloads of my songs). I also link to the artist's page when I can find it. I actually bought a huge full size picture, 1 x 0.5 square meters, from an artist whose work I was allowed to use. (Michael Fishel - check out his art at www.michaelfishel.com! I have his painting on the wall in our living room. :-) If you are one of those artists yourself and believe that I have not got written permission from you, or if you think I have misused your work or if you have a web link to your page that I should add, please contact me and I will take care of that immediately. Of course, if you are one of the artist's whose work I use here, you are also free to use my music on your art page to promote your art. But please get in touch with me first so I can prepare the songs for you without the need to go through YouLicense.


Question: I paid for the song at YouLicense through PayPal, but I can't find the 'Download Song' page.

Answer:
You receive a mail with a link to the Song Request page (mail header: "YouLicense - Payment accepted for 'SongXyz'").
You can visit this link anytime to download the song versions.

Should you still have problems to find the download page, contact me, and I will send the song to you as soon as I can.


© 2010 Christian Andersson - Craze Music Productions. Copyright and All Rights Reserved.
Contact me for feedback, business opportunties, etc:
Phone: +46739583855, Email: craze@craze.se


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