About licenses

You will find 3 types of licenses available on the tracks at IndieGameMusic.com. They are explained here.

It's important to note, that you are not buying the rights to the track. You are only buying a resale license, which gives you permission to use the track in your commercial game. The author is still the owner of the track.

Common for all these license types is, that the track is offered as it is. You are not allowed to manipulate tracks in any way - not even by creating your own mp3 version of an xm or midi file. You will have to get individual permission from the artist before doing so.

Finding a track you like does not give you permission to use the track in your production. You must mail the author, request the track and get a permission first. The reason for this is, that some artists don't want their music in productions that are against their belief, e.g. racism etc.

Freeware license

Tracks available with a freeware license are free to use if your game is freeware, and you do not make money on the game. So if you're doing a freeware game, and find a track offered with a freeware license, you may be allowed to use this track in your game. But you must request the track and get permission from the author before using it.

You may find tracks that are offered with a freeware license, but not available to download in its original format. The reason for these cases are often that the track is also offered for non-exclusive resale or even exclusive resale, and the author wants to make sure no one uses it without paying.

If your game is free to play, but funded by ads, it is not considered freeware. A freeware license offer is valid only if you do not make money on your game. Donations excepted.

Summary for freeware license:

You may use the track in freeware productions
You may NOT earn profit from the game in any way, e.g. by selling the game or have an income from ads
You may NOT edit or manipulate this track in any way. Contact author to request edits
You may NOT convert this track into another file type, e.g. from XM to MP3 or from MIDI to MP3. Contact author to request other file types.

Non-exclusive resale license

If you're planning on selling your game, and you're on a low budget, you should find the non-exclusive resale license attractive. If a track is offered with a non-exclusive resale license, you may be allowed to use the track in your game and sell the game unlimited. You must request the track and get permission from the author before using it.

A non-exclusive resale license is rather cheap compared to an exclusive license, because other game-developers may purchase the same non-exclusive resale license for the same track, and use the same track in their game.

You may find tracks at IndieGameMusic.com offered for free with a non-exclusive resale license. That means you may be alowed to use the track for free in your commercial game.

If you find a track you like, that is offered both non-exclusively and exclusively - do not hesitate requesting the track. You'll risk that another game-developer purchases the exclusive license first, making the track unavailable to you.

Summary for non-exclusive resale license:

You may use this track in your commercial game and sell an unlimited number of copies
You may use this track in any material related to your game
You may use this track in ONE production only, meaning only one game. (If you wish to use it in a 2nd game, you'll need to purchase a license again).
You may NOT edit or manipulate this track in any way. Contact author to request edits
You may NOT convert this track into another file type, e.g. from XM to MP3 or from MIDI to MP3. Contact author to request other file types.

Exclusive resale license

If you're planning on selling your game, and would like your game to be unique, you should look for tracks offered with an exclusive resale license. When buying an exclusive resale license of a track, it will be removed from IndieGameMusic.com and not offered for other game-developers ever again. Because of this, the exclusive resale license is more expensive than a non-exclusive resale license.

When browsing tracks at IndieGameMusic.com you will find some tracks that are offered both non-exclusively and exclusively. This only means that no one has used the track yet. When/if a game-developer purchase the non-exclusively resale license of the track, then the exclusive resale license becomes unavailable.

Summary for exclusive resale license:

You may use this track in your commercial game and sell an unlimited number of copies
You may use this track in any material related to your game
You may use this track in many productions, meaning multiple games, but only your own games.
You may NOT edit or manipulate this track in any way. Contact author to request edits
You may NOT convert this track into another file type, e.g. from XM to MP3 or from MIDI to MP3. Contact author to request other file types.

Remember, it's always considered good practice to credit the author on a Credits page in your game. Especially if you got the music for free.