Seeking Permission to use Stardew Valley music

[Thales]

Hello everyone!

I'm a big fan of the Stardew Valley game, especially the music; I actually found the game from first hearing the music .

As an artist and illustrator myself, I've created an art book project which I am planning to raise money to get published through Kickstarter. The book has nothing to do with Stardew Valley, but has an overall mysterious, contemplative, old-world feeling which I felt was matched perfectly by the music from the Night Market scene in the game. For the promotional video for my Kickstarter campaign I want to use the Night Market music in the background, but want to get Concerned Ape/Mr. Barone's permission to use it first.

So far I tried to contact Mr. Barone through email at [email protected] and [email protected]. I sent the emails about a week ago or more. I know he's probably super busy especially with the announcement of his new game and everything, so I'm not meaning to be impatient or expect that he has to respond at all. I was just wondering if anyone knew if those contact email addresses are working or if there is a better/alternative way to contact him to talk about getting permission to use the piece of music.

Thanks!!

 

[HomeintheValley12]

If you don't end up getting permission perhaps you can find royalty-free music or something like that that has the same "vibe" to it.

 

[Laissez_Faire_Farming]

These are related to streaming music and rights to use his materials.

Spoiler: Streamers

Spoiler: Twitch

https://twitter.com/concernedape/status/1341814074376482817?lang=en

 

[Thales]

If you don't end up getting permission perhaps you can find royalty-free music or something like that that has the same "vibe" to it.

Thanks for mentioning that! I looked into it and there is a bunch of sites where you can get royalty free music, even ones that cater to people doing crowdfunding and promotional videos. I'll have to spend some time going through it all. I might find something that works, though it will be tough; the Night Market track works perfectly. Thanks again.

 

[Thales]

These are related to streaming music and rights to use his materials.

Spoiler: Streamers

View attachment 7125

Spoiler: Twitch

View attachment 7124

https://twitter.com/concernedape/status/1341814074376482817?lang=en

Thanks for posting that. Concerned Ape seems pretty cool about letting people use his music without direct permission for every instance. I've seem him say people could use it on you tube and twitch when showing them playing the game, but I wasn't sure how he'd feel about using the music for something unrelated to the game. That last tweet about someone using it for their homestead vlog shed slight on that. It sounds like he would be okay with me using it.

I can understand him maybe not wanting people to use his music with objectionable or controversial content, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing offensive about my book project. It's mostly about philosophy, ethics, and symbolism. I will be sure to give Concerned Ape/Eric Barone credit somewhere in my campaign or at the end of the video for the music, and send him a copy of the book if I get the funding.

 

[Laissez_Faire_Farming]

I am speaking about controversial content. It is safe to stay neutral. What I mean by that is that...
I understand that many young people are into shock value. – I am not against it.

I remember that Pepe the frog used to be the most beloved meme character on the Internet in the past.
Suddenly, this image became so political.
His creator had no choice to destroy Pepe, the frog.
I want to mention it is because I want to encourage everyone to be mindful...

 

[HomeintheValley12]

Thanks for posting that. Concerned Ape seems pretty cool about letting people use his music without direct permission for every instance. I've seem him say people could use it on you tube and twitch when showing them playing the game, but I wasn't sure how he'd feel about using the music for something unrelated to the game. That last tweet about someone using it for their homestead vlog shed slight on that. It sounds like he would be okay with me using it.

I can understand him maybe not wanting people to use his music with objectionable or controversial content, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing offensive about my book project. It's mostly about philosophy, ethics, and symbolism. I will be sure to give Concerned Ape/Eric Barone credit somewhere in my campaign or at the end of the video for the music, and send him a copy of the book if I get the funding.

Since your project will be sold eventually (I'm guessing) sometimes it's better to not use licensed stuff. Maybe for something that's not being sold or more related to Stardew, but I don't know if it's the best idea for a sold product. Just to be safe and not risk getting involved in a copyright issue I'd just wait and see what ConcernedApe or someone involved with Stardew's licensing has to say about it.

 

[Thales]

Since your project will be sold eventually (I'm guessing) sometimes it's better to not use licensed stuff. Maybe for something that's not being sold or more related to Stardew, but I don't know if it's the best idea for a sold product. Just to be safe and not risk getting involved in a copyright issue I'd just wait and see what ConcernedApe or someone involved with Stardew's licensing has to say about it.

I think you're right and that's where my mind is going as well. As much as I'd like to use the music, I'd rather be safe than run into any problem down the road. Maybe ConcernedApe will respond and grant permission at some point, but for the time being I'll just remove the soundtrack from my video and look for other music. My Kickstarter campaign doesn't launch for another couple weeks so I have some time to figure it out.

If you happen to be interested in what my project is about, you can learn about it here (you'll see the promo video I've been talking about, but I removed the soundtrack):
https://www.mgenovaart.com/emblembookproject

Thanks again for your helpful advice!