The MUSIC BACK-PACK Library

Copyright Statement and Usage License

With music purchased from the MUSIC BACK-PACK Library, we include this license to cover the most commonly requested usages. It spells out what producers may and may not do with our copyrighted music.

© Copyright 1975-2016, Loch Ness Productions.

The music in this Library has been copyrighted by Loch Ness Productions. As the copyright owners, we have the right to make copies of our music, and authorize its public performance. In return for the license fee paid, we hereby grant you, the Licensee, permission to use the music in this library worldwide in perpetuity for your project's usages as defined below.

☑ YOU'RE COVERED...
Synchronization rights	You may edit and mix the music, synchronize visuals and narration, and add other sounds to create your own audio-visual productions.
In-house performance rights	Within your facility, you are authorized to publicly display your projects containing the music as often as you wish, and charge admission to the performances.
External distribution rights	The music may be incorporated into soundtracks produced for display outside your facility, for sale, or for commercial purposes. This includes feature films, commercials, games, and ringtones.
Internet and Web rights	The music may be incorporated into original productions you create for the Web and Internet.
Promotional rights	The music may be used in the context of your project's promotional purposes, such as public-service announcements and advertisements for the project.
Copies	You may make copies of any portion of the music that you need for your production purposes, and backup copies for archival purposes.

☒ YOU'RE NOT COVERED...
Broadcast rights	No portion of the library music may be played, performed, or broadcast as stand-alone music on radio, television, cable, intranet or the Internet.
Non-transfer of license	You may not resell, lend, share or give any portion of the library music to another individual or organization.

⍰ ONE REQUEST...
Screen credit	If you use our music in your production, we ask that you include an appropriately placed credit, such as: "Original Music by Mark C. Petersen, Loch Ness Productions"

Basically, any other usage of the music beyond what is outlined above requires our express permission. Special licensing terms may apply. So ask! Tell us what you want to do. We're reasonable people.

1. I can't afford the whole library, maybe just a few discs. Which ones would be good to start with?

The MUSIC BACK-PACK Library is compiled in roughly chronological order. Discs 1-3 are from the 1970s; 4-6 from the early '80s, and on up to the present day. We like to think we improve with age, so if you're just starting out, we suggest starting in the middle, say with Disc 8, then work your way up and down from there. Discs 10 and 11 have a "Native American" or "Southwest" flavor; discs 3 and 13 trend more toward stylistic sound effects and motifs over extended compositions for content.

We've given each Disc and track a name, and a short description that we feel fits the music. However, a title like "Asteroid Belt" doesn't mean that it can be used only when discussing asteroids. This particular piece makes for "scary" sounds, when played in total darkness on Halloween! How we envision using any piece may be quite different from what you might imagine.

People's ideas of what they like in music is so subjective, it's risky to make generalizations. Here's one example: synth pioneer Wendy Carlos did "Switched-On Bach" on analog gear in the late '60s, and redid it digitally as "Switched-on Bach 2000" twenty-five years later. There's a flamboyant exuberance to the original tracks, a very direct, "in-your-face" feel to the music, and a lot of "fun" is apparent in the work. The remake is more mature, refined and polished — richer in textures and subtlety. Which is "better"? Neither — they're both good, but they're different. Each has its own unique qualities.

It's the same with our music, too. In the '70s, digital hadn't been invented, monophonic synthesizers could at best generate two notes at a time, we didn't have 24-track recorders, MIDI, or personal computers. The electronic music produced then was characteristic of the time; everything was a new sound, novel to the ears. Analog synthesizers produce the fat, direct, upfront signature sounds that make them as much in demand today as then. Modern digital gear produces cool, clean, refined sounds and textures. We use it all — but only after it's been invented!

Over the decades, we created our music on an astronomical array of electronic instruments, including an Emulator II digital sampling keyboard, a Mellotron analog sampler, synthesizers and equipment from E-Mu Systems, Korg, Roland, Sequential Circuits, Oberheim, Rhodes, Yamaha, Alesis, ARP, Moog, EMS, and more. As the Disc numbers increase on the Library volumes, you can trace the development of both technology and our musical styles as they evolve. (See, evolution is not a theory, it's a fact!)

Your taste in music, how you intend to use it in your soundtrack — these are all personal considerations. You get to decide which you like. We simply provide the variety from which to choose.

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2. I have some Geodesium albums, and I see some of the same tracks here. What's the deal with that? [Permalink]

This is perfectly normal and nothing to be worried about.

Geodesium albums are essentially commercial consumer items. They contain music that is "foreground" as well "background"; drums are often mixed more prominently, for example. But no commercial CDs — including our Geodesium albums — come with the synchronization rights needed to use the music in soundtracks.

The Usage License for the MUSIC BACK-PACK Library includes both performance and synchronization rights, so the way to ensure full compliance with the copyright laws is to use the tracks from the Library in your soundtracks, even though some may appear on our Geodesium albums too.

2a. You mean I need synchronization rights to use tracks from Geodesium albums in my soundtracks?

Yes. As a practical matter, we're the copyright owners, so we get to call the shots when it comes to authorizing public performances and granting sync rights.

Whenever producers ask for permission to use tracks from a Geodesium album in their soundtracks, we usually operate from this informal policy:

This policy has worked well for us so far.

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3. Why can't I just use Holst's "The Planets" as usual?

Selecting music for soundtrack production is a task often approached with trepidation. When talking about Mars, for example, you don't want the snare drums beating and the trumpets blaring "The Bringer of War" from Holst's The Planets (definitely NOT easy to talk over)! From an acoustic standpoint, it's more difficult to concentrate on a narrator's words when a 120-piece orchestra is sawing away at fortissimo; a strong theme and rhythm will conflict with any narration, no matter how low the loudness control is kept. And aesthetically speaking, that obviously terrestrial orchestra connotes EARTH, not MARS.

Of course, commercial albums aren't intended for soundtrack production purposes. They're FOREground music, designed to be listened to only. Aesthetics aside, there are critical legal issues involved. Besides securing the public performance rights and obtaining a license from ASCAP or BMI so you can play the music in public, in addition and more importantly, you need to obtain the synchronization rights (from whomever) so you can legally edit the music, and synchronize visuals and narration to it. It can be a major amount of work, but there's no getting around the copyright law.

Since we hold the copyrights on our own creations, we make it simple and easy for you to use MUSIC BACK-PACKS legally. Included in the price is a license to use the music; we grant you both performance and synchronization rights. You are free to use as much of our music as you wish. It's all spelled out in plain English, in our "Copyright Statement and Usage License".

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• Starting in 1977, we introduced the library in reel-to-reel tape and cassette form, eventually growing it to 16 volumes. Producers around the world purchased more than 1,400 MUSIC BACK-PACK tapes, we're proud to say.

• When affordable CD-R drives became available, we discontinued the tapes and recreated the Library in compact disc form. We re-mastered every cut, digitally removed the last vestiges of analog tape hiss, adjusted pitch and levels, added new tracks, and organized the tracks into a more logical fashion.

• Over the years, we've continued to create and add more music. We currently offer 16 volumes in our disc library — more than 450 tracks, nearly 19 hours to choose from.