[gold stinger]

Originally Posted by noname219

There's of course an exception to this, the cover must keep the same lyrics. A translation for example while keeping the same arrangements would be deemed a substantial change (derivative work) and would require permission from the original copyright holder.

Remixes are something else, by law, you need to get permission from the copyright holder (and in our case, to use it in-game).

In the case of remixes, if we don't have permission from the original artist, *technically* we could receive cease and desist letters. There's some leeway since we are non-profit.

The key word here is "derivative work" :
a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a "derivative work.

Was on the assumption that the person we had permissions for was blanket permission unless otherwise stated (as they usually do regarding stuff like this), but yes. This as well.

We can go down a crazy rabbit hole about what is / isn't 'derivative work' and what is fair game on 'remixes'. But without making the breakdown on what is / isn't usable complicated, it's ok as long as it's blanket permissions, or there's no restrictions on the content they've made. Creative Commons permissions are OK, as long as they don't have a ND (No Derivatives) extension to the license, unless the version of the license is 1.0. (99% of people use 2.0, 3.0, or 4.0 licenses now, because 1.0 is massively outdated due to a flaw, so good luck finding one.)