Free (not copyrighted) sound effects

10-25-2002, 06:35 PM

Post any sites where you like to get your sound fx that are not copyrighted so you can use them without liability. I will start with one.

Flashkit - Has SoundFX, Sound Loops, fonts, and art.

Zedric · 10-25-2002, 09:24 PM

Supposedly sound clips that are less than 10 seconds are considered public domain, legally, but I'd have to do a little research to verify this.

10-26-2002, 08:54 AM

It's not true, unfortunately, sorry to say. It's a common misconseption - of course, if you screw with the original sound enough, there's not a problem! As long as the sound isn't recognizable as the original, you're all set. It becomes an Original Work, at that point, because the sound is obviously your own, even though the source material might have been lifted - if the source material cannot be identified, you're safe.

Fair Use, however, dictates that if a sound clip is inserted into a greater work as a commentary on the original, as in satire or parody, you're also entitled to use at your discretion. For instance, if you wanted to include a sample (or section of music) from "War - What is it Good For?" in a Warcraft Map, you'd be certainly able to under fair use - this was established in a 1992 Supreme Court case involving 2LiveCrew, of "Me So Horny" fame.

Of course, much of this applies only to works that are PRODUCED FOR PROFIT. Any non-profit use of sound or music is allowed provided credit is given, and frankly, the MPAA, RIAA, BMG, ASCAP, etc. don't give half of a monkey's crap as long as you're not obviously trying to steal their business - with the DCMA much has changed, but not in this context.

For instance, Illegal Art has produced a LOT of music that incorporates SOLELY stolen bits of music and television programs ("Deconstructing Beck" etc.) - but since their artists "steal" such works merely to make commentary on them, they're protected under - you guessed it! - the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United etc. etc. However, file-sharing (which I totally support, BTW) is considered stealing outright and is agressively fought against by the RIAA especially, because they claim (falsely) that file-sharing takes business away from their associated labels

So, whatever you decide to do, as long as you're not making any money, I'd say Go For It.

I am not a lawyer, but I do play one on TV.

BTW!

http://www.stonewashed.net/sfx.html

...contains an extensive list of free sfx sites (most working), and since most of the effects on these sites have been floating around the web for so long, nobody cares anymore how most of them are used.
This is NOT the case with the snippets of television programs you'll find on a lot of these sites, but it is CERTAINLY the case with the general sound effects. Feel Free! That's what they said in "Brave New World"!

Also, you might want to check out

http://www.sounddogs.com/start.asp

If you're willing to part with some cash, and find yourself frustrated in your search, this is a pay site (about 3 bucks on average per effect, perhaps less or more depending upon length), you can find some effects here that you'll never find on free sites, downloadable as 44.1 khz 16 bit wav files. I DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY - I just found it a good depository of pro sfx. Once you pay and download, you have unlimited license to use however you wish.
There's previews of all effects in a variety of formats, so if you don't mind a little trickery, you can record the output of the preview.

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10-25-2002, 06:35 PM	#1
Raw Kuts Posts: n/a	Post any sites where you like to get your sound fx that are not copyrighted so you can use them without liability. I will start with one. Flashkit - Has SoundFX, Sound Loops, fonts, and art.

10-25-2002, 09:24 PM	#2
Zedric User Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 122	Supposedly sound clips that are less than 10 seconds are considered public domain, legally, but I'd have to do a little research to verify this.

10-26-2002, 08:54 AM	#3
johndivy Posts: n/a	It's not true, unfortunately, sorry to say. It's a common misconseption - of course, if you screw with the original sound enough, there's not a problem! As long as the sound isn't recognizable as the original, you're all set. It becomes an Original Work, at that point, because the sound is obviously your own, even though the source material might have been lifted - if the source material cannot be identified, you're safe. Fair Use, however, dictates that if a sound clip is inserted into a greater work as a commentary on the original, as in satire or parody, you're also entitled to use at your discretion. For instance, if you wanted to include a sample (or section of music) from "War - What is it Good For?" in a Warcraft Map, you'd be certainly able to under fair use - this was established in a 1992 Supreme Court case involving 2LiveCrew, of "Me So Horny" fame. Of course, much of this applies only to works that are PRODUCED FOR PROFIT. Any non-profit use of sound or music is allowed provided credit is given, and frankly, the MPAA, RIAA, BMG, ASCAP, etc. don't give half of a monkey's crap as long as you're not obviously trying to steal their business - with the DCMA much has changed, but not in this context. For instance, Illegal Art has produced a LOT of music that incorporates SOLELY stolen bits of music and television programs ("Deconstructing Beck" etc.) - but since their artists "steal" such works merely to make commentary on them, they're protected under - you guessed it! - the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United etc. etc. However, file-sharing (which I totally support, BTW) is considered stealing outright and is agressively fought against by the RIAA especially, because they claim (falsely) that file-sharing takes business away from their associated labels So, whatever you decide to do, as long as you're not making any money, I'd say Go For It. I am not a lawyer, but I do play one on TV. BTW! http://www.stonewashed.net/sfx.html ...contains an extensive list of free sfx sites (most working), and since most of the effects on these sites have been floating around the web for so long, nobody cares anymore how most of them are used. This is NOT the case with the snippets of television programs you'll find on a lot of these sites, but it is CERTAINLY the case with the general sound effects. Feel Free! That's what they said in "Brave New World"! Also, you might want to check out http://www.sounddogs.com/start.asp If you're willing to part with some cash, and find yourself frustrated in your search, this is a pay site (about 3 bucks on average per effect, perhaps less or more depending upon length), you can find some effects here that you'll never find on free sites, downloadable as 44.1 khz 16 bit wav files. I DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY - I just found it a good depository of pro sfx. Once you pay and download, you have unlimited license to use however you wish. There's previews of all effects in a variety of formats, so if you don't mind a little trickery, you can record the output of the preview.