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Why would you use the marketplace music packs in your games?

Unreal Engine Marketplace
#1

Hello!

This is something I have been thinking about for a while now and I am curious to hear your thoughts about it. The music packs on the marketplace, who is actually using them in their projects and why?

I listen to all of them whenever a new one pops up, since I love music like nothing else. And some of the songs are actually really good.
However when it comes to gamedev, the only reason to buy these packs I can think of is to have something to test background music in your prototypes. But you can also get songs of similiar quality for free on one of the many audio websites, and then you won’t have to pay for songs you don’t like.

My thinking is, you can’t really use these music packs in your games (or other projects), if you are serious about it, because there is always a chance that someone else uses the same songs in theirs.
And in my mind, to have someone recognize your music being used in another project will immediately devalue yours.
It may sound pedantic, but first impression is what counts, right? And hearing the exact same song in another game may make the person feel your work isn’t unique, even if it’s unconsciously.

So therefore you can either be using them only for yourself and your testing purpose, or you use them in your public build, but you openly communicate it when it is brought up that you use the same music as someone else, because you just didn’t have the money for hire a music artist yet.

Which is perfectly fair in my opinion, but I personally would be too concerned to take this risks and have people with an inconscious impression of my project not being unique. But maybe I am too overly concerned here, and people don’t recognize same music (and aren’t as critical of it) as much as I think they do?

But that leaves me with the question, if you can get these kind of none-uniquely-used songs for free, why would you want to pay for them? For the comfort of saving time, not having to search for fitting songs? Or perhaps as a thank you and support to the music artist who created them? I am thinking more like the latter.

Anyway, I am curious to hear your thoughts about this.

And as a suggestion to improve the marketplace for musicians, I think it would be great to allow them to sell songs seperately, like you can do on Bandcamp. This way I could easily just buy two or three songs that I like from a pack, and don’t have to take the rest that I don’t like.

Cheers!

#2

The music offered here doesn’t have to be used in games only. Artists can use music packs as a cheap way to integrate licensed music that is ready for UE4 to be used in Sequencer for example to showcase their work.

#3

That is indeed true and a good point, I changed to title to better reflect my focus on games. Thank you for your comment. :slight_smile:

#4

I mean what’s to stop others from using the same “free” music you’re getting off the other sites? Grabbing music off the MP allows for quick prototyping. Even if it ends up being placeholder music in the long run. Hiring an audio person to do music isn’t exactly cheap. Having a full playable demo with music in it works and isn’t going to get you into licensing issues down the road.

I mean, you can apply the same logic to any item you purchase off the marketplace. How many games out there are using the Ultra Dynamic Sky? I know of a few commercial games using it that actually have funding/studios behind it.

I don’t mind picking up sound/music packs here. Helps me and helps other indie devs who are putting the work in to sell them.

#5

Ignoring the low quality packs, the reason is the same reason as why do I go to pond5.com or Jamendo and spend $25, $50 or $100 on an individual track. It’s because it sounds great and captures the feel of whatever game we are making well. On top of that it’s the convenience of it, with high quality packs here or on those sites I know I will have to look for 15 minutes, maybe an hour and I’ll find a very high quality and very well composed track. I value my time at a certain amount, on those free sites I might be looking for many many hours and never find anything that is really that well composed or of that great of quality, at least that has been my experience. Ever hour I spend looking for a track is an hour I’m not spending making a game or building Ironbelly, so for me that time is easily worth the low price I’m going to pay buying a great track in a pack here or finding one on pond5

#6

Its actually kinda funny you mention this. I have some assets i got from the marketplace that i found in the new “everquest” game (being developed by the original makers of EverQuest). Its not actually called that, but, the exact same monsters/demons i have are what they are using to! I offered a manly game of rock paper scissors with them to see who gets to use the assets, but, offer ignored. ha!

Anyways - it happens and sadly John Q Public just calls people “asset flippers” when they notice. Its a good point tho. I agree with Ironbelly in this respect, at the end of the day. If you do well enough, i suppose you can just hire someone to replace whatever it is thats “the same” and then you will be all good! right?!

#7

Grin, I to have noticed the same with some of the NPCs used in their demo videos; a specific vermin … and undead creature. Hope you win the paper rock scissors :)!

#8

I think for ambiance, random background music, UI/UX sounds, and FX sounds, the marketplace is a perfect spot for that. These are the sounds that don’t really stick in your head but provide audio stimulation for the player and most likely increases their experiences with the game.

But for main menu theme music, this is what usually sticks in the player’s head (at least it does with me) and hearing the music at any time, the player will associate it with the game itself, almost like an identity. You could use the marketplace for that, but you run the risk of someone else using it as their main theme as well and players might notice. The main theme music might be something you spend a bit more money on to have a unique track because of the fact that it kind of becomes your game’s identity. So you definitely have a point there, OP.

#9

Well I would think that people buy stuff for the same reasons I buy stuff. Just to have it with out reason.

Buying art assets is like buying art supplies based on the ideal that one might need it and is just a thing that becomes part of ones kit or catalogue of fair use widgets and gizmos that can be modified as to inspired creativity. After all UE4 is a big empty until you have something to put into that empty space and the nature of content creation is success via iteration so what the artist is usually after is not what they can plug into the mix today but what it can become over time be it a day, week or even a year.

For example my thing is animation so I buy animation packages as the “set” is usually matched up and not a mix of this or a mix of that and over the years I’ve collected and paid for enough just to add to my fair use catalogue that when I start a project the animation is already done before I even start and the task then becomes a matter of making it look the way I in-vision.

Then of course their is my general opinion of money. It’s just a piece of paper that only represents my effort to acquire it and I can use that piece of paper to acquire the efforts of another if I think that what they have to offer is super cool. :smiley:

#10

You can find the same quality for free? Where? I need to know the website :expressionless:

#11

Modular Music

We realized years ago that Game Devs desire unique Audio/Visual Assets in their games. We believe the solution is a development ecosystem comprised of (1) Modular 3D Entity {Characters, Weapons, Vehicles}/Music Packs coupled with (2) in-game multi-user Assembler/Sequencer Subsystems to support Developer and Player customization and (3) a powered Marketplace to facilitate Asset Modding](https://thegamedevstore.com/asset-modding/) and cataloging of compatibility and dependencies between these Assets.

#12

Just my 2 cents - When I play any game - I could care less whether I heard the music somewhere else…

Now, dont get me wrong, if the music is cool and fits - like in Cuphead - then that is is awesome…

But if I played another 1930’s cartoon game that happened to have the same track from Cuphead… it just doesnt bother me…

It’s similar to the fact that it doesn’t bother me if I see a movie that has an actor I saw from another movie.

I know some people feel differently - but for me - I dont expect every single asset to be unique at all - just that is contextually fits and looks and sounds good.

#13

To add my opinion I think it matters more to those that makes the game than those who play them. It’s just that line between what would be considered art and a game as being product so excluding Hero stuff an awesome soundtrack is an awesome sound track. To those that makes this stuff it matters, it matters a lot, as content as art is a giving of who they are and in a lot of cases if their work is rejected take it personally as in saying “your stuff is bad so you must be bad”.

The thing I don’t like in general is when stuff is added with little effort or even consideration that it fits but added based on expectations.

I mean we don’t need to watch another movie with Yello’s “oh yah” and it’s time to retire the "Wilhelm scream"

#14

Well if you think about it, some of the best music games only have music that is not original. I.e. Grand Theft Auto series. All the radio stations play songs that we are largely familiar with, and I don’t know about you but I love it. The most important thing to me, is just that the music is good. The better the music, the less important it is that it’s unique to the game, i.m.o.