VGMusic.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Videogame Music Archive |
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| URL | http://www.vgmusic.com/ |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | No |
| Type of site | Music website |
| Registration | Optional |
| Owner | Mike Newman |
| Created by | Mike Newman |
| Launched | 1996-12-19 |
| Current status | Active |
The Videogame Music Archive, also known as VGMusic.com or VGMA, is a well-known website that archives MIDI sequences of video game music, ranging from tunes of the NES era to modern pieces featured in Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 games. Currently, there are over 21,000 MIDI files hosted on the site.
The owner of the website is Michael Newman (Yaginuma), a University of Connecticut graduate who is a chemical engineer by day.
Contents |
[edit] Purpose
VGMusic.com accepts remakes, arrangements, and remixes of video game music in MIDI format. When the site was first started, the emphasis was on quantity rather than quality. In more recent years, the staff have been rejecting files that they believe are not good enough, although the rule is more relaxed if a particular song does not exist in the archive. The staff have also started to reject direct reproductions or rips from original game soundtracks, partly to minimize Copyright infringement issues.
The files archived are sequenced by the general public, and are submitted to the site for approval by staff members before being added to the actual archive. Sequencers do not receive money for submitting their sequences, and no paid staff sequencers are employed by the site.
[edit] Submission Process and site standards
The site maintains a large list of rules for users to follow submitting files, though these are often ignored. Files are submitted through a web form, accessed by clicking Accept on the rules page. There is no error-checking done on names or e-mail addresses, which frequently causes problems if a sequencer needs to be contacted, or if fake information is given.
Updates occur infrequently; the staff asserts that infrequent large updates are much easier to perform than frequent smaller ones [1]. However, a list of newly uploaded files is available to the public. Unfortunately, since it is public, it can be used to display non-compliant MIDI files, until the staff catches and removes them. The staff is known to IP-ban repeat offenders.
The staff can remove any file at their discretion if they feel it is not up to the site's standards. However, many files that were accepted in the site's early days have been grandfathered in, despite not meeting these standards. In general, files with a higher bit count show greater musical accuracy and sound quality.
[edit] Controversy and reform
At several points in VGMusic's history, there have been changes as to what's acceptable and what isn't.
- After a lawsuit threat from Bobby Prince, the PC section of the site was removed. It was reinstated again several years later, with a note not to upload rips or conversions of music taken from an actual game.
- There is a list of composers whose work is not accepted on the site for any reason. Typically this is at the composer's request.
- Conversions from emulator formats were banned on August 4, 2004. This decision sparked a good amount of controversy, but the staff refused to back down from their position.
- In February 2005, VGMusic's staff cracked down on copyrighted material attached to or linked from forum messages. This rule is comprehensive in scope, and can be used to punish users for linking to sites that contain illegal files, in addition to copyrighted attachments (primarily digital recordings of video game music). Although this has resulted in a few users' protests, no copyright infringement lawsuit threats have been levied against the site since the rule was instituted.
[edit] Community
Most interaction is the VGMusic community takes place on the VGMusic Forum. This community is very strict about what is and isn't allowed. Boards are broken down as follows:
- Music Requests
- Cartridge-based Systems Wishlist
- Disc-based Systems Wishlist
- VGMusic.com
- News
- Bug Reports and Suggestions
- General
- General Message Board
- Q&A
- Creative Corner
- Music Composition & Critique
- Music Q&A
- Music Discussion
- Visual Art & Design
- Role Playing and Fiction (a.k.a. VGRP removed from VGMusic and now found here)
The website has an official IRC channel, #vgmusic on EsperNet IRC network:
The staff members also discuss most site business through their own private IRC channel.
[edit] History
[edit] In the Media
- October 1997, "The Fan Site of the Month", Ultra Game Players
- King, Brad (February 2000), "Scoring a Grammy", Wired Magazine 8.02, CondéNet Inc
- March 2000, "Name That Game Tune", Yahoo! Internet Life: 56
- June 2002, "Video Game Music Archive", Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK: 124
- Kushner, David (October 2003), "Videogame Deejays", Official Playstation Magazine US
