Error: reference to invalid character number at line 6

Hey, I’m having an issue that I haven’t exactly had before.
After saving a project for this one song I can’t seem to reopen it without getting this stupid “invalid character error”




Error: reference to invalid character number at line 6

I saved multiple of the projects and all three are unopenable with that same problem.
My project folders and .aup files are completely intact, same name and everything.

I have Windows 7 Audacity 2.10 (After having had this problem I upgraded to 2.13 to see if I can open but to no avail)

Let me know what I can do to save my project. Thank you!

Attach the problem .aup file and we can take a look.
See here for how to attach a file to your post: https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-to-attach-files-to-forum-posts/24026/1

Here you go, here are the 3-4 .aup files with this issue.
swervv.aup (33.7 KB)

2nd one
swerv 2.aup (33.7 KB)

I can tell you in the first one, line 6 appears to be a full-on, Purchase/Subscribe multi-linked commercial. Do you have a Mystery User on your machine with you? When was the last time you did a stiff virus scan?



Are you trying to post a forbidden commercial on the Audacity forum?



Koz







Line 5: (normal)

<tag name=“ARTIST” value=“Beats By Seismic”/>



Line 6: (not normal)

<tag name=“description” value=“&#xd83d;&#xdcb0; Download | Purchase : http://bsta.rs/eca96 BUY 1 GET 3 FREE &#xd83d;&#xdc8e; Website - http://www.BeatsBySeismic.net &#x2795; Subscribe! - http://bit.do/BeatsBySeismic &#xd83d;&#xdce7; Contact - Beatsbyseismic@gmail.com For untagged and/or any profitable use, please purchase a license: &#x25b6;&#xfe0f; http://bsta.rs/944da This beat is available as a free download for writing and auditioning purposes only. ­___­___ playboi carti playboi carti type beat instrumental free playboi carti type beat lil yachty lil yachty type beat free lil yachty type beat lil yachy instrumental”/>

It looks to me like you are trying to use audio clips in your project contrary to the license terms of the copyright owner.
The audio has embedded tags which include the following information:

This beat is available as a free download for writing and auditioning purposes only
For untagged and/or any profitable use, please purchase a license

As a matter of forum policy, we respect copyright, so we can’t advise you further in this case.

What exactly do you mean? The audio file I’m using is a simple instrumental from YouTube. It comes with tags so that if you want to profit or gain full rights to it you gotta buy it. Using it in my project and asking you guys for assistance shouldn’t violate anything because I’m not

A. Profitting
B. Advertising(intentionally anyways)

But from what i can see I guess all that link garbage and crazy numbers shouldn’t be in that line? How can I go about editing it without corrupting the files

It is not directly from YouTube, I believe. I think you have to go to the beats site and get the free download from there. That is the problem. The free download is tagged. Removing or modifying the tags on the free download, to make Audacity accept it in a project file, would make it “untagged”, and would be a licence infraction.

I think you will have to use another application to see if it can edit and resave the file without modifying the tags.


Gale

No, the tags its referring to are the producers little voice signature through out the song where it says “Seismic beats” and “Purchase your tracks today”

I got it straight from YouTube through anything2mp3 download. I can safely assure you nothing is being violated

YouTube don’t store MP3s, they store videos. The project you presented contains tags that can’t be removed or modified without violating the licence.

You will need to use an application that does not modify the tags.


Gale

You guys are making this way more difficult then it is. I already fixed the issue thanks for nothing lmao

I already fixed the issue

How? This is a forum, not a help desk. If you know more about the problem than we do, you’re supposed to share.

Koz

All I did was follow the FAQ. The FAQ gave me more help then you lmao. Its under Error invalid token

That’s why we take the time and trouble to write and maintain the FAQs (and the rest of the Manual) - and by-and-large it’s the same group of volunteers that “staff” this Forum and write the documentation.

Good to hear theat the FAQ had necessary and sufficient information for you :sunglasses:

WC

Actually, we knew perfectly well how to fix it all along, thanks. Depending what you did, be aware you have now violated (or potentially violated) the free licence of the file. If we had helped you, BeatsbySeismic could have come after us for aiding and abetting licence violation.


Gale

Additional information that has come to light since the initial posts in this topic, which I hope will clear up any misunderstanding:

Downloading via anything2mp3 does not guarantee that nothing is being violates. They note in their FAQ:

The general consensus is that streaming web radio sites like Soundcloud are legal to rip from for personal use. Nobody has ever been tried in court for this matter. However you may need to check in certain parts of the world with more restrictive laws. It is impossible for sites and application like Soundcloud to know that you are doing this, however ripping music does go against Soundcloud’s terms of use. If you were to publicly announce that you were doing it in some way then they would have every right to ban you.

In this particular case, the metadata embedded in the media appeared to be very clear (emphasis mine):

This beat is available as a free download for > writing and auditioning purposes only
For untagged and/or any profitable use, please purchase a license

However, I have since found that text on their YouTube channel is more permissive:

Q: Can I use this for free?
A: If the beat ONLY has [FREE] in the title, you may use it for non-profit usage only. If you plan to make any type of money from performances, iTunes, YouTube video, or any other way, please purchase a lease from BeatsBySeismic.net.

In hindsight, if we been aware of the less strict usage terms as described on their YouTube channel I think we could have offered more help to you Seaniboi, but I trust that you appreciate that we need to be cautious regarding copyright and cannot leave ourselves vulnerable to legal claims in relation to license violations.

I think “untagged” and for “writing and auditioning only” are likely to be extra terms over and above what is stated on the YouTube page, given they are embedded in the file itself.

In any case, note that Seaniboy did not download from the link given on the YouTube that page that said not for profit usage was OK.

I think the real issue is how much of the metadata could be removed without violating the licence, and only BeatsbySeismic can answer that.


Gale

Im having the same problem can someone please help me out
you better move.aup (73.6 KB)

Try this version:
you better move.aup (73.5 KB)

yesss i was so mad i thought i lost it thank you sm, fr you all are awesome