I use Audacity on Windows 10, I downloaded the program around one year ago to my computer and I wonder if all functions in Audacity is free to use for commercial use?
Can I use Audacity as a music DAW and use the Loopback function in Audacity to record instrument sounds from another program, a virtual instrument program in the computer, And then sell my music compositions?
I read in a forum somewhere that Mp3 is copyrighted, I don´t now if it´s correct or not,
but my question is - can I legal export my music compositions from Audacity as Mp3 file or as Wav file or any file export alternative and then sell my exported music compositions? (commercial use)
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this does NOT constitute legal advice.
You may have an old version. The current version is 2.4.2 and a new version (Audacity 3.0.0) is due to be released very soon.
Yes, Audacity is free to use for commercial and non-commercial work.
Yes, though you should be aware of copyright and terms of use of any services / apps that you record. Some (such as Spotify) specifically prohibit recording in their terms of service. The Audacity team accepts no responsibility for how you use Audacity - it’s your responsibility to ensure that you comply with the laws in your country.
Yes, provided that you own the rights to the music that you are selling.
Music that you have composed and produced is likely to be legal to sell unless it’s a rip-off of someone else’s music.
“Covers” are a bit of a grey area but in most countries it is not legal to sell covers unless you have written permission from the copyright holder.
Thank you immensely for your help with quick answer : )
That sounds great.
I have the version Audacity 2.4.1 is the song I have exported as Wav and as Mp3 file in that version 2.4.1 also free for commercial use and legal, as in the Audacity 2.4.2 version?
I dont use any one elses music in my own compositions.
I just wonder what do you mean by this you meantion with Spotify:
“Yes, though you should be aware of copyright and terms of use of any services / apps that you record. Some (such as Spotify) specifically prohibit recording in their terms of service. The Audacity team accepts no responsibility for how you use Audacity - it’s your responsibility to ensure that you comply with the laws in your country.”
Do you mean if some use the loopback tool to record an artist´s already existing song in Spotify, that that it is not allowed? Or do you mean something else?
I dont use the loop tool to that, I use the loop tool only to record instrument sounds in a free for commercial use keyboard midi player, by pressing the piano keyboard which result in diffrent melodies I compose. Can I use the loopback tool in Audacity in this way legal and for commercial use? And to sell my songs to Spotify?
I don´t use some one else artist´s material or songs.
The license terms for Audacity 2.4.1 and 2.4.2 (and 3.0.0) are identical.
It is highly recommended to keep up to date with the latest version of Audacity so that you benefit from the latest enhancements and bug fixes.
Audacity 3.0.0 is currently scheduled for release on Wednesday (17th March).
The following is not permitted for any reason whatsoever:
copying, redistributing, reproducing, “ripping,” recording, transferring, performing or displaying to the public, broadcasting, or making available to the public any part of the Spotify Service or the Content, or otherwise making any use of the Spotify Service or the Content which is not expressly permitted under the Agreements or applicable law or which otherwise infringes the intellectual property rights (such as copyright) in the Spotify Service or the Content or any part of it;
I dont use the loop tool to that, I use the loop tool only to record instrument sounds in a free for commercial use keyboard midi player, by pressing the piano keyboard which result in diffrent melodies I compose. Can I use the loopback tool in Audacity in this way legal and for commercial use?
Yes.
You may already know this, but there ere DAWs (and maybe other MIDI applications) that render directly to an audio file so you don’t have to “record”. (Most are not free but maybe you can find a free one.)
And to sell my songs to Spotify?
Yes… Maybe… You automatically own the copyrights to your own compositions and recordings and you can sell those rights or not. But you have to go through a [u]middleman[/u] and you only get a fraction of a cent each time a song is streamed.
Once your music is published/releases you may actually loose some control… There is something called a “Compulsory Mechanical License” where anybody can record a cover version of your song as long as they pay the composer about 10 cents per distributed copy. A DJ or band can also play ANY songs “live” as long as the venue is paying licensing fees and (theoretically) you get your “share” of those fees.
Okey I´m really happy to hear that! If I understand it correctly, does it mean I can use my exported Mp3 and Wav file from Audacity 2.4.1 for commercial use? : )
And how do I update my Audacity to the newest version, must I first uninstall the version I have now and go to Audacity website and install the new version?
If you previously installed Audacity with default settings, then you can simply install Audacity over the top of your existing version to update it. I would recommend selecting the option to “Reset Preferences” when that option appears.
Installation instructions are here: https://www.audacityteam.org/download/windows/
Okey so if I don´t uninstall my Audacity but only go to the Audacity website and click “download” on the newest version, will that be the correct way to upgrade my Audacity? And will my old saved Audacity project´s be able to open correctly in the newest version I will download?
You will need to follow the links to the FossHub site (FossHub provide fast and secure worldwide downloads for us), then click on the text link for the “Audacity Windows Installer”.
When the installer has downloaded (this should be very quick if you have a good broadband connection), you will then need to run the installer.
Follow the on-screen instructions, and watch out for the option to “Reset Preferences” - ensure that option is selected, and continue the installation.
So long as your old projects work in your current version of Audacity, they should work correctly in the new version.
I’d suggest that you check some of your projects before you update.
It is unfortunately rather common for people to accidentally destroy their projects by moving, deleting or renaming parts of the project (an Audacity project is NOT just a file, it is a file and a folder and both parts are essential. More details here: https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/audacity_projects.html).
The project format is changing in Audacity 3.0.0.
Audacity 3 projects are a single file, which makes it much easier to manage without risk of breakage.
Audacity 3 will be able to open old projects, but can only save in the new format.
By the way, when replying on the forum, try to avoid quoting more than necessary. If you click the “Reply” button first you can then select just the relevant part of a previous post, click the ["] button in the top right corner of that post, and just the selected text will be inserted into your reply as a quote. This helps to make a forum thread shorter (less scrolling) and more readable for all
