AudioJungle and Pastiche (Imitation) Tracks
Definition of "pastiche": an artistic work that imitates the style of another work or artist....
It's a fine line: in creating your own tracks, when can you pick up on popular sounds in commercial music or emulate a well-known artist's musical style? Can you use an existing recording by another artist as "inspiration" for your track? When do you cross the line and copy a "substantial" part of another person’s track, which would infringe copyright?
This article explains what we do allow at AudioJungle: audio submissions that emulate musical genres or are influenced by the style of another artist. And what we don’t allow: submissions that are copies of specific tracks or recordings owned by someone else.
Q: What is allowed on AudioJungle?
A: Following genres and music styles of others, and identifying your tracks as such.
AudioJungle does allow items that follow genre, or that are influenced by another artist’s musical style. However, specific tracks of others cannot be copied.
So your track could use a combination of sounds and instruments that a commercial artist is well known for using, as long as you create a completely new and original piece of music that can't be likened to another artist's specific track.
For example: You create a track "in the style of U2" using these elements: delayed rhythm guitar over a harmonic synth line, evolving slowly, backed by a rock beat. You do not start with a specific U2 track and try to emulate it.
Your can tag or identify your track as being in a genre (e.g. “rock guitar”). You can also tag or identify your track as “in the style of (band/artist name)”. You can do this for commercial artists, but not other AJ authors. You can’t tag or identify your track with specific track or album titles in any way.
Q: What is NOT allowed on AudioJungle?
A: Imitating or copying specific tracks of others.
As with all items on Envato marketplaces, intellectual property rights of others must always be respected. This means not copying a substantial part of any composition or recording you don’t own copyright in. Whenever we refer to copying another recording, this means in whole or in part, as what is ‘substantial’ depends on quality not quantity.
Here are some examples of what’s not allowed:
- replicating, mimicking or parodying copyrighted recordings
- remixing or reworking of copyrighted recordings
- sampling copyrighted recordings (see this article for more information on samples and loops)
- copying the melodic phrasings of a copyrighted recording
DOs and DON'Ts
| Do | Don't |
| Incorporate musical styles, emulate a genre, use combinations of instruments, use moods in your tracks. | Don’t imitate, replicate or copy all or part of a copyrighted composition or recording. |
| Submit cover versions of public domain songs (but make sure it is indeed public domain globally and not just in some countries). | |
| Create a track “in the style” of another commercial artist by identifying its stylistic elements and incorporating them into your own original composition. | Don’t start with someone else’s copyrighted audio recording, then try to change it or modify its elements to create your own track. (There is no magic formula allowing you to ‘change something enough’ in order to avoid breaching copyright.) |
| Remember it’s your responsibility as an author to ensure you respect copyright. This responsibility does not change if your track is accepted on AudioJungle. | Don’t assume an accepted track has been considered or cleared for all copyright and legal issues. |
| Specify in the item description that a track is “in the style of (band/artist name)”. Tag a track with the name of a band or artist. |
Don’t tag or identify a track with the name of another specific copyrighted track or album. Don’t tag or identify a track as “in the style of” another AudioJungle author. |
What you can expect from us
As we say in Envato’s Content Policy, our review process focuses on quality and technical issues and is not a copyright clearing service. But if during the review process (or after a track is live) we think that there is a potential intellectual property issue with a track, we may reject or disable it. This will be entirely our decision.
Conversely, if a track is accepted this does not mean that it has been cleared for copyright. Tracks that are on AudioJungle may be disabled at any time if copyright issues come to light, and we apply our Content Policy to AudioJungle in the same way as our other Marketplaces, including the consequences for authors who are ‘repeat offenders’.
Here are some factors that will be relevant if we are considering copyright questions with a track. A track might be rejected if, in comparison to a copyrighted track:
- it has identical or substantially similar melodic phrasings (regardless of key, instrumentation or other elements)
- it has substantially similar melody, arrangement and rhythms, even if the tempo or key is not the same
- if the lead melody is not similar, but the phrasing, chord progression, rhythm, percussion and instrumentation are substantially similar (regardless of key)
A track might be accepted if, in comparison to a copyright track:
- it has substantially similar or identical chord progressions, but has different melody and rhythm, instrumentation, and arrangement (due to the common use of many chord progressions)
- it has different melody, and also rhythm, percussion, instrumentation, and arrangement are not substantially similar (for example, there is only passing or some similarity in these elements)
Questions?
More copyright resources are available here. If you've had a look through that information and still have questions, contact Support.
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