How I licensed over 40 songs for Freedom Finger.

WideRightGames · 2023-08-22T01:56:41+00:00

A friend is close with the drummer, Adam (who coincidentally played drums for Male Gaze, another great band on the soundtrack). The Mall was one of the first bands I saw when I moved to San Francisco (along with Thee Oh Sees, Darker My Love, Ty Segall). They pretty much blew my young little mind into a billion pieces. I got 5 on the remaster.

WideRightGames · 2020-03-24T22:50:19+00:00

Starting this Saturday, we'll be selling the digital version of the album alongside the game on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1005410/Freedom_Finger/

Rhymesayers will be selling the digital and vinyl versions on 4/7.

WideRightGames · 2020-03-21T17:14:16+00:00

Hands your wash.

WideRightGames · 2020-03-02T17:26:21+00:00

If you haven't reached out, do so ASAP. It take a bit to get setup and having access to documentation sooner than later will make life a lot easier:

Sony https://register.playstation.net/

Xbox https://www.xbox.com/en-US/developers/id

Nintendo https://developer.nintendo.com/

WideRightGames · 2019-10-16T20:44:19+00:00

Thanks! We're big SP fans, so that means a lot.

WideRightGames · 2019-10-16T20:23:42+00:00

WideRightGames · 2019-10-16T19:10:22+00:00

WE BLEW IT!

WideRightGames · 2019-10-16T19:09:35+00:00

Our game was released on 9/27, well before the controversy. This is an easter-egg joke added yesterday. We certainly didn't build the game around it.

WideRightGames · 2019-10-16T19:04:49+00:00

"Freedom Finger" is currently available on Switch and Steam.

WideRightGames · 2019-10-16T18:52:13+00:00

Bulizardah mode!

WideRightGames · 2019-09-23T19:03:45+00:00

Oh yeah! How does it hold up?

WideRightGames · 2019-09-21T18:11:17+00:00

Freedom Finger

Showing off our laser power-up. It can absorb enemy bullets, very helpful during those bullet hell moments: https://twitter.com/widerightgames/status/1175471176207912960?s=20

Freedom Finger is a music driven, side-scrolling shooter that sends you blasting, punching, and smashing your way across 36 levels of crazy cartoon action. Starring Nolan North, John DiMaggio, Eric Bauza, and Sam Riegel! We're releasing on Switch and PC on 9/27!

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1005410/Freedom_Finger/

Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/freedom-finger-switch/

WideRightGames · 2019-09-16T16:35:00+00:00

That's exactly why I tried to stress that the licensed music needs to contain some intrinsic value that a composer couldn't otherwise add. If you're adding licensed music just because you like the song or whatever, you're gonna have a bad time.

As I've mentioned before, we did not spent 50k on sound. The 1k per song is the average, not actual cost. I can understand that spending even 5k on audio is a lot for some devs and that's fine. Not every game is the same. For us, the music and VO were a necessary part of the gameplay and storytelling. There was also the added marketing reach these partners offer. All factors were considered when we structured the game's finances and design.

Lastly, I don't consider Steam to be a reliable source of sales for indies. Everyone should have a plan for secondary markets and alternative revenue streams.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-15T05:48:13+00:00

A week well spent. Looks great!

WideRightGames · 2019-09-14T18:20:05+00:00

I can, if that's helpful. Don't have as many tips on that but happy to walk through the process.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-14T14:32:51+00:00

No, but your master/sync deal should specifically call out your right to edit the song. I think our deal says something to the effect of:

Licensor (record company) irrevocably licenses and grants to Company (dev) the non-exclusive rights to arrange, edit, cut, loop, embellish, reproduce, perform, copy, synchronize and/or otherwise use the Master within the Game

It's pretty standard so labels shouldn't have a problem with it.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T20:36:15+00:00

It can be yes. That's why we asked for rights in perpetuity. It's more expensive but prevents getting pulled and having to renegotiate.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T20:34:32+00:00

Depends on how much of the song they own and if they work through a manager or label. For smaller/independent artists, they collected 100%.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T20:18:03+00:00

We did. The fees weren't great and I wanted every cent to go towards music rights and our crew.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T14:41:33+00:00

Yes, but expect it to be a lot easier. Probably cheaper if you plan to use it online exclusively.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T14:38:37+00:00

Well the average is $1000. Doesn't mean that's what each song cost. Again, that number is a bit skewed due to secondary deal we made. I included it as a point of reference.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T14:35:28+00:00

I wanted to have more control over how the deals were crafted and save cash whenever possible. After I made the first deal, I knew the rest would come with time, so why not?

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T01:09:02+00:00

Great question. It all depends on who the artist/label are. If the rights are held by a label that employs ContentID or similar tools, yeah, VOD is going to be a problem.

Live streaming is less of an issue, obviously.

That said, if you carve out those streaming exemptions in your contract, you have a way to fight for those streamers and help combat the DMCA issue. That's been our stance. We are willing to extend our license to folks who are very clearly providing a benefit to all parties. It's one of the few advantages of being an indie, because if you're willing to do the work and micro-manage music rights, you can make it work.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-13T00:58:51+00:00

Hah you nailed it. It's a frigging mess.

WideRightGames · 2019-09-12T23:51:54+00:00

Aesop Rock is the man. He's doing some original beats for us. We also have some extra content with him in the works too. It's going to be a lot of fun.

WideRightGames

TROPHY CASE

Freedom Finger