MUMBAI: Music is a vital aspect for any video game. Without music to set the mood right, video games would not be as successful as they are today. After all, even the simplest games and animated short films rely on music for building ambience and atmosphere.

Imagine playing an action game without the sounds of explosion or the clashing of swords. Envision a horror game without the creepy melody that accompanies the scary graphics. Visualise Las Vegas slot machines that do not play celebratory music after players hit it big. Without sounds or music, video games would be bland visuals to our senses. Music helps the brain identify what we are seeing and distinguish it from other similar visual cues. This is the reason why  Intercasino has chosen to eliminate background music from most of their table games - to allow players to focus on the game they are playing, rather than on distracting sound effects.

Thanks to the advancements of technology, producing music for games is easier than before. Artists can simply download software that can record the music they play on any instrument. But while uploading music is easy, what is difficult is the process of licensing a musician’s work. There are two types of licensing namely non-exclusive and exclusive. Non-exclusive gives musicians the sole right to distribute their music wherever they please, while exclusive is giving another person or company the complete privilege to a musician’s work.

Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe (SCGMD) is one of the free Flash-based games that rely heavily on music licensing. It was developed by Rob Sienkiewicz, who is now part of a bigger gaming company-  Second Impact Games. SCGMD is like playing Guitar Hero on the PlayStation. However, instead of using a guitar replica, SCGMD players use the keyboard. SCGMD is one of the few games that prefer non-exclusive licenses for the benefit of indie musicians.

"I believe the norm for TV shows etc. is to license the composition and usually under exclusive terms so the song cannot be used in other places for a certain period," said Rob Sienkiewicz. "We were not really interested in that kind of deal; our main concern was that people give us permission and that they declare that they own the song."

Perhaps non-exclusivity is the way to go for indie musicians who are planning to put their music up on iTunes. Full band songs are better for non-exclusivity, since bands own them and should stay that way. Having a non-exclusive license not only allows artists to control where the music they create will appear, but will also give them income from multiple sources.

Licensing can be a bit risky for musicians who do not have the backing of a label. After all, not everyone is an expert in understanding legal contracts as a whole. Because of this, musicians who are new to the whole licensing gig are advised to seek the help of a lawyer, especially if they are planning on signing up for an exclusive licensing deal.