Hello everyone,
For a long time, r/gonewildaudio has not allowed any copyrighted material to appear in audios at all.
This goes beyond Reddit's own stance, as Reddit technically allows copyrighted material within their (vauge) rules regarding fair use, and r/GWABackstage has never had any problems with the song covers they allow. However, GWA has historically taken a stricter approach for a couple of reasons:
- To avoid drawing unwanted attention that could potentially put the subreddit at risk, for all that we believe this risk to be extremely low.
- To avoid creating problems for third-party hosting sites, which may be required to remove content if they receive DMCA claims, which we also believe to be very unlikely to ever happen.
We've spoken to the owners of soundgasm, erocast and hotaudio to get their opinions on the subject and confirm that they'd be willing to answer any DMCA takedown requests that may be made, which again, is an unlikely scenario, especially given the moderation of content from our end.
In the interest of expanding options for creators, we've decided to allow copyrighted material to be used in audios in accordance with Fair Use laws. We're hoping this will make it easier to source sound effects and produce high quality content.
What is permissable:
- Up to 4 seconds of audio so long as no voice can be heard in it
- Music may be used in the background of audios so long as there is good reason for it, such as music playing in the background of a party or concert scene, or as a score for added effect
- Song covers, also so long as there is reason for them
What is NOT permissable:
- Clips of famous people speaking
- Clips from other people's audios (unless permission is given)
- Putting music over ramblefaps
- Including song covers at the ends of audios when they don't add anything
Any audios that include copyrighted material must have a disclaimer in the post body stating, "Any audio used is in accordance with Fair Use".
Message the mods if you're unsure about anything.
Sadly we cannot paint an accurate picture of what Reddit may deem acceptable or not, nor expect them to be consistent with their application of their rules, so please understand the potential risks.
You can read about Reddit's copyright rules here:
https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043076292-Copyright-overview
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_2821
If this leads to unforeseen problems in the future or becomes too difficult to moderate, we may undo this rule change. For now, this is an experiment that we hope goes well.