Is it Legal to Sell Custom Presets for Massive?
Hey guys! I'm currently looking into offering my custom Massive X presets for others to download in the future but not sure what NI's policy is around selling or even offering them for free.
I'm seeing others selling their presets. Here are a few examples:
I'm also seeing tons of free presets being offered. So I'm guessing that's allowed?
If anyone can give some insight on this topic then I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Best Answers
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It is generally legal to sell custom presets you create for Native Instruments Massive, with some important warnings based on Native Instruments End User License Agreement (EULA).
What is generally allowed:
1- Creating and selling your own original presets: If you design sounds from scratch within Massive (using its oscillators, filters, effects, etc.) and save them as presets, you generally have the right to sell those. This is considered your creative work.
2- Using your custom presets in commercial music productions: Native Instruments explicitly states that the samples, instruments, and presets provided with their products can be used for commercial or non-commercial music and audio productions without prior permission. This means you can use your custom Massive presets in songs, scores, or other audio projects that you sell.
What is strictly prohibited (and would make selling presets illegal):
1- Reselling or repackaging Native Instruments' factory presets: You cannot simply take the presets that come with Massive and sell them as your own.
2- Creating a "sound library" or "sample-based product" from Native Instruments' core content: The EULA strictly prohibits using their product (including samples, instruments, and presets) for the creation of a sound library, virtual instrument, sample library, or similar product. This means you can't build a product that is essentially a collection of sounds derived directly from their copyrighted content, even if you slightly modify them. This is to prevent people from creating competing products based on NI's intellectual property.
3- Distributing individual samples, sound sets, or audio loops standalone if they are directly derived from NI's core content.
From Native Instruments EULA:
"The provided samples, instruments and presets can be used for commercial or non-commercial music and audio productions without the prior permission from Native Instruments under the terms of this Sound License Agreement. The usage of this Product (in particular samples, instruments and presets) for the creation of a sound library or as a sound library for any kind of synthesizer, virtual instrument, sample library, sample-based product or other musical instrument is strictly prohibited. Individual samples, sound sets or audio loops may not be distributed (commercially or otherwise) standalone. Furthermore these samples, sound sets or audio may not be repackaged in whole or in part as audio samples, sound libraries or sound effects."
In essence: You can be a sound designer and sell your unique Massive presets if they are your original creations. However, you cannot simply re-sell or re-package Native Instruments pre-existing sounds or components as a new sound product.
Note: If you are unsure about a specific scenario, it's always best to contact NI Support directly for clarification.
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Pretty much says No in the above info.
In the context of a project (with other sounds in a "typical" scenario) you are free to use the sounds otherwise there is no point in NI even existing but sampling the sounds raw, even if they are your own designed preset sounds and selling these would constitute resampling of the original instrument sound and is not allowed since you are releasing the sounds of Massive for people to purchase and use without owning Massive.
Presets and preset packs are usually fine if they are original sounds since a user has to own Massive to use them, you can't use them without the original plugin. If you just sample all the notes from a preset (even if you made it your own sound) and release that as a sampled instrument then you no longer need to own the synth so that is a copy, which is not allowed according to the TOC.
A general rule of thumb, if you sell the sound of something that people can recreate without that something being owned, you likely have to get permission direct from that somethings creator. If in doubt, personally I would seek actual legal advice but from what you directly describe, i'd say no that is not permissible.
In saying all that tho, people do release sample packs exactly as you have asked. Likely they are not legit however for NI to even make a copyright claim they have to launch legal action and prove without any doubt that the sounds are 100% from Massive without alteration, and that is costly and time consuming which is unlikely for a little random sample pack. If you use their name you may attract a Cease and Desist notice with threat of legal action. Any company can state their own terms however it all has to be proven in court to make any kind of claim so it's really up to you if you feel it is worth the potential hassle or not. Can also be rather messy between countries too so no company wants to go down that rout if they can avoid it.
I am not a lawyer tho, so again I would suggest consulting someone who is if you have doubts.0
Answers
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My own guess is that that is completely legit provided that those are your own creations.
However if you need any N.I. confirmation or need any more information then write the Get in touch address for Developers.
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Seems like you're right. I would think it's allowed as I'm seeing many others already sharing their presets out there.
I reached out to the NI team about this for confirmation so will report back with what they say.
Thanks for your input!
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It is generally legal to sell custom presets you create for Native Instruments Massive, with some important warnings based on Native Instruments End User License Agreement (EULA).
What is generally allowed:
1- Creating and selling your own original presets: If you design sounds from scratch within Massive (using its oscillators, filters, effects, etc.) and save them as presets, you generally have the right to sell those. This is considered your creative work.
2- Using your custom presets in commercial music productions: Native Instruments explicitly states that the samples, instruments, and presets provided with their products can be used for commercial or non-commercial music and audio productions without prior permission. This means you can use your custom Massive presets in songs, scores, or other audio projects that you sell.
What is strictly prohibited (and would make selling presets illegal):
1- Reselling or repackaging Native Instruments' factory presets: You cannot simply take the presets that come with Massive and sell them as your own.
2- Creating a "sound library" or "sample-based product" from Native Instruments' core content: The EULA strictly prohibits using their product (including samples, instruments, and presets) for the creation of a sound library, virtual instrument, sample library, or similar product. This means you can't build a product that is essentially a collection of sounds derived directly from their copyrighted content, even if you slightly modify them. This is to prevent people from creating competing products based on NI's intellectual property.
3- Distributing individual samples, sound sets, or audio loops standalone if they are directly derived from NI's core content.
From Native Instruments EULA:
"The provided samples, instruments and presets can be used for commercial or non-commercial music and audio productions without the prior permission from Native Instruments under the terms of this Sound License Agreement. The usage of this Product (in particular samples, instruments and presets) for the creation of a sound library or as a sound library for any kind of synthesizer, virtual instrument, sample library, sample-based product or other musical instrument is strictly prohibited. Individual samples, sound sets or audio loops may not be distributed (commercially or otherwise) standalone. Furthermore these samples, sound sets or audio may not be repackaged in whole or in part as audio samples, sound libraries or sound effects."
In essence: You can be a sound designer and sell your unique Massive presets if they are your original creations. However, you cannot simply re-sell or re-package Native Instruments pre-existing sounds or components as a new sound product.
Note: If you are unsure about a specific scenario, it's always best to contact NI Support directly for clarification.
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@Sunborn , Great work finding that information 🙂
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Thanks for all this info, I appreciate it!
Just to clarify, would it be allowed to sample original user presets in Massive and offer/sell them in a sampler?
Thanks again!
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Pretty much says No in the above info.
In the context of a project (with other sounds in a "typical" scenario) you are free to use the sounds otherwise there is no point in NI even existing but sampling the sounds raw, even if they are your own designed preset sounds and selling these would constitute resampling of the original instrument sound and is not allowed since you are releasing the sounds of Massive for people to purchase and use without owning Massive.
Presets and preset packs are usually fine if they are original sounds since a user has to own Massive to use them, you can't use them without the original plugin. If you just sample all the notes from a preset (even if you made it your own sound) and release that as a sampled instrument then you no longer need to own the synth so that is a copy, which is not allowed according to the TOC.
A general rule of thumb, if you sell the sound of something that people can recreate without that something being owned, you likely have to get permission direct from that somethings creator. If in doubt, personally I would seek actual legal advice but from what you directly describe, i'd say no that is not permissible.
In saying all that tho, people do release sample packs exactly as you have asked. Likely they are not legit however for NI to even make a copyright claim they have to launch legal action and prove without any doubt that the sounds are 100% from Massive without alteration, and that is costly and time consuming which is unlikely for a little random sample pack. If you use their name you may attract a Cease and Desist notice with threat of legal action. Any company can state their own terms however it all has to be proven in court to make any kind of claim so it's really up to you if you feel it is worth the potential hassle or not. Can also be rather messy between countries too so no company wants to go down that rout if they can avoid it.
I am not a lawyer tho, so again I would suggest consulting someone who is if you have doubts.0 -
That totally makes sense about users not needing to own Massive. Thanks for clearing this up for me, I appreciate all the insight!
That's also an interesting point about the samples being altered and not 100% made in Massive. I wonder if that would help avoid any possible problems? But I'd rather keep it safe and not risk any violation of the terms ;)
Thanks again for answering my question!
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I think if you were to directly ask NI, answer would still be NO.
However, plenty of people out there just release samples packs derived direct from synth sounds because to take action costs money and time and most companies will instead just send C&D notices. It can even happen if using just part of a trademark or a logo or something. I know this because I have received C&D notices in the past, usually because of some reference to something that was never cleared, hence why on a website there is a need for a disclaimer page for use of logos etc but comes down to the aggressiveness of a company. Small operators just won't bother for small infractions but larger companies (like NI) have dedicated services that automatically scour the internet for this kind of thing and legal departments to issue notices. End of the day they just want to shut things down, not open legal battles.Just think in terms if YOU created the plugin yourself and someone else was sampling all the sounds in it and making money from their packs now and you aren't making money because all the good sounds can just be purchased as a pack, what would you do if you had a legal department available to you?
Anyway, now you have asked the question on their own forum, consider that a likely higher priority you will be discovered faster if you ever try to take a punt :)
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Completely understand. I had no intention of trying to do something like that (sorry if it sounded that way) which is why I'm being very thorough in asking for clarification here and I also reached out to NI directly earlier with my question.
Again, thanks for your and everyone's input on this. I've never shared presets before and wanted to understand what's permitted before doing so.
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