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Started November 30th, 2012 · 10 replies · Latest reply by jobro 11 years, 3 months ago
I've noticed a lot of requests in here lately for song vocals, and someone in another thread very appropriately pointed out that Freesound really isn't the best place to make such requests. Why? Well, from what I gather, the point of Freesound is to serve as a repository of free sounds that can be used in multiple projects: sound effects, instrument samples, etc. Vocals, on the other hand, are initially designed for a single project, and generally won't get used beyond that project. Sure, individual words can be pulled out, but the reuse potential is still very limited. The same thing goes for podcast/radio show intros and liners.
A better place for such requests is a site like RadioDaddy:
Their whole purpose is to give folks a place to make requests for voiceover elements, DJ drops, etc. They even have different forums for free requests vs. paid requests.
While I've responded to a couple vocal requests here on Freesound in my first few days on the site, I probably won't do any more, because I agree with earlier comments that this really isn't the best place for it. I highly recommend going through a service like RadioDaddy to make such requests. You could also contact me -- or any other user who has done such vocal work in the past -- with a direct request via private message, and we can send stuff to you directly. That would not only save space on the Freesound servers for more appropriate material, but save the moderators' valuable time as well.
I guess you're referring to afleetingspeck's response a few threads back. I think he was simply pointing out, very reasonably, that Freesound rests on a strong ethos of sharing, and that any sound initiated through Freesound should be available for others to use and listen to. For most requesters this doesn't present a problem, though obviously it might if you want to keep your project under wraps until it's released to the world. I think those are a fairly specialised subset of potential requests - everyone else accepts and enjoys the sharing element of the site.
I'm sure most Freesounders regard vocal samples as being just as valid, and potentially useful, as any other sound sample. I've given up trying to second-guess which samples will be useful or popular - I've actually been surprised at how many people eventually download some vocal requests that I (wrongly) assumed would have almost no 'sharing' value.
I'm sure radiodaddy is a fine alternative for some people/requests, but I think most users are very happy for vocal requests to be made here too.
I have total of sympathy for Justin's observations, but I'm in agreement with Speedenza. I think although dialogue requests may seem a bit "off-axis" to Freesound's core direction they add so much to Freesound's sense of community that they would be sorely missed if not allowed. Although I've never made or responded to a dialogue request (yet), the responses on the forum show many members enjoy the opportunity to join in. Also a lot of the resulting media generated use other samples from here too, keeping Freesound a sort of one-stop-shop for many.
Wibby.
I'll edit this post later, but vocals are highly valuable.
Have a listen:
http://soundcloud.com/afleetingspeck/voices-in-the-head
I've used it almost exclusively as percussion here.
To a creative mind, a vocal is still a "sound".
And as speedenze pointed out, please don't take my post on the other thread the wrong way.
As I mentioned, I do understand that some projects require secrecy, and that is perfectly all right (take Head Phaze's example, for example).
Thinking more about this (and expanding afleetingspeck's point) - vocal requests produce samples that are really useful to people who may not have the means to create the vocals themselves but still want to include vocal elements in their tracks. Not everyone has access to a good voice or mic, or the inclination to write a good lyric. For those people, previous vocal requests that get added to the database are a good resource to mine for material.
But for vocal requests, it's both the sound sample and the lyrics/text that are being shared. So it's reasonable for people reusing those requests to offer attribution to the writer of the lyrics as well as the person who created the sample - this doesn't always happen as a matter of course but it's good etiquette to offer attribution for all elements of the sounds you use. Most people are happy to have their work used by others (including their lyrics) provided they receive due credit for it.
Thanks so much for the comments. I can see how my original view of Freesound was probably a bit too narrow-minded with regard to how vocal samples can/might be used by its members. I appreciate the additional insights into this topic, and will probably continue to respond to vocal requests from time to time.
OK, quite a bit to be said here, because an important point is raised.
A community, especially an online one, these days has to have a niche to be useful/appealing to its users. A bigger question here, then, is what does freesound really stand for?
I haven't really read everything in the about us/ FAQs section, but based on how the community has been moving along for the past one year or so (and for a longer time before that, apparent by older posts here), I'd say that anything that is audible is readily accepted by almost every contributor as fair game for uploading, given it doesn't infringe on anyone's rights.
I'll try to address a couple things here.
JSBarrett:
1. "I've noticed a lot of requests... that Freesound really isn't the best place to make such requests" - If it was my post you were talking about, I think you may have misconstrued my idea. I was simply referring to, as Speedenza pointed out, the spirit in which we all share and use sounds via Freesound. Again, there is nothing wrong in asking for a sample request and asking for it to be kept private; however because the site is well, freesound.org and not paidsound.org, I was just a little intrigued by why the OP wanted a private channel for sharing of sounds. The reason I asked him/her to post the sound or the final product is just because I wanted to know what sound the person was after and whether or not the sound needed was worth the secrecy. Often times, we are paranoid (I am speaking for myself) that something that is ours may be stolen or used by others. But I've realized over time that most of that stuff never happens. People usually never want to steal something that is free to begin with, and something that is protected by CC licenses as well.
So yes, I got a bit selfish because I did want to study the situation, which is why I made that post, but I did not want anyone to misunderstand what I said. I do not own the site, and I have no right to dictate how people ask for requests, and whether or not they need to put it out their work for others to use.
2. There are vocals, too, that can be used across a broad range of projects. Take a look at vocal samples here on freesound, and look at the download numbers for a bunch of them. I think you will be surprised. Another point you raise is the reusability potential of vocal samples - well, here's something where I have a strong opinion: if the vocal sample is used in production and heard by even one person who likes the production, the effort was worth it. If we were really to talk about reusability potentials, I have a few percussion and weird sounds that are downloaded/used far less than two or three generic vocal samples I uploaded. You see where I'm going? Reusability shouldn't really be a deciding factor for uploading sounds, at least for this particular site. I agree that many sounds here are redundant and I've raised that point once before, but different people simply like different samples, and as I mentioned above, if it ends up helping even ONE person, the effort was worth it.
Anything else I may have wanted to say, I couldn't have put it better than Speedenza and strangely_gnarled.
I will add just one more quick thing to Speedenza's latest post. I'm guilty of trying to sew together different vocals from different sources to make sensible lyrics. May not get the best results, but it definitely is worth the fun, and I think I am immensely thankful for the people who did upload the samples.
I'll advise, though, that you shouldn't go by others' views, especially when you are doing work for free. If you like the request, think you are capable, and think you can help go for it. We all love that here at freesound!
As a reasonably new "freesounds' user/contributer I'm still learning but I've already added some of this site's offerings to my creations. As a means of 'giving back' I've listed my very novice but well intended vocal tracks for all to use. I'm far from expert but I do feel that Freesound is a community that gives us all a place and a vehicle to share. I hope that what I have listed may help someone else - however the downloaders choose to utilize my offerings. It seems to me that the goal of this site is win-win and in my experience, so far, it is exactly that. Let's help each other - share and share alike - sounds, vocals, whatever!