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Request for a Host for a MIDI Site

kwokmengit

New Member
My previous host, T35, recently shut down their free hosting service and I am looking for a new host to relocate my site.

Currently I am running a website hosting anime MIDIs made by contributors.

Here is what I currently need:
Space: 1GB with an option to expand more in the future
Bandwidth: 5GB monthly
Scripting: PHP
Database: MySQL with about 1GB++ space
Domain: No domains

My duration with previous host was about 7 years and I want a host that can last or go beyond this duration. I don't mind having ads on the site as long as it keeps the hosting service running.

Finally, I will not consider any type of paid hosting.

Thanks in advance.
 
Are the MIDI files legal? I realize that they are being uploaded by contributers, so you would have the rights to host them, but do those people have the appropriate rights to create MIDIs from the original music?
 
As far as I am aware that there is an allocation in the law for fair use on this matter provided as long as it is used for educational use or non-profit use.

Similar sites have adopted this approach and as far as I am aware:
Hammienet.com - Check the Terms and Conditions at the bottom of the page.
ichigos.com - The legal section

(I can't post links since I haven't got to the minimum posts yet)

To clarify, there is no automated PHP script to enable self uploading of the files and I personally scan the files first before it is uploaded.
 
Ah! One of Music!
I can provide you with hosting. 1 GB web space and 5 GB bandwidth, with unlimited features (mysql, PHP, email, etc).
PM me if you are interested. Thanks!
 
As far as I am aware that there is an allocation in the law for fair use on this matter provided as long as it is used for educational use or non-profit use.

Similar sites have adopted this approach and as far as I am aware:
Hammienet.com - Check the Terms and Conditions at the bottom of the page.
ichigos.com - The legal section

(I can't post links since I haven't got to the minimum posts yet)

To clarify, there is no automated PHP script to enable self uploading of the files and I personally scan the files first before it is uploaded.

I'm no lawyer but I have been watching copyright news lately, and it's not a slam dunk to be fair use. MOST bands will be fine with it, but if you get a takedown notice from a grumpy label, just do it. Fair Use has been taking a bad pounding the last five years.
 
Yeah, fair use isn't quite what it used to be. Too many greedy artists and record labels.
 
I'm no lawyer but I have been watching copyright news lately, and it's not a slam dunk to be fair use. MOST bands will be fine with it, but if you get a takedown notice from a grumpy label, just do it. Fair Use has been taking a bad pounding the last five years.
Well it's hard to say about that though but with lawyers going crazy. I am too am not a lawyer but I did some extensive research about the matter on the legality of it but lawyers are clever enough to find a way round this.

Yeah, fair use isn't quite what it used to be. Too many greedy artists and record labels.
That's the problem with the music industry as a whole as they are just stuck too much in the past.

Ironically, I looked at some of the websites around, all of these sites that serve these kinds of MIDI files have been surviving for quite a long time ever since I posted a request in this forum quite some time ago.
 
A famous man once said, "I'd rather 100,000 people listen to my song, and only 100 people buy it, then only 100 people listen to my song and 100 people buy it."
The motto here is "illegal" music downloads (in any form, MIDI, sheet music, mp3, etc) don't hurt the music industry like they say. Yes, they may hurt Apple Itunes, and major record labels, but in the long run, it doesn't effect the artist financially. The artist gets more listeners. Hey, the majority of money made by artists comes from live performances anyway...

Unfortunately, we do live in America, where this is Illegal. America has many great things, but overly protective copyright laws isn't one of them...xD
 
Let me interject here with some information about MIDI files. MIDI files are not subject to the same copyright protections that the law demands on original recordings. They fall short because the MIDI file itself contains a song or melody that we will associate with an actual song, BUT it's not recognized as an original or mixed form. MIDI files cannot be registered by the US Copyright Office, so they do not share the same implied copyright protection that the original recording has.
 
How much space do you require? PM me. I can provide DirectAdmin hosting for free which will last, I have a Lifetime DirectAdmin license. I also have a cPanel license but have been warning users that we may not be able to continue after next year with cPanel if I don't earn money from adverts etc. The cPanel license expires on 11th September 2012.

As long as you can predict your disk usage approximately and tell me then I may be able to sort something out.
 
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Let me interject here with some information about MIDI files. MIDI files are not subject to the same copyright protections that the law demands on original recordings. They fall short because the MIDI file itself contains a song or melody that we will associate with an actual song, BUT it's not recognized as an original or mixed form. MIDI files cannot be registered by the US Copyright Office, so they do not share the same implied copyright protection that the original recording has.

Hi Deeplist. Do you know of a crisp reference about that which we can study? "As common knowledge" that may have been true even five years ago, but copyright rules have sharpened dramatically recently, and your note may not be completely true anymore.
 
Hi Deeplist. Do you know of a crisp reference about that which we can study? "As common knowledge" that may have been true even five years ago, but copyright rules have sharpened dramatically recently, and your note may not be completely true anymore.

After reading your reply, I did some research. Apparently it was true back in 1993, but not now.

The US Copyright Office ("USCO") is now accepting copyright registration filings for your original music in Standard MIDI File (SMF) format, as well as for sequences (covers) of published and recorded songs.
Source: http://www.midi.org/techspecs/smf.php

I stand corrected.
 
After reading your reply, I did some research. Apparently it was true back in 1993, but not now.
Source: http://www.midi.org/techspecs/smf.php

I stand corrected.

Thank you very much Deeplist for your honorable reply.

Copyright is becoming a "problem" which I have quietly studied for a few years now. It is quite true there used to be a "Free Spirit" mood back in those days. However, due to many factors, the highest levels of governments and corporations world wide have seized upon copyright as a "social hack" which is being used to increase aggressive surveillance.

Somewhere in all this, is that I feel it makes green newcomers less likely to want to be new web clients like back in the 90's.

However much heat I have garnered for my stuttering web design, I can assert that it is nearly all home cooked, precisely with copyright issues in mind.
 
A MIDI file is not the original song, it's an interpretation recorded with a musical keyboard or notes written with a musical notation software.
Midi files can be used for studying, for learning, or for showing musical techniques.
It's like a prototype...not the copyrighted song itself.
 
So? Can it be hosted or not?

I am offshore and will proberbly be able to host it. I am getting a reply from our lawyer tomorrow.
 
A MIDI file is not the original song, it's an interpretation recorded with a musical keyboard or notes written with a musical notation software.
Midi files can be used for studying, for learning, or for showing musical techniques.
It's like a prototype...not the copyrighted song itself.

'I don't care if it's an interpretation, if you don't have the copyright owner signoff, it's called a Derivitive Work, and you will get slammed'.

Sorry to break it to ya, but Copyright in 2011 ain't what it used to be in 1993.
 
It doesn't have the original sound, it would be impossible. It's some kind of a copy, that can be used on musical keyboards, for education. Or to show the scores.
 
So? Can it be hosted or not?

I am offshore and will probably be able to host it. I am getting a reply from our lawyer tomorrow.

I am very interested in that letter! Do you have permission to generally distribute the letter as "general advice, not legal advice etc etc?" Or is it for your company only?

Of course Netherlands Law isn't US Law, so all kinda of chaos could ensue.
 
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