Beaterator - Too restrictive license!

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fips
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Beaterator - Too restrictive license!

Post by fips »

I've just bought Rockstar's Beaterator for my PSP. It's rather a piece of software than a game. It allows one to compose songs in a pretty easy yet complex way. I'm impressed by the overall ergonomics of the game that perfectly exploits all the buttons on PSP including the analogue stick to bring completely seamless user experience. I would even go so far to say that it beats conventional desktop audio software in its usability.

However, after a few initial happy moments I've become a bit worried about what I've found in the license terms:

Beaterator Additional License Terms says:
Owners of this Software may use it to create their own tracks by arranging the Beaterator content and/or adding new content to create their own compositions ("User Tracks"). Rockstar Games grants owners a worldwide and royalty-free license to use, distribute and non-commercially exploit their User Tracks. This license is non-exclusive and all Software owners are licensed to use the same Beaterator content to create their User Tracks. All User Created Content terms herein shall apply to User Tracks uploaded to any website or on-line service related to the Beaterator Software or shared with other players using in-game features. Additional terms and restrictions may apply to any supplemental music, sounds, loops, or “stems” purchased or downloaded for use with Beaterator.

It makes perfect sense to me that you are not allowed to use the content (samples, loops, etc.) distributed with the application to compose commercial songs, but what I find strange here is the fact that even if you build a song based on your own content you are still prohibited from the commercial use just by using the tool to create the song! I think that's way too restrictive. I'm kind of upset by all the licenses, trademarks and software patents around.