Where/how can one get LEGAL songs for stepmania?

[aooga]

This is not a simfile request. I was surprised to hear that sites with downloads for songs are/could be illegal, does that include mainstream ones like fileplanet? Anyways, is it universal? If I want to legally dance on my PC, what are my options? Where should I get/pay for songs?

[abrannan]

My understanding is the the song pack on Fileplanet consists of songs from MAX, which AFAIK are being used without proper licensing, but I could be wrong. Fileplanet does not vet the files that are put up by others on their site.

What are your options? Well, one option is to produce your own simfiles, since fair personal use attaches if you are not distributing your files to others, but rather using the tools to create your own personal DDR mix, but I realize that 99.5% of the people out there do not have the technical wherewithal, desire, drive or ability to plod through and produce their own simfiles.

Some of the simfiles out there are legitimate, I know there are at least one or two entries in each of the TournaMixes that come from music the submitter made. The problem is that as far as I know, nobody has created a categorically legal simfile database/distribution point.

[aooga]

Thanks for the reply. I wish someone would make such a database, or at least make a list of legit files that you can get from those sites which have both. Some on the files on the other sites seem like they might be legit, but I'm not sure. Oh well. I think it's something we should look into though, b/c there is open source music and musicians and people who will work on simfiles themselves, we just have to bring them together...

[Grant.]

The best way is to use the sites that StepMania.com provide you, that's how I got mine. I just wish I could find Maximizer.