# VGMusic.com

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"VGMA" redirects here. For other uses, see [[[Vodafone Ghana Music Awards](/source/Vodafone_Ghana_Music_Awards)]].

**The Video Game Music Archive**, also known as **VGMusic.com** or **VGMA**, is a website that archives [MIDI](/source/MIDI) sequences of [video game music](/source/Video_game_music), ranging from tunes of the [NES](/source/Nintendo_Entertainment_System) era to modern pieces featured in [Xbox Series X/S](/source/Xbox_Series_X_and_Series_S), [Nintendo Switch](/source/Nintendo_Switch) and [PS5](/source/PlayStation_5) games. Currently, there are over 30,000 MIDI sequences hosted on the site across approximately 47 gaming platforms. The [SNES](/source/Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System) directory has the most MIDI sequences of any directory on this site. VGMusic.com is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, video game music websites online.

The owner of the website is Michael Newman (Yaginuma), who graduated from the [University of Connecticut](/source/University_of_Connecticut) and who is a [chemical engineer](/source/Chemical_engineer) by day. Day-to-day site operations are maintained by a small team of volunteer staff members, performing tasks such as server administration, site updates and archive maintenance.

## General

VGMusic.com accepts remakes/covers, arrangements, and remixes of video game music in [MIDI](/source/MIDI) format. The MIDI sequences are typically [General MIDI](/source/General_MIDI) and [GM2](/source/General_MIDI_Level_2) standard, but sequences that use proprietary MIDI standards like [Roland GS](/source/Roland_GS) and [Yamaha XG](/source/Yamaha_XG) are also available on the site. Formerly [RIFF MIDI](/source/Musical_Instrument_Digital_Interface#RIFF-RMID_File_Format) (RMI) format sequences were also available, but currently only MIDI types 0 and 1 (MID) are available. The community is driven by a user-base of musicians from around the world, who [transcribe](/source/Transcription_(music)) the music into midi format [by ear](/source/Learning_music_by_ear) using [sequencing software](/source/Music_sequencer).

In addition to the music sections for game consoles and home computer systems, there is also a [Medley](/source/Medley_(music)) section. Submitted medleys consist of music selections from anything between one game and multiple games and franchises; the style or theme of the medleys is at the discretion of the sequencers. There is also a Piano Only section, which hosts sequences transcribed to use two MIDI tracks, one for each hand on piano. These sequences can subsequently be opened using appropriate [score-writing](/source/Scorewriter) software, and printed out as [sheet music](/source/Sheet_music). Arrangements for [piano duet](/source/Piano_duet) and [organ](/source/Organ_(music)) are also accepted.

No users receive money for submitting their sequences, and there are no paid staff sequencers employed by the site.

## Submission process and site standards

When the site was initially launched, there was a greater emphasis on quantity rather than quality, but the expected quality of submissions has risen as the user base and popularity of the site has steadily increased over its life-time. The standards are typically lower for songs not currently in the archive, and are often elevated for songs that have been sequenced many times before. The expected quality of remixes is also high.

Updates occur infrequently; the staff asserts that infrequent large updates are easier to perform than frequent smaller ones with the way the site is currently designed.[1] E-mail notifications are sent when files are accepted or rejected, occasionally with feedback with advice for improving the sequence for later revisions or informing the user on what they could do to ensure their sequence is accepted on subsequent submissions. However, there is currently no error-checking done on names or e-mail addresses, meaning users that submit false information will not receive e-mails.

Any file can be removed at the discretion of the staff if they feel it is not up to the site's standards, even after approval. However, many files that were accepted in the site's early days have been [grandfathered](/source/Grandfather_clause) in, despite not meeting the current standards.

### Controversy and reform

Some music is not permitted to be hosted on the site, at the request of the original composers. The PC section of the site was also removed, but reinstated again several years later, with a warning to not upload rips or conversions of music taken directly from games. There is also a list of composers whose work is not accepted on the site for any apparent reason. [2] The site rejects direct reproductions and rips from original game soundtracks, as well as conversions. This was primarily to minimize [copyright infringement](/source/Copyright_infringement) issues, but also because of the typically poor quality of conversions, and to focus the site on content created entirely by the users.

## Papers

In addition to hosting music, VGMusic.com also hosts several academic papers related to video game music.

- [Video Game Music: Not Just Kid Stuff](http://www.vgmusic.com/information/vgpaper.html) by Matthew Belinke
- [Levels of Sound](http://www.vgmusic.com/information/vgpaper2.html) by Eric Pidkameny
- [Quality Video Game Music Scores, Considering the Standards Set, and Personal Reflections](http://www.vgmusic.com/information/vgpaper3.html) by Daniel DeCastro

## In the media

- "The Fan Site of the Month", *Ultra Game Players*, October 1997
- King, Brad (February 2000), ["Scoring a Grammy"](https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.02/mustread.html?pg=13), *Wired Magazine*. Vol. 8, no. 2, CondéNet, retrieved 2007-02-22
- "Name That Game Tune", *Yahoo! Internet Life*, March 2000, p. 56
- "Video Game Music Archive", *Official PlayStation 2 Magazine UK*, June 2002, p. 124
- ["Site of the Nite: Videogame Music Archive"](http://www.g4tv.com/screensavers/features/40241/Site_of_the_Nite_Videogame_Music_Archive.html). The Screen Savers. TechTV. 2002-10-08.
- Kushner, David (October 2003), "Videogame Deejays", *Official PlayStation Magazine US*
- ["Sarah's Web tip: Videogame soundtracks"](http://www.g4tv.com/screensavers/episodes/2222/Artist_Dion_Socia_500_Gaming_PC_Digital_Digs_Winners.html). No. 1144. The Screen Savers. Episode 1144. TechTV. 2004-01-23.

## References

1. [Frequently Asked Questions – General Site Questions](http://www.vgmusic.com/faq/faq-gen.shtml#18)

1. ["The Bad List"](https://www.vgmusic.com/new-files/upload/badlist.shtml). Retrieved 12 May 2023.

## External links

- [Official Website](http://www.vgmusic.com/)
- [Official Forums](https://web.archive.org/web/20080516045507/http://www.vgmusic.com/forums/) (Broken)
- [VGMusic IRC chatroom information](https://web.archive.org/web/20051120003156/http://vgmusic.com/irc/)
- [VGMusic.com Status](https://web.archive.org/web/20080712114028/http://community.livejournal.com/vgmusic_status/) - [Livejournal](/source/Livejournal) Group run by VGMusic.com staff to report the site's downtime status

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [VGMusic.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGMusic.com) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGMusic.com?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.