Questions about Nico Nico Douga...?

Question:

1. を歌わせていただきました！
Google Translate says this means "I was allowed to sing". Does that mean that the singer must ask permission before singing to a song? I'm used to reading "I tried to sing" only OTL

2. Is permission needed for using singer's covers or anyone's videos before creating a nico chorus?

3. I've been wanting to use Osamuraisan's Vocaloid Acoustic medley. He put on the title (on both Youtube and Nico) that it is a "working BGM". I'm aware that bgm推奨 means on nico that someone recommends to the creator the video be used as background music for other videos, but what about 作業用BGM? Can a working BGM be used without having to ask permission first?

4. Does もっと評価されるべき mean that the video needs to be seen more by others, or that it should be improved?

Answer:

1. Okay, I had to google for this one, but one of the top mentions I see of it is on Soraru's twitter, and he got special permission to cover "AiMai Elegy" by DECO*27... so judging by that, I'd say that's a yes: "I got permission to sing this song"

2. Most people make Nico choruses without permission, and I think it's considered somewhat of an honor to be included in one. I know of a lot of singers who were pleasantly surprised to find themselves in choruses. And in terms of using videos/PVs, I usually check to see if it's one that's been used a lot before I use it, and check the source. I doubt, for instance, DECO*27 or akka and mirto would mind if you used the PV for Mozaik Role for a cover or chorus, but if you find a hand-drawn PV made by someone who isn't a ridiculously popular Vocaloid producer, you might want to ask just to be polite and indicate what you intend to do. Though on Nico, I'm not entirely sure how to do this... you might need to check their profile and hunt down contact info. And in terms of making a chorus, if you want to use art for singer portraits, definitely ask! xD

3. I'm not sure about the terms designating BGMs, but Osamuraisan seems pretty approachable on Youtube. Drop him a message or an email, and if you feel uncertain, include both a post in original simple English and a Google Translation. Or, even better, you could ask someone who subs Vocaloid videos to translate a message to him for you. I did that once when I asked EasyPop/BETTI for permission to cover "Party Night." It doesn't hurt to ask!

4. もっと評価されるべき is a tag used to indicate that people believe this video needs to be more popular than it already is. It's basically "this should be viewed more"


Hope my limited Nico knowledge helps! xD