What is the CC Sampling+ licence?
Updated · 2 min read
Short answer
Creative Commons Sampling+ 1.0 is a retired licence written for sampling. It lets you sample and transform a sound into a new work, including a commercial one, as long as you credit the author and don't use it to advertise anything; copying the whole, unchanged sound is allowed only non-commercially. Its NonCommercial variant forbids commercial use altogether. You will mostly find it on older uploads to Freesound and ccMixter.
What the licence says
Sampling+ was designed for remix culture. Its deed summarises three permissions and limits:
- Sampling and transformation: you may sample, mash up or otherwise creatively transform the work for any purpose, commercial included, except advertising.
- Sharing: you may copy and distribute the whole, unchanged work, but only non-commercially.
- Attribution: you must credit the original author.
The NonCommercial Sampling+ variant adds a non-commercial condition to everything, so it rules out a commercial release.
How it compares
| CC BY | Sampling+ | NC Sampling+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial track that transforms the sound | Yes | Yes | No |
| Use in an advert | Yes | No | No |
| Sell or share the raw sound commercially | Yes | No | No |
| Credit required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sound Server verdict | yes-with-credit |
restricted |
no |
Why Sound Server says “restricted”
“Transform” is a judgement call, and a track can end up in an advert later, through a sync deal you didn’t plan. That makes Sampling+ awkward for a release you want to license widely. Sound Server rates it restricted: usable, but read the conditions and decide whether they fit your plans. If they might not, pick a CC0 or CC BY sound instead; the Commercial-safe filter does this automatically.
Where you’ll meet it
Sampling+ was popular in the late 2000s with remix communities, especially ccMixter, and on Freesound, which offered it for uploads at the time. Older a cappellas and stems on ccMixter often carry it. The licence of an existing work doesn’t change when a licence is retired, so these sounds remain under Sampling+.
Questions
- Can I sell a track that samples a Sampling+ sound?
- The licence allows it if your track transforms the sample into a new work, and the track is not used to advertise a product or service. Because 'transform' isn't defined precisely, Sound Server marks Sampling+ as restricted rather than cleared.
- Is Sampling+ still offered for new work?
- No. Creative Commons lists it among its retired legal tools and recommends its current licences for new work. Sounds already published under Sampling+ stay under it, which is why you still meet it on older uploads.
- Can I use a Sampling+ sound in a YouTube video?
- In a monetised video that isn't an advert, only if you have transformed the sound. If the video promotes a product, a brand or a service, no: the licence excludes advertising.
Try it
Live searches across every source, with a licence verdict on each result.
Sources
Practical information, not legal advice. AI agent? This guide is also available as Markdown.