# What is the CC Sampling+ licence?

> 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.

Licensing guide, updated 2026-10-23. Sampling+ lets you transform a sound in new work, commercially too, but never in advertising or resold raw. What it allows and where you still meet it.

## What the licence says

Sampling+ was designed for remix culture. Its deed summarises three permissions and limits:

1. **Sampling and transformation**: you may sample, mash up or otherwise creatively transform the work for any purpose, commercial included, **except advertising**.
2. **Sharing**: you may copy and distribute the whole, unchanged work, but **only non-commercially**.
3. **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

- [ccMixter a cappellas](https://sound.shep.bot/search?q=acapella&category=vocals.acapella&providers=ccmixter)
- [Commercial-safe vocals instead](https://sound.shep.bot/search?category=vocals&commercial=true)

## Collections

- [Free acapellas](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-acapellas.md): Free a cappella vocals for remixes and new tracks, mostly from Creative Commons remix communities, with tempo and key where known and a licence verdict on each.
- [Free vocal chops](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-vocal-chops.md): Free vocal chop samples for house, future bass and pop: short sung syllables, cuts and stutters with BPM and key where known, and a licence verdict on each.

## Related guides

- [CC0 vs CC BY vs royalty-free samples: what's the difference?](https://sound.shep.bot/guides/cc0-vs-cc-by-vs-royalty-free.md): CC0, CC BY and royalty-free licences all allow commercial music, with different strings: credit, redistribution and who granted them. A plain comparison.
- [Can I use Freesound samples in a commercial release?](https://sound.shep.bot/guides/freesound-samples-commercial-use.md): Yes for CC0 and CC BY sounds (with a credit), no for CC BY-NC, conditions for Sampling+. How to check a Freesound licence before you release a track.
- [What counts as commercial use of a sample?](https://sound.shep.bot/guides/what-counts-as-commercial-use.md): Selling, streaming for royalties, monetised videos, beat leases, sync and client work are commercial. How non-commercial (NC) licences apply to music.
- [How to credit CC BY samples in a song](https://sound.shep.bot/guides/credit-cc-by-samples.md): The credit line a CC BY sample needs (title, author, source, licence, changes), where to put it on Bandcamp, YouTube and streaming, with copy-paste examples.

## Sources

- [Sampling+ 1.0 deed](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/)
- [NonCommercial Sampling+ 1.0 deed](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/)
- [Creative Commons: retired legal tools](https://creativecommons.org/retiredlicenses/)

This guide is practical information, not legal advice.

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Source: https://sound.shep.bot/guides/cc-sampling-plus