Every Freesound sound carries its own independently chosen license

Freesound does not apply a single site-wide license. Each uploader independently selects one of three Creative Commons licenses at upload time: CC0 (public domain dedication), CC-BY (attribution required), or CC-BY-NC (attribution + non-commercial restriction). Because licenses are set per file, two sounds by the same artist can carry different terms. Downloaders must check the license on every individual sound page before using it, not assume a blanket policy. A fourth legacy option, Sampling+, also exists for older sounds but is being phased out. This per-file model is the foundational fact a user must grasp before building any sample-sourced work from Freesound.

Examples

A field recording by the same uploader might be CC0, while a processed synth patch from them is CC-BY-NC. Both appear on the same user profile page, so checking the individual sound page is essential.

Assessment

Given three Freesound sound pages with differing license badges, state what attribution and commercial-use obligations apply to each. Identify which sounds could be used in a revenue-generating YouTube video without asking permission.