Sampling+ is a retired CC license that Freesound cannot unilaterally remove from existing sounds

Creative Commons no longer recommends Sampling+ because its terms are ambiguous — it allowed sampling for non-commercial creative work but banned commercial advertising, a distinction that is hard to interpret. Freesound cannot simply change existing sounds’ licenses because users own their sounds; Freesound can only prompt each user to upgrade when they next log in. Until every original Sampling+ uploader has signed in and upgraded, those sounds remain on the platform under the deprecated license. Practically this means some older Freesound sounds still carry Sampling+ and a downloader must treat them under those terms. The key practical upshot: check the license badge on every sound page, not an assumed current policy.

Examples

A field recording uploaded in 2008 may still show ‘Sampling+’. A producer downloading it today must treat it under Sampling+ terms even though CC no longer recommends the license.

Assessment

Why can’t Freesound simply switch all Sampling+ sounds to CC-BY? What must happen before the Sampling+ license disappears from the platform?