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Attribution

Some sample libraries ask you to credit their creator when you share music made with them. If a library you're using requires attribution:

  • Floe shows you the exact attribution text.
  • Copy and paste the text wherever you share your music.
  • Your music is still yours: you can sell it, relicense it and so on. You just need to credit the creator of the sounds.

These points assume the license is the "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International" license — a very common attribution-required license.

Disclaimer: whilst this page is based on research and understanding of the topic, it is not legal advice. You should check the license details yourself.

About attribution-required licenses​

A license tells you what you can and can't do with a sample library. Most developers choose a license that allows you to use the sounds in your music without having to credit them.

However, some developers choose an attribution-required license such as the widely-used Creative Commons Attribution license (also known as "CC BY").

This license allows you to use the sounds for free, even in commercial projects, as long as you credit the creator by including a bit of attribution text along with your music. For example, you might include the text in a caption on your website, in the album notes or in a credits roll (or any "reasonable manner"). The music that you create with sounds under this license is yours: you can sell it, stream it, relicense it or give it away; you are just required to credit the sound's creator.

For some people, giving attribution is a deal-breaker. But there are good reasons it might not be so bad:

  • Attributions support the creators of sounds, giving them recognition, traffic and potential customers.
  • Attributions can look professional and show a high level of care in your work.
  • Sharing where your sounds come from helps other musicians find great sounds too, raising the quality of music everywhere.

How Floe helps​

Floe makes attribution easy. When you load a sound from a library that requires it, a small red icon appears at the top of the window. Click it to see the exact text to copy and paste wherever you need it. Floe gathers the requirements from every instance of Floe you have open, so you only need to do this once.

Attribution GUI