How do I attribute music or audio?

When you use music or audio under a Creative Commons license, you must give the people who get it enough to identify the maker, find the source, and know what they can do. The 4.0 license condition requires you to retain, when supplied: the creator's name and designated attribution parties, a copyright notice, a notice referring to the license, a warranty disclaimer, and a URI or hyperlink to the material where reasonably practicable. You must also link or refer to the license and indicate any modifications you made, keeping earlier modification notices. The decisive exception: when a use is permitted by an exception or limitation such as fair use or fair dealing, the license conditions do not apply to that use. Your safest next step is to record the creator, source URL, exact license and version, displayed notices, exclusions and the date checked from the original source page, not a repost or thumbnail.

Spoken, On-Screen and Show-Notes Options

The goal is to distinguish what the legal text of a 4.0 license demands from what the TASL mnemonic recommends as good practice, and to include change notices correctly.

When you play CC-licensed music on a podcast, radio show, live stream or video, credit the creator in a way that is reasonable for the spoken medium. The 4.0 legal code requires attribution in any reasonable manner. A spoken credit at the start or end of the audio file satisfies that.

Say: "This track is by [Creator Name], shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. You can find the full track at [source URL]." Do not add any wording that implies the creator endorses you or your show. The license explicitly says attribution must not imply endorsement. If you edited the track, add: "I have cut the intro from 30 seconds to 10 seconds and faded the ending." This indication of changes is a legal requirement under 4.0.

The failure case: a listener hears the track on a platform like Spotify where the license notice is not shown. Your spoken credit is the only place the attribution exists. If you forget it, the license is breached and the rights terminate automatically. You then have a 30-day window from discovery to cure the breach, which produces automatic reinstatement.

When you use music or audio in a video, film, or animated sequence, the on-screen attribution must be readable and accessible. For a short clip, place the credit in the video itself. The lower third or the end credits both work. For a longer work, a consolidated credits page that maps each audio file to its creator, source URL, and license is reasonable if the mapping is clear and the credits remain readily accessible throughout the video's runtime.

What to Include On-Screen

Display: "Music by [Creator Name], [Track Title], licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: [URL]. Modifications: [list changes]." If the creator supplied a copyright notice or warranty disclaimer, include those too. Version 4.0 does not separately require the work's title, but including it is useful practice and older versions may require it when supplied. Do not use a QR code as the only attribution link. The URI or hyperlink must be direct for the medium. If you cannot fit the full text on screen, provide it in the video description and state that on screen: "Full credits in description."

The Exception for Fair Use or Fair Dealing

If your use of the audio qualifies as fair use under US law or fair dealing under UK or Canadian law, the license conditions do not apply to that use. You could still credit the creator as a courtesy, but the license does not require it. This distinction matters: a parody, commentary, or criticism of the audio itself may be exempt. Do not assume this exception applies. Its scope varies by jurisdiction and by the specific facts of your use.

The failure case: placing the credit in the video description only, with no on-screen mention, when the video is embedded on a platform that hides descriptions by default. The attribution is then not reasonably accessible.

For a podcast episode, a blog post embedding audio, or a video description, put the credit in the show notes or text. This is the most practical place. It can hold the full license notice, the source URL, and a list of changes.

Write: "Track: [Track Title] by [Creator Name]. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Source: [URL]. Modifications: [none, or describe each change]." If the audio is part of a collection like a music library, include the full citation from that collection. The collection's overall license does not replace the individual work's license. Add a disclaimer: "No endorsement by the creator is implied."

TASL vs. Legal Requirements

TASL stands for Title, Author, Source, License. It is a useful mnemonic for good practice, but it is not the complete legal text of the 4.0 attribution clause. The legal text for 4.0 requires you to also retain a copyright notice, a warranty disclaimer, and any other notices supplied by the licensor, plus indicate modifications and keep earlier modification notices. For show notes, you can satisfy all of these by copying the full notice from the original source page. The TASL mnemonic covers the most common elements but misses the copyright notice, warranty disclaimer, and modification indicator, all mandatory under 4.0.

Change Notices in Show Notes

Under 4.0, you must indicate modifications and retain earlier modification notices. If you cut the audio from 3 minutes to 1 minute, add a fade effect, and change the pitch, list each change: "Modified: trimmed to 1 minute, added fade-out, pitch raised by 2 semitones." If the original creator supplied a modification notice on their page, keep that notice in your show notes as well. The failure case: you adapt the audio, for example, synchronising it with a moving image, which is expressly Adapted Material under 4.0, and you do not indicate the adaptation. The adaptation itself is fine, but the missing change notice breaches the license.

Medium	What 4.0 Legally Requires	What TASL Adds or Omits	Change Notice Needed?
Spoken (podcast, radio, live stream)	Creator name, license name and link, source URL. No implied endorsement.	TASL omits 'no endorsement' requirement and copyright notice. TASL omits modification indicator.	Yes — must state any changes to the audio.
On-screen (video, film, animation)	Creator name, license name and link, URI hyperlink, copyright notice, warranty disclaimer if supplied.	TASL omits copyright notice, warranty disclaimer, and any supplied notices. TASL includes title, which is not mandatory in 4.0.	Yes — must display changes near the credit.
Show notes / description (podcast, blog, video description)	All four TASL elements plus copyright notice, warranty disclaimer, source URL, and modification indicator.	TASL covers title, author, source, license but misses copyright notice, warranty disclaimer, and modifications.	Yes — must list each change and keep earlier notices.

A common failure when attributing music or audio under a Creative Commons license is omitting the indication of modifications. The 4.0 legal code requires this for any Adapted Material, including synchronising audio with video, trimming, or editing. Many reusers rely on the TASL mnemonic and never include a change notice. This omission breaches the license, causing automatic termination of rights.

Another common failure is relying on a platform's built-in credit field without verifying the original source. YouTube's CC option has historically been CC BY, but that may not apply to the audio track, only to the video as a whole. Open the original source page, record the exact license and version, and capture a screenshot. Do not trust a search thumbnail or a platform filter alone.

Another failure is assuming that all CC material comes without conditions. The six 4.0 International licenses all require attribution. Even CC0, which is a public domain dedication, does not require credit as a legal condition, but community norms and the risk of plagiarism still make credit proper. Only works under CC0 or the Public Domain Mark can be described as public domain.