General
What is Soundsnap?
Soundsnap is a free online sound library and community for sound designers and producers. People can upload sounds and share them with the world.
Is Soundsnap Free?
Yes. We are planning to support our operation costs by advertising and we might offer premium services in the future.
Who is Soundsnap for?
Soundsnap is mainly for Sound designers/recordists and music producers, filmmakers, web designer's and video game developers. It can also be useful to hobbyists for their home videos, people looking for ringtones and anyone else that needs sounds.
Who is behind Soundsnap?
Soundsnap was started by Tasos Frantzolas, a young sound designer living in Athens, Greece. There is no big investor or venture capitalist behind this. Tasos brought together a team of 20 people who are the core of the community and collected 30.000 quality sounds to offer to the public for free!
Why did you create Soundsnap?
People are moving from sample CD's and sound effects libraries to looking for sounds online. Everything is becoming digital and free. There was no one online offering a huge library of free material that was really high quality. Before Soundsnap, most sites were either paid sites or they had a lot of junk.
Can I use sounds from Soundsnap for free?
Yes, absolutely. You can use them in any commercial or non-commercial application (movies, music, theater, video games etc. etc). However, your use has to comply with the Soundsnap license and our terms of use. Our terms make attribution optional- but recommended, and don't allow commercial distribution of the material if it is not transformed at all or included in a derivative work (film, other music). Therefore, you cannot sell CD's with these sounds or re-sell them online as they are- but only as a part of your music, film, website, installation etc.
In what ways can people participate in the site?
The main way that users participate is by submitting sounds and loops. People can also create a small profile that will feature their top personal tags (keywords that they use to describe their sounds), their email and website. They can make a 'creative network' that features other artists/producers whose work they like. You have the option of commenting on a sound or making it a 'favorite'. We 've also got forum where people exchange opinions and discuss sound issues.
Is Soundsnap a non-profit organisation or is it a for-profit company?
We are a for-profit company. However, we 're not that involved with business models and cash flow at the moment. We 're mainly trying to offer people a great platform for free sounds and build an interesting community.
Sounds
How do I download sounds?
In order to download a sound you have to have sound results on your page. You can search for sounds via the search bar at the top, browse by category or browse by tag. On the sound 'teaser' click on the upper right corner an choose between mp3, wav or aif to download.
What sound formats are allowed?
Our system can accept .aifs and .wavs. Make sure that your the files are uncompressed. However, wav is the preferred format since it is the most compatible for different systems, compared to aif.
How do I upload sounds?
In order to upload, you have to be a member (membership is free and takes about 20 seconds). You then have to click on 'Upload' from the navigation menu and follow the 4 steps. Read our rules for uploading below:
What are the rules for uploading sounds to Soundsnap?
1. Make the library better, not worse. (Quality over quantity...) Have a listen and upload only things that are 'up to standard'.
What if a sound is illegal/abusive?
If a sound is illegal or abusive, click on its waveform and select ‘Report this Sound’ from the bubble that pops up. Then you can follow the instructions.
How do I delete a sound that I ‘ve uploaded?
You have to click on its filename and then go to the 'edit' tab. Click 'delete' on the bottom of the page.
How should I describe sounds?
Learn more about descriptions, tags and categories
here .
Creative network
What is my network?
Your network is your ‘buddy list’ on Soundsnap. It’s the people whose sounds you like and you want to show appreciation to. They appear on your profile page, as a block on the right hand side.
How do I add someone to my network?
You first have to go to their profile, by clicking on their name on a sound result or by searching for them though the advanced search, under the main search bar. On the bottom of their profile page box, click on the link which says ‘add to network’.
How do I remove someone from my network?
Go to their profile and select 'Remove from network' on the bottom of thei profile box.
Can everyone see my network?
Yes
Account
What do I do if I 've forgotten my password?
1. Go to the top of the page and click on 'login'
How do I change my password?
1. First, login from the top of the front page
Can I change my Soundsnap username?
At the moment, you cannot change your username— there is too much information associated with every account. But you can sign up for a new account with the username that you prefer.
Copyright & Legal
Do I have the right to use sounds from Soundsnap in my film/music/website/installation/theater play etc, for free?
Yes. Soundsnap is totally free and allows you to use sounds submitted by users for virtually anything. If you are not sure about using a sound, please read the Terms of Service, to make sure that you are making a fair and legal use of the works on the site.
Can I use sounds from Soundsnap for my commercial work?
Yes. This is clearly agreed by users uploading their sounds in the terms and licences and by the Soundsnap license. You can distribute derivative or collective works that include parts or the whole of the sound, but you cant distribute the sound itself for commercial reasons (for example selling a CD with sounds from Soundsnap or selling them from a website). For more info read the Soundsnap licence.
I have uploaded sounds into Soundsnap. Can I sell, distribute or release my sounds/samples?
Yes. The Soundsnap license is non-exclusive and does not stop you from commercially exploiting/releasing/selling your work. However, keep in mind, that people that downloaded sounds from this site will still have the right to use them as the Soundsnap Terms of Use and our Soundsnap license allows them to.
Can I copy your whole soundbank onto a CD and sell it commercially or re-sell them on my website?
Absolutely not. Thats clearly against our Terms of Use.
Can I take sounds from your site and distribute them for non-commercial reasons?
Mostly Yes. However read the Soundsnap Terms of Use to make sure that your use is legal.
Will Soundsnap ever compile a CD or DVD of the sounds on the site and sell them as sample CD's?
Absolutely not. That would be illegal and against our Terms of Use. However, we still have the right to give sounds for free for promotional purposes (promoting Soundsnap), for example as a giveaway with a magazine.
Do you also reject sounds due to low sound quality?
Yes. We take the quality of the library VERY seriously and try to keep it by eliminating sounds that are below our standards. This is a very painful process, deciding what stays and what goes, but it has to be done in order to maintain the quality of the library. Hopefully, as the website grows, we 'll have more administrators helping out with this process.Occasionally, if we discover that someone is uploading low quality material on purpose even after being warned via email, we will simply delete their profile.
