You can use Creative Commons synthwave in a video or stream only if the track's licence allows it, and most tracks on our radio do not allow the most common video use. About two thirds of the radio's tracks carry a licence with a NoDerivatives condition, and Creative Commons says that putting music in timed relation with a moving image counts as an adaptation, which that condition forbids for anything you share.[1] To use a track safely, check its licence letters first, then credit the artist. We cannot tell you any track is safe for everything, and neither can anyone else without reading the licence and asking the rights holder.
The short answer
- Any licence: you must credit the artist.
- "NC" (NonCommercial): you cannot use the track mainly for commercial advantage or money. Whether a monetised channel counts depends on the facts.
- "ND" (NoDerivatives): you cannot adapt the track, and adding it to a video is an adaptation.
- "SA" (ShareAlike): what you make from it must be shared under the same licence.
- When in doubt: write to the artist. Creative Commons itself advises asking the rights holder when you are unsure.[1]
What the CC letters mean
Creative Commons licences are built from four conditions. Jamendo, the platform that hosts the tracks on our radio, explains them in plain terms for artists.[4]
| Letters | Meaning | What it means for a video |
|---|---|---|
| BY | Credit the creator and link the licence | Always required |
| NC | Not for primarily commercial purposes | Check whether your channel earns money |
| ND | No adaptations shared | Cannot be used in a public video, except as noted below |
| SA | Share what you make under the same licence | Your video must carry the same licence terms |
Two details matter more than the others. First, the legal text for NonCommercial in the version 3.0 licences (the version of most tracks on our radio) says you may not use the work "primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation".[2] Creative Commons says it cannot decide for you whether a use is commercial.[1]
Second, the NoDerivatives condition. The FAQ says that syncing music in timed relation with a moving image is always considered an adaptation, and that NoDerivatives licences do not permit remixing except for private use.[1] The 3.0 legal code says the same in its own words.[2] In practice, that means a BY-NC-ND track is for listening, not for putting under a video you publish.
One more point that helps: a licensor cannot cancel a licence already granted unless you breach its terms, so a track you used correctly will not become unlicensed later.[1]
What our radio pool actually contains
Frekvenci's radio plays Creative Commons music from Jamendo. At the 18 Oct 2026 snapshot the pool has 17,463 tracks, and the licences break down like this:
| Licence | Tracks |
|---|---|
| CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 | 11,015 |
| CC BY 3.0 | 2,812 |
| CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 | 1,349 |
| CC BY-SA 3.0 | 1,140 |
| CC BY-ND 3.0 | 733 |
| CC BY-NC 3.0 | 280 |
| Older 2.0 and 2.5 versions | 134 |
Read it this way. About 73% of the tracks have the NC condition, and about 67.5% have ND. BY-NC-ND is the single biggest licence, with 11,015 tracks, about 63% of the pool. Only the BY and BY-SA rows (3,981 tracks in all, counting the few older SA versions) have neither NC nor ND, and those are the ones you could reasonably use in a monetised video, with credit.
Another thing to know: the pool is not all classic synthwave. By family, the largest share is pop-leaning (10,805 tracks), then synthwave (5,061), dreamwave (1,465) and darksynth (124). If you want driving synthwave, the Night Drive station (92.0 FM) has 5,061 tracks, and the Dark station (94.6 FM) has 124. The pool is a Jamendo catalogue, separate from the commercial labels in the rest of the archive; for those, ask the label or artist.
YouTube, Twitch and "non-commercial"
YouTube. YouTube lets creators apply the CC BY licence to their own videos, but only if the video is theirs, already under CC BY, or in the public domain, and not if it has a Content ID claim. People who reuse a CC BY video must credit the creator, and YouTube says you can monetise CC content only if its licence grants commercial rights.[5] That last point is the one that bites. If your channel earns money from ads, a NC track is a risk, even if you credit the artist correctly.
Twitch. A Creative Commons licence and a platform's music rules are two separate checks. Twitch sets its own guidelines for music on streams and saved broadcasts, and they change, so read the current version before you go live, then apply the same licence checks as for a video. Synthwave for YouTube and Twitch: what you can actually use walks through both platforms.
The honest rule. If the track has NC and your channel is monetised, or if it has ND and you will publish the result, ask first.
Which licence fits which use
Read the table as a first filter, not legal advice; Creative Commons says to ask the rights holder when the answer is unclear.[1]
| Your use | Track is BY | Track is BY-SA | Track is NC | Track is ND |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listening, no sharing | Fine | Fine | Fine | Fine |
| Background in a public video, no income | Credit the artist | Credit, and share under the same licence | Usually fine with credit; the test is purpose, not who you are | Not allowed: syncing counts as an adaptation |
| Background in a monetised video | Credit the artist | Credit, and share under the same licence | Ask the artist first | Not allowed |
| A remix or edit you keep private | Fine | Fine | Fine | Private use only |
For games, the same logic applies to anything you ship; see Synthwave for game developers: licences, sources and credits. If no track fits, ask the artist for permission in writing, or choose a self-releasing artist from Do it yourself: how much synthwave is self-released?, who can answer you directly.
The credit line to copy
Creative Commons recommends crediting four things, summed up as TASL: the Title, the Author, the Source (a link) and the Licence (named and linked to its deed).[3] It says no one format is required, as long as it suits the medium. The radio shows a track like this, as an example of the pattern: "Disaster — Lilly Wolf · CC BY 3.0 · via Jamendo".
For a video description, a reliable version is:
"Track title" by Artist name (link to the Jamendo track page), licensed under CC BY 3.0 (link to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Use the exact licence shown on the track page. A BY 3.0 track links to the 3.0 deed. If it says BY-SA, add that you share the result under the same licence.
Where else to find Creative Commons synthwave
- Jamendo itself. Filter by licence and read each track's page. It is the source of our radio. Jamendo's artist help page points to a separate service, Jamendo Licensing, for uses a Creative Commons licence does not cover; check there if you need a commercial licence for a NonCommercial track.[4]
- The Free Music Archive. Its front page describes it as free to play, download and share; it leaves the terms to each track, so read the licence on every page you use.[6]
- Artists on Bandcamp and elsewhere. Many artists publish under CC licences and state them on the release page. Do not assume; look.
- Frekvenci's own archive. The archive lists 8,105 synthwave releases from 3,756 artists, and 1,939 are self-released. A self-releasing artist is the person to email, and many will answer.
Tracks from the pool, with their licences
These tracks come from the radio pool and show how the licence is displayed. They are not in the release archive, which lists MusicBrainz and Discogs releases, so they carry no internal page; each links to its Jamendo page. Always check the licence on the page before you use a track.
| Track | Artist | Licence | Jamendo page |
|---|---|---|---|
| With the lights out | Detaltactic | CC BY 3.0 | track 1057406 |
| The Devil You Know | Lilly Wolf | CC BY 3.0 | track 1093614 |
| Seizure | Highfield Sound | CC BY 3.0 | track 1173684 |
| Little Cookie | Reno Project | CC BY-NC 3.0 | track 1027605 |
| Space | Zbigniew "ZIBBON" Pisarczyk | CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 | track 1001725 |
The BY tracks allow the widest use; the last row is what most of the pool looks like.
Questions people ask
Can I monetise a video that uses a BY track?
Often yes, if the licence has no NC condition and you credit the artist in the way the licence asks. YouTube's own help page says Creative Commons content can be monetised only when its licence grants commercial rights.[5]
What if I only add the track as quiet background?
The licence does not care how loud it is. Creative Commons says syncing music with a moving image is always an adaptation, so an ND track is out for anything you publish, however quiet.[1]
To see the licence badge on a playing track, tune the Night Drive station (92.0 FM) or the Dark station (94.6 FM). For what makes the genre tick, the quickest start is What is synthwave? A plain guide, with the numbers, and How synthwave is made: the sounds, the gear, the tricks explains how these tracks are built.
Sources
- Creative Commons FAQ · Creative Commons
- CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 legal code · Creative Commons
- Recommended practices for attribution · Creative Commons wiki
- Creative Commons explained · Jamendo Artist Support
- License types on YouTube · YouTube Help
- Free Music Archive · freemusicarchive.org