flatrender/services/remotion/docs/AUDIO_LIBRARY.md

FlatRender — Curated AUDIO Library Catalog

Synthesized from the flatrender-audio-sweep source set (33 source-rows surveyed → adversarial license + Iran-access verification per source). Mirrors the firewall discipline of services/remotion/docs/ASSET_LIBRARY.md. Read §7 (Reality Check) before treating any source as "done". Today only 4 self-authored CC0 stubs are vendored (public/audio/); everything below is an acquisition plan, not a shipped library.

Product context: Persian-first paid template SaaS. Audio is vendored into the repo (services/remotion/public/audio/) AND rendered into customer-downloadable MP4s (FlexStory.tsx already muxes audio/music-ambient.mp3 + sfx-whoosh/chime via staticFile()). This dual requirement — vendor the raw file AND bake it into a paid customer output — is the load-bearing test every source below is graded against.

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0. THE LOAD-BEARING QUESTION: "Can a paid SaaS render + vendor this?"

FlatRender does two things that most "free music/SFX" licenses quietly forbid:

1. Vendors the raw file — commits the .mp3/.wav into the repo and serves it at render time.
2. Bakes it into a paid customer MP4 that the customer downloads.

Only three license classes clear BOTH halves cleanly:

Class	Render-into-MP4	Vendor raw file	Attribution	Notes
CC0 / Public Domain	✅	✅	none	The only friction-free tier. Vendor + render + resell, zero conditions.
CC-BY	✅	✅	REQUIRED, travels with file	Legal but the credit must be auto-injected into every render + a notices file. Operational burden.
MIT (rare for audio)	✅	✅	notice file	n/a here — no audio source is MIT.

Everything else fails on at least one of these recurring traps:

• "No standalone-file redistribution" (Pixabay, Mixkit, 99Sounds, Sonniss, Zapsplat, Bensound, Tunetank, Storyblocks, Patrick de Arteaga, Envato) → you may render-into-MP4 but may NOT vendor the raw file. Fatal under FlatRender's vendor-the-file architecture.
• "No competing/stock-basis product" (Mixkit, Uppbeat, Envato, Storyblocks) → a paid template SaaS is the competing product. Hard NO.
• NonCommercial (-NC) (BBC RemArc, Jamendo-via-Openverse, FMA -NC slice) → paid SaaS is commercial. Hard NO.
• ShareAlike (-SA) / NoDerivatives (-ND) (FMA slices) → SA forces your paid MP4 to be released CC-BY-SA (fatal); ND treats sync-to-video as a prohibited derivative (fatal).
• Aggregator disclaimer (FMA, Openverse, Chosic, ccMixter "Free for Commercial") → the platform licenses nothing; the per-track upstream license governs and must be verified per file.
• Iran payment wall (Uppbeat, Bensound, Tunetank, Envato, Storyblocks, Patrick de Arteaga paid tier, incompetech/CreatorChords no-attribution upgrade) → the only compliant tier requires a foreign card/contract Iran cannot execute.

Net: the vendorable library must be built on the CC0 tier first (FreePD via archive.org, Freesound-CC0, Kenney, OpenGameArt-CC0), with CC-BY as a credit-pipeline tier (incompetech, ccMixter-CC0/BY, FMA-CC0/BY, Chosic-CC0). Persian/traditional is the hardest gap and has no clean CC0 bulk source — see §3.

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1. MUSIC — per-source verdicts

1.1 FreePD.com (Kevin MacLeod CC0 catalog) — ⭐ PRIMARY MUSIC SOURCE

• License: CC0 1.0 — full public-domain dedication, verified against CC legal code. Zero conditions: vendor + render + resell, no attribution. The cleanest tier for FlatRender's exact use case.
• Iran-access: freepd.com is DEAD (closed 2025). Catalog survives as a complete CC0 mirror at archive.org/details/freepd (1,025+ MP3, torrent + M3U). archive.org is intermittently reachable from Iran (VPN/Psiphon) — mirror NOW, don't depend on live access.
• Vibe: uplifting/corporate, calm/ambient, cinematic, playful. WEAK on Persian/traditional.
• Verdict: USE (CC0 clean). Rated "caution" in source only because the official host is dead and acquisition runs through a third-party archive.org mirror — license is spotless. Vendor the FreePD/CC0 version, never the Incompetech/CC-BY twin of the same track.

1.2 Freesound.org (CC0 filter) — ⭐ PRIMARY SFX + music-loop source

• License: per-sound; CC0 subset only. CC0 = "you could even sell the sound," no attribution, standalone redistribution OK. CC-BY usable with attribution. Hard-exclude CC-BY-NC + Sampling+.
• Acquisition catch: the Freesound API is NON-COMMERCIAL unless you sign a UPF agreement → acquire manually (individual downloads), governed only by the CC license, not the API TOS. Never scrape.
• Iran-access: UPF/Barcelona (EU, not OFAC). Cloudflare-fronted + login-to-download → acquire once via non-Iran box/VPN, then vendor (CC grant is perpetual).
• Vibe: best-in-class SFX (UI/whoosh/transition/ambience/foley); some thin Persian instrument samples (santoor/tar/daf).
• Verdict: USE (CC0-filtered, manual download). Mandatory: re-verify license per file at download, log CC0 proof in ledger, loudness-normalize (no upstream QC).

1.3 incompetech (Kevin MacLeod) — CC-BY, attribution pipeline

• License: CC-BY 4.0 (free tier). Commercial + redistribution OK, but attribution travels with every file — exact credit string must appear in each render's credits + a notices file. Paid Standard License removes attribution but needs a foreign card (Iran-blocked).
• Iran-access: GOOD (static Cloudflare site, no login; archive.org mirror as fallback). The no-attribution upgrade is payment-blocked.
• Vibe: EXCELLENT breadth (~2,000 tracks: uplifting/corporate/ambient/cinematic/playful). No Persian.
• Verdict: CAUTION / USE-with-pipeline. Cleaner path: pull the SAME MacLeod tracks from FreePD where they are CC0 (no attribution). Reserve incompetech CC-BY only for tracks not on FreePD, gated behind an attribution-injection pipeline.

1.4 ccMixter (dig.ccMixter "Free for Commercial") — per-track CC, supplement

• License: per-track. CC0 subset = vendor freely. CC-BY = vendor + mandatory in-output attribution (title + artist + ccMixter URL + CC-BY link). HARD-AVOID: CC-BY-NC, ccPlus (paid), Sampling/Sampling-plus. Remix community → tracks may sample other-licensed material.
• Iran-access: OK via VPN; documented IP-based download rate-limiting → throttle, no bulk scrape.
• Vibe: electronic/ambient/cinematic, community quality varies. No reliable Persian.
• Verdict: CAUTION. Use CC0 subset for vendoring; CC-BY only with attribution pipeline. Supplement, not primary.

1.5 Free Music Archive (FMA) — aggregator, per-track minefield

• License: aggregator, licenses nothing. Safe set = CC0 + CC-BY ONLY. Reject ALL -NC, -SA, -ND (verified stricter: FMA treats sync-to-video as a derivative → ND prohibited; SA would force your paid MP4 under CC-BY-SA). Terms 6(e) bans scraping → manual per-track download.
• Iran-access: OK (Tribe of Noise BV, Netherlands — not US). VPN fallback.
• Vibe: all vibes; has a "World" section with some Persian-adjacent material (best of the aggregators for Persian discovery, but per-track license verification mandatory).
• Verdict: CAUTION. Discovery layer → filter to CC0/CC-BY → re-verify each track's license page → vendor.

1.6 Openverse — aggregator, CC0 discovery funnel only

• License: aggregates Jamendo/Freesound/Wikimedia; licenses nothing, disclaims verification. CRITICAL TRAP: Jamendo free tracks are CC-BY-NC (non-commercial) → forbidden. Only the CC0 slice (Freesound/Wikimedia) is usable, confirmed on the source page.
• Iran-access: portal reachable; download happens on source (Wikimedia best, Freesound login-gated, exclude Jamendo entirely).
• Verdict: CAUTION — CC0 discovery funnel into Freesound/Wikimedia. Never trust the Openverse tag.

1.7 Chosic — aggregator, CC0 "no-attribution" funnel

• License: not a rights holder; has restrictive in-house terms. The ?attribution=no filter is a discovery hint, NOT a CC0 guarantee (mixes CC-BY where artists sell paid no-attribution licenses). Trace each track to its origin, confirm genuine CC0 there.
• Iran-access: GOOD (no login, direct MP3, no hard geoblock).
• Vibe: cinematic/ambient/uplifting/playful; thin Persian.
• Verdict: CAUTION — CC0 discovery funnel; per-track human sign-off; provenance = named upstream artist + verified CC0, never "Chosic".

1.8 CreatorChords (Alexander Nakarada / ex-Serpent Sound) — best CINEMATIC/EPIC

• License: dual. Free = CC-BY 4.0 (attribution travels + Content-ID auto-claim risk). Clean path = paid attribution-free Single License ($20/track) — but USD checkout is Iran-blocked.
• Iran-access: free CC-BY downloads work; the paid clean tier is payment-blocked from Iran.
• Vibe: best cinematic/epic/fantasy on the list; folk/medieval/calm. No Persian.
• Verdict: CAUTION. Bake into render only (the "can't redistribute music alone" clause bars bare-file vendoring). Practically blocked from Iran for the clean tier.

1.9 Pixabay Music — ⚠️ vendoring TRAP (best Persian vibe, wrong architecture)

• License: Pixabay Content License (NOT CC0). Render-into-MP4 = permitted (adds value). Vendoring the raw .mp3 = PROHIBITED ("distribution of Content as music files on a standalone basis"). ToS also bans scraping/bulk. Third-party-sample caveat bites Persian/sampled tracks hardest.
• Iran-access: Cloudflare-blocked from Iran (ECONNREFUSED confirmed); acquire once via non-Iran box/VPN — license is perpetual.
• Vibe: best practical Persian/Middle-Eastern coverage of the free sources (pixabay.com/music/search/persian → santoor/oud), plus broad corporate/ambient/cinematic/playful.
• Verdict: CAUTION / AVOID for vendoring. Usable ONLY if architecture changes to mux-into-MP4 with no standalone raw-file exposed/served. Under FlatRender's vendor-the-file requirement it effectively disqualifies — but it is the least-bad Persian source if you adopt the bake-only, never-serve-raw discipline (screen each Persian track for sampled-recording rights, prefer original compositions).

1.10 Mixkit (Envato) — ❌ AVOID

• License: proprietary. Bans raw-file redistribution, stock/inventory basis, AND competing products. A paid template SaaS is exactly the prohibited case. Music also barred from CDs/DVDs/games/TV.
• Iran-access: Envato enforces US sanctions, locks Iranian accounts. POOR.
• Verdict: AVOID — textbook "free but forbids redistribution/competition" trap.

1.11 Uppbeat — ❌ AVOID

• License: single-use, no redistribution/resell/"make available as part of a competing platform." SaaS routed to a negotiated Music Vine custom license.
• Iran-access: GBP/USD billing, Iranian cards declined. POOR.
• Verdict: AVOID — license is the opposite of what FlatRender needs + Iran-payment-blocked.

1.12 Bensound — ❌ AVOID

• License: all standard tiers forbid standalone distribution + stock-library inclusion. SaaS requires a mandatory Enterprise license (explicitly "SaaS/platform integrations").
• Iran-access: Enterprise = signed EUR/USD contract with a Belgian company → hard blocker from Iran.
• Verdict: AVOID — cleanest written SaaS guidance, but mandatory paid tier is unobtainable from Iran.

1.13 Tunetank — ❌ AVOID

• License: ToS 8.2 bars download/distribution/sublicense/derivatives except in-conjunction-with-Tunetank. Resale explicitly banned. No SaaS path.
• Iran-access: USD/PayPal only → blocked.
• Verdict: AVOID.

1.14 Patrick de Arteaga — reference-only

• License: raw-file redistribution forbidden at ALL tiers (incl. paid). Free tier requires attribution.
• Iran-access: free CC works via VPN; paid tiers payment-blocked (and still forbid vendoring).
• Verdict: REFERENCE-ONLY — game-leaning cinematic/fantasy/chiptune; fails the vendor-into-repo requirement.

1.15 Internet Archive (durable host + Persian classical) — per-item, mostly TRAP

• License: per-item, uploader-set; platform disclaims all rights. Safe slice = items explicitly CC0/PD (e.g. archive.org/details/freepd rehost, pre-1929 PD orchestral). The "Iranian/Persian classical" uploads are user-uploaded COMMERCIAL recordings with NO valid PD/CC0 basis (e.g. 1974 Nonesuch "A Persian Heritage", Smithsonian Folkways Dastgah LP — both still actively sold) → downloadable but illegal to vendor.
• Iran-access: FAVORABLE for acquisition (not Cloudflare-gated like Pixabay); but "PD-in-Iran" gives zero legal cover (Iran not in Berne/Rome → collapses the moment a customer downloads the MP4 in a Berne country).
• Verdict: USE as durable host for already-cleared CC0 (FreePD mirror) + pre-1929 PD. REFERENCE-ONLY for Persian classical — the biggest Persian-license trap in the whole set. Never equate downloadable with vendorable.

1.16 Envato Elements / AudioJungle — ❌ AVOID (double-blocked)

• License: 3-way prohibition (single-use, on-demand/build-it-yourself ban, redistribution/extraction ban). Best commercial Persian/santoor coverage, all unusable.
• Iran-access: hard geo/OFAC block + foreign-card-only.
• Verdict: AVOID — listed to rule out.

1.17 Storyblocks / Taketones / StockTune — ❌ AVOID

• License: Storyblocks = explicit standalone-audio + competing-library ban (subscription-gated). Taketones = resale ban. StockTune = AI-generated, unverifiable provenance, 403 ToS. None grant vendor-raw-file.
• Iran-access: paid tiers foreign-card-blocked; free tiers' licenses already forbid the use case.
• Verdict: AVOID for vendoring. Reference-only for Persian vibe-sourcing → commission original audio instead.

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2. SFX — per-source verdicts

2.1 Kenney.nl (Audio packs) — ⭐ PRIMARY UI/SFX SOURCE

• License: CC0 1.0, confirmed on asset pages. No restrictions, no attribution, vendor raw OK.
• Iran-access: CLEAN via kenney.nl (Dutch host, not US/OFAC; no login). NOT the GitHub/itch mirrors (US, Iran-suspendable).
• Vibe: UI/click/pop/chime/toggle/select, playful/digital. Weak on cinematic whoosh; zero Persian.
• Verdict: USE — the spine of FlatRender's UI SFX kit. Lowest-risk source on the entire list.

2.2 Freesound.org (CC0) — see §1.2 (top SFX well by volume)

• Verdict: USE (CC0-filtered, manual download).

2.3 OpenGameArt.org (CC0 packs) — bulk CC0 supplement

• License: per-submission; CC0-filtered packs only ("100 CC0 SFX" #1/#2, "80 CC0 RPG SFX", etc.). Reject CC-BY-SA/GPL/CC-BY/OGA-BY. OGA disclaims credit-file accuracy → verify each file + provenance.
• Iran-access: no barrier (community static host, no payment).
• Vibe: game/UI clicks, impacts, RPG/fantasy, metal/wood foley, loops. No cinematic-premium, no Persian.
• Verdict: USE (CC0-filtered, per-file verified) — bulk supplement to Kenney.

2.4 Sonniss GameAudioGDC — caution (server-side render input only)

• License: permits "embedded into licensee project" (bake into MP4 = OK). Bars standalone-file redistribution + competing libraries + AI/ML training. Defensible ONLY if raw .wav never leaves the server as a downloadable asset.
• Iran-access: UK-based, free torrent; multi-GB size is the only friction.
• Vibe: premium cinematic/foley/impact/whoosh/ambience. Zero Persian.
• Verdict: CAUTION — private object storage (MinIO) render-input ONLY, never committed to a public repo, never served as raw, never fed to AI training.

2.5 99Sounds — caution (render input only)

• License: commercial use OK; bars redistributing files "on their own / as a separate attachment." Render-into-MP4 = OK; commit-raw-into-repo = violation.
• Iran-access: Gumroad $0 checkout, VPN. Achievable.
• Vibe: strongest free source for premium cinematic TRANSITION/whoosh/riser/boom. No UI-micro, no Persian.
• Verdict: CAUTION — render-time input only; enforce render-yes / commit-no boundary.

2.6 Pixabay (SFX) — ⚠️ vendoring trap (same as §1.9)

• Verdict: AVOID for vendoring ("no standalone redistribution"); render-input only if you never persist/serve the raw file.

2.7 Mixkit (SFX) — ❌ AVOID (same clauses as §1.10)

• Verdict: AVOID + Envato Iran-sanctions exposure.

2.8 Zapsplat — ❌ AVOID (most explicit prohibition)

• License: Standard tier names "sound effects app" + "apps" as forbidden redistribution targets; bans sharing/transfer/sub-license to any third party on free AND Gold. Free tier requires visible "ZapSplat" credit.
• Iran-access: UK, not OFAC-blocked, but the license is the dealbreaker.
• Verdict: AVOID — direct collision with FlatRender's model.

2.9 BBC Sound Effects (RemArc) — ❌ AVOID (non-commercial)

• License: RemArc = non-commercial/personal/education only. Commercial = paid Pro Sound Effects (US, Iran-closed).
• Verdict: AVOID — known "free BBC sounds" trap.

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3. PERSIAN / TRADITIONAL — the honest gap

There is no clean CC0 bulk source for authentic Persian/Middle-Eastern music. The realistic options, worst-to-best for a vendor-the-file SaaS:

• Internet Archive Persian classical (Payvar santur, Dastgah LPs) — perfect vibe, almost always wrong license (commercial recordings, no PD/CC0 basis, still sold by Warner/Smithsonian). REFERENCE-ONLY. The biggest Persian-license trap.
• Envato / Storyblocks / Taketones ("Ambient Persian Santoor" etc.) — best commercial coverage, but license forbids the SaaS pattern AND Iran-payment-blocked. AVOID.
• Pixabay Persian subset — least-bad real option, but only under bake-into-MP4, never-serve-raw discipline + per-track sampled-rights screening. Not a clean vendor-the-file source.
• Freesound-CC0 Persian instrument samples (santoor/tar/daf) — thin but genuinely CC0 and vendorable. Best clean building block; needs manual curation.
• ✅ The only truly firewall-clean path: COMMISSION original santoor/tar/setar recordings (or self-author/synthesize) and self-dedicate CC0. This mirrors how the illustration library self-authors Persian/seasonal motifs (Nowruz3D.tsx). For a Persian-first paid product this is the recommended long-term answer.

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4. License firewall — assets.json ledger rules (mirrors the illustration firewall)

The CI guard (services/remotion/scripts/check-assets.mjs) already scans public/audio/ against public/illustrations/assets.json. Every vendored audio file gets one ledger row. No row → build fails (exit 1). Reference-only sources are never vendored (no file → no row).

Ledger key convention (verified): audio rows carry the audio/ prefix (e.g. "audio/freepd-epic-01.mp3").

{
  "audio/freepd-cinematic-01.mp3": {
    "source": "FreePD (Kevin MacLeod) via archive.org/details/freepd",
    "license": "CC0-1.0", "license_class": "CC0",
    "commercial_ok": true, "attribution_required": false, "ai_training_allowed": true,
    "vibe": "cinematic", "url": "https://archive.org/details/freepd",
    "provenance": "CC0; FreePD twin (NOT Incompetech/CC-BY)", "vendored": "2026-06-23"
  },
  "audio/freesound-whoosh-01.wav": {
    "source": "Freesound.org (CC0 filter, manual download)",
    "license": "CC0-1.0", "license_class": "CC0",
    "commercial_ok": true, "attribution_required": false, "ai_training_allowed": true,
    "vibe": "sfx/transition", "url": "https://freesound.org/s/<id>/",
    "provenance": "license re-verified at download; NOT via commercial API", "vendored": "2026-06-23"
  },
  "audio/kenney-ui-click-01.wav": {
    "source": "Kenney.nl Interface Sounds",
    "license": "CC0-1.0", "license_class": "CC0",
    "commercial_ok": true, "attribution_required": false, "ai_training_allowed": true,
    "vibe": "sfx/ui", "url": "https://kenney.nl/assets/interface-sounds", "vendored": "2026-06-23"
  },
  "audio/incompetech-corporate-01.mp3": {
    "source": "incompetech (Kevin MacLeod)",
    "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "license_class": "CC-BY",
    "commercial_ok": true, "attribution_required": true, "ai_training_allowed": true,
    "attribution": "Title — Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0",
    "vibe": "uplifting/corporate", "notice_file": "audio/CREDITS.md", "vendored": "2026-06-23"
  }
}

Hard rules (audio):

1. Only CC0/PD vendored as raw public/audio/ files (FreePD, Freesound-CC0, Kenney, OpenGameArt-CC0). These get attribution_required:false.
2. CC-BY vendored ONLY with an attribution pipeline — attribution_required:true + an exact attribution string + a notice_file (audio/CREDITS.md) that the render bakes into the output. No pipeline → don't vendor (prefer the FreePD/CC0 twin).
3. "Render-input-only" sources (Sonniss, 99Sounds, Pixabay-mux-only) are NEVER committed to the public repo — store in private MinIO, mux into MP4 server-side, never serve/persist a standalone raw file. They get no public/audio/ row (the ledger is for vendored files only).
4. ai_training_allowed:false on anything that touches FlatRender's future AI-video pipeline unless the license explicitly permits ML training (Sonniss explicitly forbids it).
5. Never-vendored reference-only (Mixkit, Uppbeat, Bensound, Tunetank, Zapsplat, BBC RemArc, Envato, Storyblocks, Patrick de Arteaga, IA-Persian-classical): no file, no row, design-time reference only.
6. Persian tracks carry an extra provenance note: "vetted original-composition" or "CC0 instrument sample" — never vendor sampled-commercial-recording-based tracks.

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5. Vendoring manifest — concrete starter set

All under services/remotion/public/audio/. For Cloudflare/archive.org/Gumroad-gated sources, acquire via a non-Iran box / VPN once, then commit — render-time is CDN-free.

# 0. Folder already exists (4 self-authored CC0 stubs vendored). Keep them.
#    public/audio/{music-ambient,sfx-whoosh,sfx-pop,sfx-chime}.mp3  ✅ already ledgered

# 1. MUSIC — FreePD CC0 (⭐ primary). freepd.com is DEAD → pull the archive.org mirror.
#    [NON-IRAN FETCH] VPN/Psiphon; mirror the whole collection, it is PD forever.
#    archive.org/details/freepd  → pick ~8–10 beds across vibes:
#      uplifting/corporate ×3, calm/ambient ×3, cinematic ×2, playful ×2
#    → public/audio/freepd-<vibe>-NN.mp3   (license_class:"CC0", attribution:false)

# 2. SFX — Kenney.nl CC0 (⭐ primary, CLEAN from Iran via kenney.nl, NOT GitHub mirror)
#    Interface Sounds + UI Audio packs → pick click/pop/chime/toggle/select/whoosh
#    → public/audio/kenney-ui-<name>.wav   (CC0, no firewall concern)

# 3. SFX — Freesound CC0 (manual download, NOT the commercial API)
#    [NON-IRAN FETCH] login required → VPN once. Filter license:"Creative Commons 0"
#    re-verify per file → cinematic whoosh/riser + ambience beds Kenney lacks
#    → public/audio/freesound-<name>.wav   (CC0; log source URL + CC0 proof)

# 4. SFX — OpenGameArt CC0 packs (bulk supplement, per-file verified)
#    "100 CC0 SFX" #1/#2 → extra UI/impact loops; reject any CC-BY-SA/GPL/CC-BY
#    → public/audio/oga-<name>.ogg

# 5. (OPTIONAL) MUSIC — incompetech CC-BY ONLY for vibes FreePD lacks, WITH pipeline
#    Build audio/CREDITS.md + render-time credit injection FIRST. Otherwise skip.

# 6. PERSIAN — no clean bulk source. Short term: curate Freesound-CC0 santoor/tar/daf
#    samples (vendorable). Long term: COMMISSION original Persian recordings → self-CC0.
#    Do NOT vendor Internet Archive Persian classical (commercial, illegal to vendor).

# 7. Verify firewall:
npm run check:assets   # fails if any public/audio/*.mp3|wav|ogg lacks a ledger row

Then add one assets.json row per vendored file (§4 templates). The CI guard already covers public/audio/, so an un-ledgered drop fails the build automatically.

Iran-mirror flags: FreePD/archive.org = VPN/Psiphon (intermittent). Freesound = Cloudflare + login → non-Iran box once. Kenney = clean from Iran (use kenney.nl, not GitHub). Pixabay = Cloudflare-blocked → non-Iran box, and mux-only never vendor. Envato/Mixkit/ Uppbeat/Bensound/Tunetank/Storyblocks = OFAC payment-blocked, don't pursue.

---

6. Best vendorable source per vibe

Vibe	Best CLEAN vendorable source	License	Note
Uplifting / corporate	FreePD (archive.org mirror)	CC0	incompetech CC-BY backup (w/ pipeline)
Calm / ambient	FreePD + Freesound-CC0 ambience	CC0	self-authored music-ambient.mp3 already vendored
Cinematic	FreePD (cinematic/epic categories)	CC0	CreatorChords better quality but Iran-payment-blocked
Playful	FreePD playful + OpenGameArt-CC0	CC0	Kenney for playful UI blips
UI / transition SFX	Kenney.nl ⭐	CC0	clean from Iran; Freesound-CC0 for whoosh/riser
Persian / traditional	Freesound-CC0 instrument samples (thin) → commission + self-CC0	CC0	Pixabay Persian = bake-only, never-vendor; IA classical = trap

---

7. ⚠️ Reality Check — honest status

• Truly USE-tier + vendorable TODAY (CC0, clean): 4 sources — FreePD (via archive.org), Freesound-CC0, Kenney.nl, OpenGameArt-CC0. Plus the 4 self-authored CC0 stubs already in public/audio/ (these are the only audio files actually vendored right now).
• CAUTION (usable with friction/pipeline/architecture-constraint): 6 — incompetech (CC-BY pipeline), ccMixter (CC0/BY subset), FMA (CC0/BY, manual), Chosic & Openverse (CC0 funnels), Internet Archive (CC0/PD-host only). Plus Sonniss / 99Sounds / Pixabay as render-input-only (NOT vendorable — private MinIO, mux-only).
• AVOID / reference-only: the rest — Mixkit, Uppbeat, Bensound, Tunetank, Zapsplat, BBC RemArc, Envato, Storyblocks, Taketones, StockTune, Patrick de Arteaga, and the Internet Archive Persian-classical uploads (license trap).
• Needs a NON-IRAN / VPN fetch: FreePD (archive.org intermittent), Freesound (Cloudflare + login), Pixabay (Cloudflare ECONNREFUSED from Iran). Kenney is the one clean-from-Iran source. Acquisition-once-then-vendor makes the CC0/CC-BY grant perpetual and Iran-access irrelevant at render time.
• Persian honest verdict: NO clean CC0 bulk source exists. Best clean path = Freesound-CC0 instrument samples (thin) + commission original recordings and self-dedicate CC0 (matches the project's self-authored Persian-illustration discipline). Everything with rich Persian vibe (Pixabay, Envato, Internet Archive) is either bake-only-never-vendor, Iran-payment-blocked, or an outright license trap.
• Bottom line: Build the vendorable audio library on FreePD + Freesound-CC0 + Kenney + OpenGameArt-CC0; add incompetech CC-BY only behind an attribution pipeline; keep Sonniss/99Sounds/Pixabay as private render-inputs; self-commission Persian audio; and treat everything else as design-time reference only. Today's true deliverable is not "a music library downloaded" — it's the §5 starter set (≈20 CC0 files) vendored + ledgered, growing on the proven firewall pipeline.