Finding out the license of stock music that I do not know the name off

Question

Some time ago, I was given a few short audio clips to work with for a personal projects.

Now I found that one of those clips would work well with a commercial project I'm currently working on. The problem is I that I do not know if I am licensed to use it.

So, since I have reason to believe that the file name has been changed since it was originally downloaded, does anyone know if there's any way to find out where it's from based on information such as length, quality and perhaps even waveform?

Would appreciate your help greatly, thanks!

Answer 1

You can use SoundHound or one of the similar services to see if your clips are known to their database. They look for similarities in waveforms etc.

Can you ask the person who gave the clips to you?

Failing that, unfortunately you run the risk of the owner asking for a share of any money earned, and generally cases rule in favour of the owner if you haven't asked for permission.