In 2025… Freesound turns 20!
Freesound, an online platform where more than 675k sounds contributed by thousands of users all over the world are shared under Creative Commons licenses, is turning 20 years old in 2025. Freesound was started in 2005 in the Music Technology Group of Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and is possible thanks to the support of the Fundació Phonos and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
During 2025, we will organize a number of activities around a main theme for the celebration: Freesound sounds as an archive to safeguard the world’s Intangible Heritage. Intangible Heritage includes the intangible and ephemeral elements that shape our world – whether rooted in human culture, natural environments, or the entangled interplay between them. These sounds reflect what is fragile, ever-changing, and at risk of disappearing. Freesound, with its extensive archive, provides a digital space where these sounds can be preserved and reimagined.
Freesound-based composition contest
We invite all sound artists, composers, and sound explorers to participate in an open call for compositions that explore the theme of Intangible Heritage.
Find the terms of the contest on the Phonos website.
The selected compositions will be published online, ensuring open access and alignment with Freesound’s mission of fostering collaboration and sharing within the global community. Furthermore, a Freesound live event will take place on the 28th of October at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, in which the selected works will be presented, and the authors will be able to perform live on-site or remotely.
The deadline for submitting compositions is the 31st of May 2025.
Freesound event
Besides presenting the selected works of the composition contest, the Freesound live event we are planning for October will also include talks from members of the Freesound community and the Freesound team at Phonos/Music Technology Group. The event will be live-streamed, and it will be possible to participate remotely. More details soon.
Sound installation
The Freesound anniversary celebration will also include a sound installation that explores the theme of Intangible Heritage through the lens of Freesound, which will premiere this fall in an exhibition hall in Barcelona. This installation is being developed with the curation of Fito Conesa, and will also feature a virtual version. Again, more details are coming soon.
There will be other activities happening during the year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Freesound, they will be announced in the coming months.
The 20 years of Freesound have been possible thanks to the effort and dedication of all the people who contribute to Freesound: people who upload sounds, people who download sounds, people who donate, the team of moderators and support, researchers and developers at Fundació Phonos and the Music Technology Group (where Freesound happens), IT and administration staff at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, artists, developers and companies that use API to integrate Freesound sounds in their projects, funding bodies that supported research grants related to Freesound, and all the people who will contribute in the future.
Freesound blogpost: https://blog.freesound.org/?p=2162
Compostition contest: https://www.upf.edu/web/phonos/inici/-/asset_publisher/6o5hhSb6iSMy/content/freesound-composition-call/maximized
The activities of the 20th anniversary of Freesound are supported by Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Programme CEX2021-001195-M, funded by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033
