Apple's Style Guide added a specific framework in 2025 for crediting licensed and sampled audio correctly — distinct from a Featured Artist credit.
2.9.1 The credit distinction
When licensing audio such as a verse or a beat, the artist the content came from is credited with the role **Licensed Verse** or **Licensed Beat** — never as Primary, With, or Featuring Artist. If using pre-existing audio (a sample or stem) that is free, purchasable, or leasable, the source artist is credited as **Sampled Artist**.
2.9.2 Why this distinction matters
Using a Featured Artist credit for a producer whose beat you purchased misrepresents the legal nature of the contribution and can cause incorrect royalty routing. Apple's own incorrect-vs-correct example: crediting a licensed verse as "(feat. Artist)" with a Featuring Artist role is incorrect; crediting the same contribution as "Licensed Verse" is correct, with no reference to it in the title at all.
2.9.3 Practical examples
Source: MadDesk article 2.9 (2-9)