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Plugin Jam Rules

Plugin Jam Page
Plugin Jam Registration

1. About Plugin Jam

Plugin Jam (“the Jam”) is run by The Audio Programmer Ltd (“TAP”, “we”), a company registered in England and Wales (no. 11769573), 16 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2B 5AH, in association with Freqlab.

The Jam runs from 17 November 2026 to the finale on 12 February 2027. By registering or submitting, you agree to these rules.

2. Who can enter

  • Entry is free.
  • Anyone aged 18 or over can enter, anywhere in the world, unless the law where you live doesn’t allow it.
  • You can enter on your own or in a team of up to 4. Everyone registers individually, including each team member, and every team member must agree to these rules. Each team makes one submission.
  • TAP staff, Freqlab staff, sponsor staff and judges can’t enter.

3. How to enter and submit

  1. Register at the registration page before the submission deadline.
  2. Build your plugin during the Jam.
  3. Upload it to the Plugin Jam page on the Freqlab marketplace by [time, time zone] on 31 January 2027.
Your submission must include:
  • a working plugin in VST3, AU or CLAP format, for Mac and/or Windows. It must be signed (and notarised for Mac). Freqlab’s cloud build does this for you, but you’ll need your own developer accounts.
  • a link to a demo video of 3 minutes or less on YouTube or Vimeo

Source code is required. Include a link to a public GitHub repository and note the open-source licence you’ve chosen there (see section 5). After the Jam you can close the source and resubmit if you want to sell the plugin.

Late or incomplete entries may not be judged. One entry per person or team. You can upload fixes after the deadline, but we can’t guarantee an update will be judged, and no new entries are accepted after the deadline.

4. Your plugin

  • We’d prefer new projects started during the Jam. If you build on existing frameworks, libraries or your own earlier code, say what you reused in your submission.
  • Anything you didn’t make (code, samples, presets, artwork, fonts) must be properly licensed, and credited where the licence asks for it.
  • You’re responsible for making sure your chosen open-source licence is compatible with the frameworks and SDKs you use (for example JUCE, iPlug2, nih-plug or the VST3 SDK).
  • It must not contain malware, hidden data collection, or anything harmful, offensive or illegal.
  • We can disqualify entries that break these rules.

5. Ownership and open source

  • You keep ownership of your plugin. We don’t claim any rights in it beyond what’s in section 7.
  • Source code is required for Jam submissions. Release it under any open-source licence you note on GitHub. After the Jam you can close the source and resubmit if you want to sell the plugin.
  • Teams decide between themselves who owns what and how the code is licensed. TAP and Freqlab aren’t responsible for disputes between team members.

6. Freqlab marketplace

  • Entries are submitted through the Freqlab marketplace, and Freqlab’s [creator terms – link] also apply.
  • During the Jam, plugins are free to download.
  • When the Freqlab marketplace launches, your plugin stays as a free product unless you choose to charge for it or remove it.
  • [Freqlab can remove plugins that break its terms.]

7. Promotion

By entering, you let TAP, Freqlab and Jam sponsors use your name (or team name), plugin name, screenshots, audio and demo video to promote the Jam. That includes the finale stream, the TAP YouTube channel, Discord, social media and newsletters. This permission is free, worldwide and doesn’t end when the Jam does, but we’ll only use it in connection with Plugin Jam.

8. Judging and prizes

  • Community round: for a week after submissions close, anyone with a Freqlab account can rate the plugins they’ve downloaded. The ratings decide a shortlist of 10 and the Community Pick. We can disqualify votes we think are fake or coordinated.
  • Judges’ round: over the following week, a panel chosen by TAP judges the shortlist on originality, how it sounds and how useful it is in a track, design and ease of use, polish and stability, and the demo video. The Headline Partner may have a seat on the panel. Judges are asked to be fair and to keep in mind anyone they know personally.
  • Tool Prize: for the best entry built with the Headline Partner’s tools. Tick the box when you submit to be considered.
  • Winners are announced at the finale on 12 February 2027. The judges’ decisions are final.
  • Prizes are supplied by sponsors. The terms for each prize, including delivery and whether there’s a cash alternative, will be confirmed when prizes are announced. If a prize becomes unavailable, we’ll offer something of similar value.
  • We’ll contact winners by email. If we can’t reach you within [30] days, we may give the prize to someone else.
  • You’re responsible for any tax on prizes.

9. Conduct

Plugin Jam follows the Berlin Code of Conduct in the Discord, at events and anywhere else the Jam happens. We can remove anyone who breaks it, or these rules, from the Jam and disqualify their entry.

10. General

  • Changes: we may update these rules, change dates or cancel the Jam if we need to. We’ll post any changes on this page and in the Discord.
  • Liability: you enter at your own risk. As far as the law allows, TAP, Freqlab and sponsors aren’t liable for any loss or damage from taking part, including lost work or data. Nothing here limits liability that can’t be limited by law.
  • Privacy: we use your details only to run the Jam and contact you about it, and we don’t share them with sponsors. See our Privacy Policy.
  • Law: these rules are governed by the law of England and Wales.
  • Contact: questions to [email].