Official

RULES OF THE RING

Know the rules before you step in.

01

Team Definition & Roles

  • A team is made up of one vocalist and one producer.
  • The team must remain the same throughout the full competition.
  • A team may join at any point in the competition.
  • You do not have to participate in all rounds.
  • If your previous team dissolves for any reason, you may join with a new partner as a new team. Scores and points will not carry over.
  • Each team member must stay in the same role for the duration of the competition.
  • This means you may not swap roles mid-competition unless specifically allowed.
  • Tracks may only feature members of that team unless otherwise stated.
  • The producer is responsible for track production and final mixing.
  • The vocalist is responsible for lyrical content and delivery.
  • The producer may “hype” on the track (i.e. dubs, intros, shoutouts).
  • The producer may also join the vocalist on the chorus.
02

Production Guidelines

  • Production may consist of samples, live instrumentation, synths, digital composition, a cappella elements (including beatboxing), or any combination thereof, unless otherwise stated in a round challenge.
  • Plagiarism is not permitted.
  • Samples may be used.
  • All production, mixing, and mastering must be performed by the producer.
  • All productions must meet the requirements of the round challenge to be eligible for voting/scoring in that round.
  • All production for a track must be started after the announcement of that round.
  • Previously released content will not be accepted.
  • Previously completed productions created prior to the start of the round will not be accepted.
03

Vocalist Guidelines

  • All lyrics must be written and performed by the team vocalist unless otherwise stated.
  • All lyrical content and subject matter must meet the requirements of the round challenge to be eligible for voting/scoring in that round.
  • Plagiarism of lyrics will not be tolerated.
  • While this is intended to be a full-song submission challenge, each submission must contain at least 16 bars (one standard verse) to be eligible.
  • All lyrical content on the track must be created after the announcement of that round.
  • Previously released content will not be accepted.
  • Previously completed lyrical content created prior to the start of the round will not be accepted.
04

Track Submission Guidelines

  • All tracks must be submitted by the stated deadline listed for the challenge.
  • Tracks should be submitted in MP3 format.
  • Submission instructions and any additional guidelines will be provided for each round.
  • Tracks must meet the minimum verse length requirement and may not be shorter than 60 seconds in total runtime.
  • The VPC reserves the right to host and premiere your track first when that round goes live.
  • Once voting has wrapped for that round, artists are free to post the track on their own music distribution accounts.
  • Sharing content that links back to the VPC’s official posting of your track on your own social media is strongly encouraged.
  • The VPC reserves the right to use any submitted track for marketing, social media, promotional, and official release purposes.
05

Use of Submitted Tracks

By entering, participants agree that the Nerdcore VPC may use submitted tracks for competition-related promotion and publicity. This may include use on social media, livestreams, videos, websites, marketing materials, and other promotional content connected to the competition.

Participants also agree that submitted tracks may be included on official VPC compilation releases, playlists, or other VPC-related media, and may be hosted, streamed, or distributed through VPC-related platforms and channels.

Ownership of all submitted material remains with the original rights holders.

Participation in the competition does not transfer copyright ownership to the Nerdcore VPC.

06

Statement on Generative AI

The VPC is built around core values of human collaboration and artistic development.

The vocalist is expected to write and perform the vocals, and the producer is expected to create the production, arrangement, and final mix.

Because of that, the use of generative AI to create core submission content is prohibited. This includes AI-generated lyrics, verses, hooks, vocals, beats, instrumentals, melodies, arrangements, full songs, and voice-cloned performances.

In short: AI tools may assist the work, but they may not do the work being judged.

Standard assistive tools are allowed. This includes pitch correction, noise reduction, source separation, mixing/mastering assistance, transcription, organization, and similar production tools that support a team’s process without replacing authorship.

This is a volunteer-run and volunteer-moderated competition. We cannot inspect every stem, audit every workflow, or fully verify the creative process behind every submission. Because of that, we expect teams to operate on the honor system and to respect both the letter and spirit of the competition.

Obvious AI-generated content or submissions that clearly rely on generative AI in place of the team’s own creative work may be penalized at organizers’ and judges’ discretion, including warnings, score penalties, removal from eligibility for a round, or disqualification in severe or repeated cases.

Final interpretation and enforcement of this policy rests with the organizers.

07

Conduct & Community Standards

Participants are expected to treat each other, the judges, the organizers, and the wider VPC community with respect throughout the competition and in all VPC-related spaces.

Harassment, bullying, discrimination, hate speech, threats, intimidation, doxxing, stalking, or other abusive or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.

The VPC reserves the right to issue warnings, remove content, restrict participation, remove teams from eligibility for a round, or disqualify any participant or team whose conduct is harmful to the competition or the community around it.

The VPC also reserves the right to refuse entry or remove participants at organizer discretion where necessary to protect the fairness, safety, integrity, or smooth running of the competition.

Final interpretation and enforcement of this policy rests with the organizers.

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