Welcome to the 2026 OST Album Jam!

This is a ranked music jam where composers are tasked with utilizing a theme to put together an album or small EP to be judged by their peers.

What is the purpose of this jam?

For the most part, when composers put together a submission for a music jam they tend to put together one or maybe two pieces of music. And while there certainly are positives to putting one's time and focus into making a small quantity of tracks with higher quality, it can be just as important for a composer to be able to match that composition and production quality across multiple tracks. Especially for those of us that want to be more involved in traditional game jams that may require multiple pieces of music depending on the game's scale.

This jam is an attempt for composers to be able to practice putting together multiple pieces of music that all correlate to a common theme in some way while maintaining a consistent quality in their composition and production. This year, you get to frame your music within the context of your own hypothetical game!

Image 2 (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ADuOBN5x4HUWeinkDKiwuj1aaHcfc-APKzxnP_N1d2Y/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.57ojupxut3cm) What is required to submit in this jam?

• Since this jam revolves around albums and EP's, at least Three(3) pieces of music minimum is required in this jam.
• Try to keep the runtime of the full submission between Six (6) and Thirty (30) minutes long.
• Any genre is acceptable - however, keep in mind that how you choose to go about interpreting the theme will be a rated category.

- NEW THIS YEAR:At least ONE (1) bonus challenge must be attempted.

• Please upload the following:

• .WAV, .MP3, or similar file type of each track submitted
• Screenshots of each track from your workspace as proof of your work
• Cover art is optional, but helpful in standing out amongst the other submissions
• Link to streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc.)

Voting Criteria

Music Composition Quality - How was the writing of the music? Was it too simple, or unnecessarily complex? Was there much in the way of dynamics, musical phrasing, or memorable melodies?

Audio Production Quality - How was the quality of the submission's mixing and mastering? Did it feel balanced, or did something feel out of place? Were certain frequencies standing out in a way that felt off?

Consistency of Album Quality - When listening to the full submission, was there a consistent vision or tone established by the composer? Did each track contribute to that vision?Or was there an instance where that vision was disrupted in an unintentional way?

Correlation to the Theme - To what extent did the submission relate back to the jam's theme?

Overall Submission Enjoyment - Did you enjoy what you heard, regardless of how you voted in the other criteria?

Other information to keep in mind

This is the first iteration of last year's OST Album Jam (https://itch.io/jam/ost-album-jam). Some things have changed, and some haven't. Some things might make more sense or work better than others - it's a learning process!

Please feel free to reach out and ask questions if you have any or want clarification on something.

Additionally, I'll be putting a post up on the Community board for everyone to voice their opinions on their experience with the jam. If this jam were to come back sometime in the future, I'd like the composers to come back as well!

Rules

-All work must be original and conducted during the jam's duration.Work that has been submitted in other jams will not be accepted.

• Music that was made for jams that run congruent with this jam may be used if it was not submitted anywhere else and fits this jam's theme.- No submissions that require a payment will be accepted.

- Samples are acceptable, so long as you have the legal rights.

- Maximum of three (3) individuals per submission.

- Individuals can only submit one (1) entry to this jam.

• Be kind and respectful to everyone you interact with in this jam.

- Artificial Intelligence, or similar forms of generative methodologies, are strictly prohibited from this jam in all components of your submission.