DISTORTIA / REMIX CHALLENGE
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DISTORTIA Remix Challenge: Official Rules

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DISTORTIA Remix Challenge: Official Rules

Version 1.4, Round 1 (Tome 1). These rules, and any addendum for later rounds, are published in English and French on the Challenge page of the Cinderhall website: https://cinderhall.pages.dev/distortia/challenge/ (the "Challenge page"). Both versions are equally valid (section 20).

1. Who runs the challenge

The DISTORTIA Remix Challenge (the "Challenge") is run by Cinderhall, operated by Jonathan Lachance, 500 rue George-Muir, Québec (Québec) G2N 2H1, Canada, telephone 418 573 0117, info.cinderhall@gmail.com ("Cinderhall", "we", "us").

This is a skill contest. Winners are chosen by judging (section 8). There is no random draw and no element of chance.

2. No purchase necessary

You don't need to buy anything to enter or to win. The source files are free. You don't need to follow, subscribe to or like any account, and you don't need to share or repost anything other than your own entry. Buying a Cinderhall product does not improve your chances.

3. The source material

For Round 1, the source material is the free "Lowgain Wakes" download from DISTORTIA, Tome 1: The Saint Rises, available at https://cinderhall.pages.dev/distortia/ (the file lowgain-wakes-free-midi.zip). It contains:

  • the full multitrack MIDI file (distortia-r1-lowgain-wakes.mid, about 5:18, 134 bars);
  • 9 MIDI stems, one MIDI file per instrument, all the same length so they line up: drums, rhythm guitar L, rhythm guitar R, lead guitar, bass, acoustic guitar, fiddle, choir and strings;
  • LICENCE.txt (English and French) and README.md.

Notes:

  • The files are MIDI only, with no audio. You choose and provide your own sounds.
  • The files come with their own licence (LICENCE.txt). It already lets you use, edit, remix, share and sell them, commercial or not, with no credit required. These rules don't reduce that licence. You can use the files whether or not you enter.
  • "Lowgain Wakes" is composed by Cinderhall using Jonathan Lachance's own code, custom tools and generators. Cinderhall keeps ownership of the original files.

4. Who can enter

  • Age. You must be at least 13 years old when you enter. People under 13 can't enter.
    • 18 or older: you can enter on your own.
    • 13 to 17: a parent or legal guardian must co-sign your entry. They do this by filling in and signing the parent or guardian consent form on the Challenge page and emailing it to info.cinderhall@gmail.com, no later than 7 days after the round closes. The form confirms that they have read these rules and agree to them for you, including the licence in section 11. Until we receive the co-signed form, we won't repost or feature your entry, and without it your entry can't win.
    • If you are 13 to 17 and you win, your parent or guardian must also co-sign the winner's declaration (section 10).
    • Signing. The consent form and the winner's declaration may be signed by hand, or electronically: type your full name in the signature field, tick the e-signature box, and send the form from the email address written in it.
    • We may ask any entrant to confirm their age.
  • Where. The Challenge is open worldwide. It is void where prohibited or restricted by law. You are responsible for making sure that you may enter where you live. We may be unable to feature or contact a winner in a country or region subject to Canadian economic sanctions; if so, the prize goes to the next-ranked eligible entry (section 9).
  • Not eligible: Jonathan Lachance, his immediate family (parents, siblings, children, spouse or partner) and members of his household, and anyone who helped make the source material.
  • Groups. A band or a team may enter as one entrant. One person enters on behalf of the group and confirms that every member agrees to these rules and is at least 13. Each member aged 13 to 17 needs a co-signed consent form. If the group wins, every member must sign the winner's declaration (co-signed by a parent or guardian for members aged 13 to 17).

5. Dates (Round 1)

  • Round 1 runs for 6 weeks (42 days). It opens on October 21, 2026 at 00:00:00 and closes on December 1, 2026 at 23:59:59, America/Toronto time (Eastern Time).
  • An entry counts only if its public post is dated within that window, as shown by the platform. Posts made before the opening or after the closing don't count.
  • Judging takes place after the closing. We will announce the Round 1 winner no later than 21 days after the closing, that is by December 22, 2026.
  • Our records, and the date and time shown by the platform, decide whether an entry was on time.

6. How rounds work ("per tome")

  • What a tome is. For this Challenge, a "tome" is each DISTORTIA release published by Cinderhall. Tome 1 is "DISTORTIA, Tome 1: The Saint Rises" (12 pages).
  • There is one round per tome, with one winner per round.
  • Round 1 covers Tome 1 and uses "Lowgain Wakes" (section 3).
  • Later rounds. For each later tome, we will announce a new round with its own source material and its own dates, in a short addendum published on the Challenge page, at least 7 days before that round opens. Unless the addendum says otherwise, these rules apply to every round.
  • An entry counts only for the round in which it was posted. You may enter more than one round.
  • We don't promise how many tomes there will be or when they will be released. If a tome is never released, there is no round for it.

7. How to enter

  1. Download the free source files (section 3).
  2. Make your own version: a remix, cover, rearrangement or new production built from the "Lowgain Wakes" material.
  3. Post it publicly, within the round's dates, on at least one of:
    • X, tagging @cinderhallmidi;
    • Instagram, tagging @cinderhall;
    • YouTube, mentioning @cinderhall in the title or description;
    with the hashtag #DistortiaRemix in the post, caption, title or description.
  4. Keep the post public and online until the round's winner is announced. If it's private or deleted when we judge, we can't consider it.

Your entry must meet all of these conditions:

  • It's your own production. You (or your group) made it. You may use any of the original "Lowgain Wakes" material, changed or not, but your entry must be your own version, not the source files played back unchanged.
  • You have the rights to everything in it. Every sound, sample, loop, preset, vocal, recording, lyric and performance in your entry must be yours or used with a licence that allows you to post it publicly and allows our uses in section 11. Don't use other people's songs, recordings, beats or vocals without that permission. Anyone else who performs on your entry must agree to these rules.
  • AI tools. You may use AI tools, as long as you disclose it: say in your post, caption or description that you used AI and for what (for example "drums generated with AI" or "AI-assisted mixing"). You must also have the rights described above, and the tool's terms must allow you to post the result publicly. An entry that used AI without saying so will be disqualified.
  • Length and format. 8 minutes maximum. Audio or video. If it's a video, the music is what we judge.
  • Content. No hateful, harassing, sexually explicit or illegal content, and nothing that breaks the platform's rules. On YouTube, entries must follow the YouTube Community Guidelines: https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks/policies/community-guidelines/ . Entries that don't follow them will be disqualified.
  • Limit. One entry per person (or group) per round. If you post more than one, we judge only the latest one posted before the closing. Posting the same entry on several platforms counts as one entry. Entering from several accounts, or under several names, is not allowed.

8. Judging

  • Entries are judged for Cinderhall by Jonathan Lachance alone. He is the only judge.
  • The judge listens to every eligible entry and scores it out of 100:
CriterionPoints
Production: mix, sound choices and overall sound quality30
Creativity: how much your version adds or changes, and how original it is30
Musicianship: arrangement, performance and use of the source material25
Fit with DISTORTIA: heavy, cheeky, and in the spirit of the world and the music15
  • Likes, views, follower counts, comments and shares don't count. Buying anything doesn't count.
  • If two or more entries have the same top score, the one with the higher Creativity score wins. If they are still tied, the tied entries share the prize: each is featured (section 9).
  • There is no random draw at any stage.
  • The judge's decision is final, except where these rules or the law say otherwise (section 13).
  • The judge and these criteria won't change after a round opens.

9. The prize

One prize per round (shared if tied, see below): the winning entry is featured on Cinderhall's channels and website, credited by the name the winner chooses, within 7 days after the winner confirms (see the timeline below).

  • What "featured" means. Within 7 days after the winner confirms (section 10), we will:
    • make a post featuring the winning entry, credited to the winner, on each of X (@cinderhallmidi), Instagram (@cinderhall) and YouTube (@cinderhall). The post may carry the entry itself, or repost, share or embed the winner's own post;
    • list the winning entry, credited to the winner and with a link to the winner's post, on the Challenge page for 12 months.
  • Credit. The winner is credited by the name they choose (their real name or their artist name), for example: "DISTORTIA Remix Challenge, Round 1 winner: Your Name. Original music: Lowgain Wakes, composed by Cinderhall using Jonathan Lachance's own code, custom tools and generators."
  • Value. The prize has no cash value and no market price. Its value is CAD 0. There is no money, no fee, no share of any revenue and no cash alternative.
  • Number of prizes. One per round (except for a shared prize after a tie, section 8). Your chances depend on the number and quality of the other entries in the same round.
  • Not transferable. The prize can't be transferred, exchanged or traded for anything else.
  • No other promise. The prize is the feature and credit described above. It doesn't include a record deal, a release on streaming services or stores, or any other use of the entry.
  • If a winner can't accept. If a winner doesn't reply within 14 days of our message (section 10), is found to be ineligible, or doesn't sign the declaration, the prize goes to the next-ranked eligible entry in the same round.

10. Contacting the winner

  • We will contact the winner through the platform where they posted (a reply or direct message) and, if they give us one, by email. We will never ask for a password or for payment.
  • To receive the prize, the winner must within 14 days:
    • reply and give the name to be used in the credit and an email address;
    • confirm their age and where they live (and, if aged 13 to 17, make sure we have the co-signed consent form);
    • sign a short winner's declaration confirming that they meet these rules, that they have the rights described in section 7, and the licence in section 11 (co-signed by a parent or guardian for a winner aged 13 to 17), signed by hand or electronically as described in section 4;
    • if we ask, send an audio or video file of the entry for us to post, and details of the samples or tools used so we can check the rights.
  • Before featuring an entry, we may check its rights and originality. An entry that fails the check is disqualified (section 12).

11. Your rights and the licence you give us

  • You keep ownership. You keep all the rights you have in your entry. We don't ask you to transfer ownership. (The original "Lowgain Wakes" files remain Cinderhall's, under their own free licence.)
  • The licence you give us. By entering, you give Cinderhall a non-exclusive, free, worldwide licence to show, play, repost, share, embed and link to your entry, and to use excerpts of it (up to 60 seconds) in our own posts, always with credit to you, on Cinderhall's social accounts (X @cinderhallmidi, Instagram @cinderhall, YouTube @cinderhall, and any accounts that replace them) and on the Cinderhall website, to present the Challenge and DISTORTIA. If you win, this licence also lets us post your full entry on those accounts and that site as the prize (section 9). For an entrant aged 13 to 17, this licence starts only when we receive the co-signed consent form (section 4).
  • Only socials and the site. We won't sell your entry, release it on streaming services or download stores, put it on an album, license it to anyone else, or use it in paid advertising.
  • How long. The licence lasts 24 months after the round closes. Posts already made may stay online after that, unless you ask us to remove them.
  • Removal on request. At any time, you can ask us (section 19) to remove your entry. For an entrant aged 13 to 17, their parent or guardian can also ask. We will remove it from our website and delete our own posts of it within 14 days, and we will stop making new posts of it. We can't control copies other people have made.
  • Non-exclusive. You can still release, sell or use your entry yourself, anywhere, including on your own channels, as the "Lowgain Wakes" licence allows.
  • Content ID and claims. If you register your entry with a content identification system (for example YouTube Content ID or a distributor's equivalent), you agree to whitelist Cinderhall's channels, or to release any claim against our posts of your entry under this licence. Cinderhall won't claim your entry under its own rights in "Lowgain Wakes".
  • No payment. The licence is given free. Cinderhall owes you no fees, royalties or share of revenue for these uses. Any income you receive yourself from collective societies or platforms for your own rights is not affected.
  • Moral rights and credit. Your moral rights stay with you. We will always credit you by the name you choose when we use your entry, where the platform allows a credit. You agree that we may make the technical changes needed for these uses: level and loudness changes, fades, cutting excerpts of up to 60 seconds, and converting formats or aspect ratios. We won't make any other change (such as editing the music, adding material or remixing it) without your written permission. You also agree that we may show your entry next to other entries and Cinderhall content.
  • Your promise. You confirm that your entry is your own, that you have the rights described in section 7, and that our uses under this section won't infringe anyone's rights.

12. Disqualification

We may disqualify an entry or an entrant who:

  • doesn't meet these rules (for example eligibility, dates, rights or content);
  • copies another person's work or uses material without the rights to it;
  • enters from several accounts or under false names, or tries to influence the judging;
  • harasses or threatens other entrants, the judges or anyone else in connection with the Challenge.

Before disqualifying an entry after the round has closed, we will tell the entrant why and give them 7 days to reply, and we will consider the reply. If an entry is disqualified after the winner is announced, the prize goes to the next-ranked eligible entry, and we remove our posts of the disqualified entry.

13. Changes, suspension and cancellation

  • We may correct obvious errors in these rules. We will post any change on the Challenge page with its date.
  • After a round opens, we won't reduce the prize, change the judging criteria or the judge, or shorten the dates, unless the law requires it.
  • If something outside our reasonable control prevents the round from running fairly (for example fraud, a technical failure or a platform shutting down), we may suspend, extend or cancel that round. We will say so publicly and explain what happens to the entries. If we cancel a round, we will judge the eligible entries received up to that point if that can be done fairly.

14. Privacy

  • What we collect. From all entrants: the public account name, the link to the post and the entry, as you publish them. From entrants aged 13 to 17, on the consent form: the entrant's full name, credit name, age bracket (13 to 17), account name and post link, and the parent's or guardian's name, relationship, email and signature. From winners, on the declaration: the full name, credit name, account name, post link, email address, age bracket (18 or older, or 13 to 17), place of residence, the AI tools and the samples, loops or sound libraries used, the signature (and the co-signature of a parent or guardian for ages 13 to 17), and any file they send us. We don't ask for a date of birth.
  • Why. Only to run the Challenge: to judge entries, contact and verify winners, credit them, and feature the entries as described in section 11.
  • Who sees it. Jonathan Lachance and the people who help him run the Challenge. We don't sell it or share it for marketing. Your public posts are also handled by the platform under its own privacy policy; the information you give us for the Challenge goes to Cinderhall, not to X, Instagram (Meta) or YouTube (Google).
  • How long. Entrants' details are deleted 12 months after their round closes. That includes the consent forms of entrants aged 13 to 17 who don't win. Winners' records (the declaration and, for winners aged 13 to 17, the consent form) are kept for 3 years after their round closes, as proof of the consent and the licence, then deleted.
  • Your rights. You may ask to see or correct the information we hold about you, or ask us to delete it (if you are a winner, this may mean we can no longer credit or feature you). The person in charge of personal information is Jonathan Lachance, info.cinderhall@gmail.com, 500 rue George-Muir, Québec (Québec) G2N 2H1.

15. Platforms

This Challenge is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, X, Instagram, Meta, YouTube or Google. By entering, you release X Corp., Meta Platforms, Inc. (Instagram), Google LLC (YouTube) and their affiliates from any liability related to the Challenge. Questions about the Challenge go to Cinderhall, not to the platforms. You must also follow the rules of the platform you post on.

16. Responsibility

  • To the extent permitted by law, Cinderhall is not responsible for posts that a platform hides, removes or fails to show, for lost or late entries caused by platform or internet problems, or for anything a platform does.
  • To the extent permitted by law, you are responsible for your entry and for any claim that it infringes someone else's rights.
  • Nothing in these rules limits Cinderhall's responsibility for its own acts or faults, or any right you have under the law that cannot be waived, including under Québec's Consumer Protection Act.

17. Taxes

The prize has no cash value. If any tax applies to you because of the prize, it's your responsibility.

18. Applicable law

These rules are governed by the laws of Québec and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. This doesn't take away any protection you have under the law of the place where you live.

19. Contact

Questions about the Challenge or these rules: info.cinderhall@gmail.com, or Cinderhall, 500 rue George-Muir, Québec (Québec) G2N 2H1, telephone 418 573 0117.

20. Language

These rules are published in English and in French. The two versions are equally valid. If they differ, we will apply the meaning more favourable to the entrant.

DISTORTIA Remix Challenge: Winner's Declaration

Return this signed declaration to info.cinderhall@gmail.com within 14 days of our message telling you that you won (Official Rules, section 10). Otherwise the prize goes to the next-ranked eligible entry (section 9). In a group, each member signs their own copy. A winner aged 13 to 17 also needs a parent or guardian to co-sign below (section 4).

The winner

  • Full name: ______________________________
  • Credit name (real name or artist name, exactly as it should appear): ______________________________
  • Platform account (handle): ______________________________
  • Link to the winning post: ______________________________
  • Round: [ ] Round 1 (Tome 1, "Lowgain Wakes") [ ] Other round: ______
  • Email: ______________________________
  • Age: [ ] 18 or older [ ] 13 to 17 (parent or guardian co-signs below)
  • Where I live (country, and province or state): ______________________________
  • AI tools used (section 7): [ ] None [ ] Yes, for: ______________________________ (as stated in my post)
  • Samples, loops or sound libraries used, with their source or licence (section 10): ______________________________

I declare and agree that

  1. Eligibility (section 4). I meet the age and eligibility rules. I am not Jonathan Lachance, a member of his immediate family or household, or someone who helped make the source material. Entry is legal where I live.
  2. My own work and rights (section 7). The entry is my own production (or my group's). I have the rights to every sound, sample, loop, preset, vocal, recording, lyric and performance in it, and anyone else who performs on it has agreed to the rules. Any use of AI is disclosed in my post, as stated above.
  3. Licence (section 11). I keep ownership of my entry. I confirm the non-exclusive, free, worldwide licence I gave Cinderhall to show, play, repost, share, embed and link to my entry, and to use excerpts of up to 60 seconds, always with credit, on Cinderhall's social accounts (X @cinderhallmidi, Instagram @cinderhall, YouTube @cinderhall, and any accounts that replace them) and the Cinderhall website, including posting my full entry as the prize (section 9). It lasts 24 months after the round closes. Cinderhall won't sell my entry, release it on streaming services or stores, put it on an album, license it to others or use it in paid advertising. No payment is owed.
  4. Removal on request (section 11). I (or, if I am 13 to 17, my parent or guardian) may ask at any time to remove my entry; Cinderhall will remove it from its website and delete its own posts of it within 14 days. I understand this may mean I can no longer be featured (section 14).
  5. Content ID (section 11). If I register my entry with a content identification system, I will whitelist Cinderhall's channels or release any claim against Cinderhall's posts of it under this licence.
  6. Moral rights (section 11). I keep my moral rights and will be credited by the credit name above. I agree to these technical changes only: level and loudness changes, fades, excerpts of up to 60 seconds, and format or aspect ratio conversion. No other change without my written permission.
  7. Prize (section 9). The prize is a credited post on each of X, Instagram and YouTube within 7 days after I confirm, plus 12 months on the Challenge page. It has no cash value (CAD 0) and can't be transferred.
  8. Privacy (section 14). Cinderhall uses this information only to run the Challenge, and keeps this declaration (and, if I am 13 to 17, the consent form) for 3 years after the round closes, as proof of the consent and the licence, then deletes it. I may ask to see, correct or delete it by writing to info.cinderhall@gmail.com (Jonathan Lachance, person in charge of personal information).

Signatures

  • Winner's signature, or typed full name as an electronic signature: ______________________________ Date (YYYY-MM-DD): ______________
  • [ ] E-signature: by typing my full name above, ticking this box and sending this declaration from the email address given above, I sign it electronically (Official Rules, section 4).

Parent or guardian co-sign (only if the winner is 13 to 17):

  • Full name: ______________________________ Relationship: [ ] Parent [ ] Legal guardian
  • Email: ______________________________
  • I have read the Official Rules and this declaration, and I agree to them on the winner's behalf.
  • Signature, or typed full name as an electronic signature: ______________________________ Date (YYYY-MM-DD): ______________
  • [ ] E-signature: by typing my full name above, ticking this box and sending this declaration from the email address given above, I sign it electronically.

This declaration exists in English and French. Both versions are equally valid; if they differ, the meaning more favourable to the entrant applies (Official Rules, section 20).

Cinderhall, operated by Jonathan Lachance, 500 rue George-Muir, Québec (Québec) G2N 2H1, 418 573 0117, info.cinderhall@gmail.com

Download the winner's declaration (text file)