[$] An introduction to Linux audio plugin APIs

The world of music and audio production is largely dominated byproprietary software vendors. Among them, Steinberg stands out as a companythat created some of the most-used software, including the Cubase and Nuendo digital audioworkstations. Steinberg is also known as the creator of the VST plugin APIthat, largely due to its licensing policy, has irritated developers enough toinspire multiple attempts at creating an open-source alternative. Even now,when the VST3 SDK is available under theGPLv3 license, the way the company exercises its control over the SDKkeeps pushing developers away toward other open-source solutions.

This is an introduction to open-source pluginAPIs for musicians and sound engineers alike. It focuses on the options inthe larger ecosystem and how their shortcomings led to the creation of newalternatives with liberal licensing.