I was wondering if there are vst licensing requirements for the visual programming environments FlowStone and Synthedit to distribute VST2/3 plugins. I have heard mixed reports some saying one does not need a signed license agreement and some saying that it is required. Thank you!
I found that it appears that yes it is required
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- If you use a VST 3 SDK version >= 3.6.8 , you have to be sure that you sent Steinberg a signed license agreement ( version 2.x ) from one of the last VST 3 SDKs (>= 3.6.8).
- If you use a VST 3 SDK version < 3.6.8 , you have to be sure that you sent Steinberg a signed license agreement ( version 1 ) included in the VST 3 SDK that you use.
- If you do not know if you already sent it, it is recommended to send it again and in this case it is possible to use the license agreement of the last VST 3 SDK , too!
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If you have signed a license agreement ( version 2.x ) and a new released VST 3 SDK uses a new license agreement ( version 3.x ), then you have to signed it again.
*** The previous explanation also applies to used 3rd parties SDK like JUCE/iPlug/SynthEdit… just check which VST 3 SDK version is used by the 3rd party SDK you work with and sign the correct license agreement or the last available one.**
I’m the author of SynthEdit, I asked this question of Steinberg. The reply was yes, users of SynthEdit need their own VST license.
Flowstone claims the opposite:
“DSProbotics has a license from Steinberg to create vst2 plugins so you dont need one, you can safely create them in FlowStone.”
It seems inconsistent to me that Steinberg granted Flowstone (SynthMaker) this permission, but not the same for SynthEdit.
I don’t think that Steinberg granted Flowstone this permission. Everyone has the same license from Steinberg. See Licensing - VST 3 Developer Portal
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