Archived rules · September 12, 2026

These terms describe the earlier campaign model. See current campaign rules. Existing agreements retain their accepted terms.

A fair Stage needs rules people can understand.

Founding model · Last updated September 12, 2026

1. Eligibility and permission

Founding campaigns are open only to creators who are at least 18 years old and meet the requirements published for that campaign. Requirements may include creative category, availability, location or payment eligibility, and the ability to complete the stated work. Each application asks for age confirmation, residence and work country and region, availability, the creator’s contribution and the source of asset permissions. These declarations are reviewed privately; they are not identity verification. Do not submit ID, tax forms or bank details in an application. Selected creators complete any required verification and tax/payout onboarding through the approved secure process before confirmation. Only the locations explicitly listed on a campaign are supported; English-language use alone does not establish eligibility.

2. Entry uses existing work

There is no entry fee, follower minimum, or campaign-specific assignment required for consideration. Creators submit work they already made and have the right to share. Entry, Stage placement, and Final Ten placement do not transfer ownership of that work. Each entrant separately accepts the campaign-specific terms and limited display permission; the accepted versions and campaign scope are recorded with the entry. Permission covers the campaign Stage, necessary previews and the named studio’s selection review, not advertising or free new work. Display ends 30 calendar days after confirmed results, or earlier following an approved withdrawal. A separate Core portfolio remains controlled by its own visibility choice.

3. The Stage and Final Ten

The standard founding Stage contains 20 eligible creators. If more than 20 people qualify, Stage places are drawn at random. If fewer qualify, the campaign cannot silently proceed with fewer people: a smaller format, including its finalist pool and selection route, needs a revised agreement and disclosure before entries open; otherwise the organizer must extend or cancel and resolve obligations. DebutYou rotates the order of Stage work between visits. This gives visitors different starting points; it does not guarantee equal viewing time or eliminate outside-audience advantages. When the announced support period closes, the ten highest validated Iris totals form the Final Ten.

4. Iris and campaign integrity

The founding website gives each community account three free Iris per campaign, for the entire support period. Allocate all three to one creator, split them two and one, or give one each to three creators. You can change or remove allocations until the announced support deadline. Iris cannot be bought or refilled daily. You cannot support your own entry. The organizer and people working for the sponsoring studio may not give Iris in that studio’s campaign. Supporters confirm that they are independent of the sponsoring studio. Browsing is public, while giving Iris and submitting work require a signed-in community profile. Founding community accounts are 18+.

Each supporter receives the same limited amount of Iris for the campaign, and Iris cannot be purchased. Creators may share the campaign and invite real people to participate, but buying support, offering rewards for support, using false accounts, or coordinating automated activity is prohibited. DebutYou may remove invalid support or disqualify an entry when there is credible evidence of manipulation, rights violations, or false eligibility information.

5. Four paid doors

The two highest validated Iris totals in the Final Ten receive Community Doors. The studio chooses two different creators from the remaining finalists for its Studio Doors. A studio does not receive a creative-preference veto over a valid Community Door. Equal Iris totals are ranked by the number of distinct valid supporters. If both are equal at a selection boundary, a recorded random draw resolves the remaining tie. If a selected creator is ineligible or declines, a Community Door follows the highest remaining eligible support total, then distinct valid supporters and the recorded tie procedure; a Studio Door stays within the remaining original Final Ten. Resolve any existing agreement and earned pay, then repeat private checks before confirming a replacement.

Selections are provisional and private first. Allow three business days for the private response and correction window, with documented extensions where appropriate. Creators can request correction of eligibility or integrity decisions at hello@debutyouhq.com. DebutYou completes objective verification, signed creator terms and secure onboarding before announcing confirmed results. This is an initial paid commission, not a guarantee of employment or further studio work.

6. Briefs, payment, and publication

The $2,500 founding campaign includes four initial commissions of $400 each, paid by DebutYou LLC. Each is one original 15–30 second vertical edit and one consolidated revision round. DebutYou pays $200 within three business days after signing and complete asset readiness, before written kickoff. The remaining $200 is due within seven calendar days of conforming final delivery under the signed terms. Payment does not depend on views, studio publication, later hiring or a further studio payment.

The target first cut is business day 5 after written kickoff and final delivery is business day 10, subject to timely inputs. Acceptance or a specific material-defect notice is due within three business days; silence means acceptance. A material correction follows the signed three-business-day correction process. Minor preferences do not delay undisputed pay.

Creators keep copyright. After conforming delivery and full creator payment, with the studio invoice paid, the written rights release starts a 90-day window for new organic posts on the named studio accounts. Approved posts made during that window may remain unchanged there afterward, with agreed credit. New uploads after day 90, ads, boosts, re-edits, extra formats, sublicensing and creator-channel posting need separately agreed permission and pay. A studio need not publish every conforming deliverable; non-publication does not erase payment owed.

Additional studio assignments are optional, directly negotiated and separately funded. They do not come out of the initial $400 or create a guarantee of later work. Before any cancellation, DebutYou records earned creator pay, authorized nonrecoverable costs and any unused funds under the signed agreements. Disliking a valid Community Door is not grounds to cancel that creator’s compensation.

7. The optional Fifth Door

A studio may fund one additional eligible Stage creator as a wildcard. The Fifth Door must have its own paid scope and never replaces or reduces one of the four standard paid seats.

8. Your Core and public results

Your Core is your creative profile. You can feature up to three pieces of existing work independently of campaign selection. Only publish work you have the right to share, including the footage and music. Turning your Core private does not withdraw permissions already granted for a campaign entry.

Selected creators and campaign progress are published after private verification and the review window. Invitation-only practice is visible only to invited accounts and the organizer; all its agreement and payment milestones are fictional, and it creates no paid opportunity. Full rankings and individual supporters’ choices stay private. Reports can be submitted from public work cards or by email. DebutYou reviews reports and may remove work that violates the published rules.

Before each campaign

Each campaign will publish its dates, eligibility requirements, available Iris, selection method, creator compensation, tie and replacement rules, cancellation process, and campaign-specific terms before entries open. Signed creator and studio agreements control the actual commissioned work. Questions can be sent to hello@debutyouhq.com.