Last Updated: October 9, 2026
The Digital Media World Cups (both the Web Series World Cup and Audio Fiction World Cup) were founded to support and uplift creators around the world. Every participating festival agrees to a code of ethics meant to ensure fairness for all projects and creators, and that these festivals continue to be creator focused. The leadership team of the DMWC reviews these rules annually in partnership with festivals and creators to ensure that they are clear, effective, and enforced.
One single submission fee makes a project eligible for all awards in their medium
Digital Media World Cup festivals may not charge a single project additional fees for additional awards consideration as this creates a two-tiered judging process where those with more financial access can make themselves eligible for points on the world cup that those with less cannot. An audio fiction world cup festival must charge a single fee at the point of submission and that fee makes a project eligible for all awards consideration by the judges. No additional fees can be paid for awards consideration by any one project.
In-Person attendance is not a requirement to win awards
The number 1 financial barrier facing creators is the cost of attending festivals. The Digital Media World Cups celebrate work from creators all over the world and aims to remove as many financial barriers as possible in that celebration. To that end, festivals may not make attendance a requirement of winning an award, as that puts an undue burden on creators from farther away. The single submission fee for a festival must make projects eligible for all awards consideration.
No Discrimination or Pre-Determination in Judging
Projects will be judged solely on their merits. The Digital Media World Cups and associated festivals will not allow discrimination based upon age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, gender identity, national origin, disability, race, body size, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or any other status prohibited by applicable anti-discrimination laws.
Active Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest
The Digital Media World Cups are committed to maintaining a fair, transparent, and unbiased judging process in order to result in rankings creators can trust. To protect the integrity of the competition, festivals must actively manage and avoid conflicts of interest, including but not limited to:
Festival Team Members: Many team members at DMWC-affiliated festivals are themselves creators. Their work is eligible to receive points in other festivals in the cups, but not in their own festival. Festivals are welcome to screen and celebrate their team members’ work, but not in competition with other shows.
Sponsors: Festivals may require sponsorship to cover costs, and sponsors are often producers of eligible content. Being a sponsor does not remove a project’s ability to submit, but it does not guarantee selection. Sponsored work must be fairly considered alongside all other submissions by judges with whom they do not have a conflict of interest.
Advocates for Creators through Creator-Focused Decision-making
No festival or judging system is perfect. There’s no way to strive for perfection. Also each festival will have different criteria and systems they work through on their own end. Other than following the guidelines outlined above, there is no prescribed system to be part of the Web Series World Cup or Audio Fiction World Cup. However, each festival agrees that they will always keep the primary focus on the creators they serve. Decisions will be run through the question of “what would I, as a creator, want/appreciate?” In doing so, festivals agree that year-over-year, they will strive to improve their experiences, find new ways to open doors, and create more fair and more equitable experiences. As each festival finds new exciting ways to improve, other festivals get the opportunity to learn and apply these methods, providing a mutually beneficial cycle of growth throughout the entire circuit.