[sebdufbeau]

Caution: This explanation might not use 100% accurate terminology, but should get the point across.

Most modern music is made via software named DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), which is kind of like an IDE but where music is made. These allow you to play with audio (ex: import audio files, arrange them across a timeline, record sound from external sources like a microphone). This is great if you already have all the audio files you need (eg: you're a live band and recorded a song in a studio), but sometimes you want to create new audio without having access to a recording studio.

Audio plugins allow you to create new sounds. You've got two main types of plugins: ones that generate sound (eg: instruments, like a synth) and ones that modify sounds (takes an input sound, modifies it and then outputs it again, like an equalizer/EQ).

Audio plugins are external (or bundled) software that you can use inside a DAW, you can download a lot of them for free but they can also get quite expensive (eg: thousands of dollars). The most popular format for these plugins for a long time (and still today) was VST, but Clap aims to be a new standard to compete with VST.

[pixelatedindex]

This was pretty helpful in understanding the landscape, so thank you.

[jeanlucas]

Thank you very much, this is a great intro to the topic!