Game Rules

The object of the game is to get as many points as you can so you can cash them in on great rewards. Additionally, artists are able to get the recognition they deserve for great songs through listener voting. Listeners are able to get the recognition they deserve by discovering great talent. It's all about music, fame, and the game!

First, you must register to play the game as an "artist" or as a "listener." Once you have registered, you will be able to start scoring points immediately and complete your profile page. You can even start downloading free music from our Music Download Center from some of the best new artists in the world and get points while you're doing it!

Artists and Listeners receive points in a number of different ways by actions completed (see "Scoring and Points" below). For example, listeners may obtain points for listening to a song, and by providing a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" for the song. In this example, the listener's points increase and the artist's points increase or decrease as a result of this action.

Listeners can just hang out, enjoy music, and talk with artists or friends on Stereofame. However, listeners can also BECOME A LABEL in order to play a more active role in the game and to get more points - points that can be cashed in on great rewards. Listeners may elect to start a "label" by selecting the artists he or she thinks will be most successful on Stereofame. Just like major record labels in the music industry, the objective is to discover great talent and "sign" these artists to his or her label. The label then receives points based upon the success of the artists that are signed to the label. As a result of this collaboration, listeners who create labels can get more points more quickly than listeners who do not start a label.

Whenever a "thumbs up" is given to an artist who is signed to a label, the label receives points. Labels sign an artist by simply selecting which artists they want on their label. The label may sign up to 10 artists at a time. However, more artists do not necessarily mean more points. Signing 7 artists who provide a lot of points is much better than signing 10 artists, 7 who provide a lot of points and 3 that receive thumbs down and reduces the labels overall point total. Artists may be signed or dropped at the label's discretion, but it costs up to 200 points to drop an artist from a label. So, labels should choose artists carefully. Remember, the more popular that the artist is who is signed to a label, the more points the label will receive. Additional points are given to labels that are the first to sign an artist (see "Points").

Artists and Listeners can cash in points for great rewards at the Point Store Auction House. The Point Store is divided into two areas: Artist Rewards and Listener Rewards.

Artists and Listeners may bid on rewards at the Auction House with their points. There are a fixed number of rewards that are available to the highest bidder. There may or may not be a minimum bid required. Like eBay, the auction ends at the time designated for the item being bid upon. Some items may be bid upon for an hour or less, while other items may be bid upon for as long as 90 days or more. Points bid on an item are removed from the total points available. If the bid is unsuccessful, the points are added back to the artist’s or listener’s point total. If the bid is successful, the points bid on the item are permanently removed and the item is shipped to the winner.

(effective September 1)

Although anyone can enjoy Stereofame free of charge, listeners who obtain a Backstage Pass will receive additional privileges, like:

• Download free music in the highest quality Stereofame Sound available
• Sign more artists to your label
• Participate in contests for Backstage Pass members only
• and more!

Backstage Pass members pay a small fee each month and this enables Stereofame to rely on paid memberships to finance our operations, keeping our website free of banner ads. Stereofame's objective is to promote great music and artists, not great toothpaste. Except for the awesome rewards in our point store and sponsors of our contests, Stereofame is proud to be 100% ad free!

In addition to the ongoing Stereofame game, artists and listeners may participate in various contests. While the game is continuous, a contest is for a fixed period of time and usually 30 - 90 days in length. For example, the first contest provides artists the opportunity to perform at the After the Jump Fest in New York City on June 21st. The second contest provides artists the opportunity to have a song selected for inclusion in a Hollywood film featuring an Academy Award winning actress. The winners of our contests are determined by specific rules (see "Contest and Rules"). The contests Leaderboard may be viewed on the "Current Contests" page.

Artists and Listeners earn points for actions completed. The more you participate in the game and complete actions (like listening to a great song or uploading cool photos to your profile page), the more points you can earn. The scoring system varies and points are maximized according to the following categories.

Artists

The primary means for artists to maximize their point value is by providing great music - as determined by the Listeners who provide "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" for songs and/or artists, and by inviting friends to Stereofame. But there are other variables that effect artists scoring. Some are controllable, such as creating great profiles. Some are not so controllable, such as the number of times that an artist's song is played during the day by a listener. But, artists have the ability to promote themselves because of the Stereofame graph (the social network), as well as other graphs like Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo. Artists can contact listeners directly, encouraging them to perform actions which will increase his or her point total, as well as the point total of labels who have signed the artist.

Labels (Listeners who become a label to get more points)

The primary means for labels to maximize their point value is by discovering great music - as determined by the Listeners who provide "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" for songs and/or artists, and by inviting friends to Stereofame. But there are other variables that effect label scoring. Some are controllable, such as creating great profiles. Some are not so controllable, such as the number of times that an artist's song signed by a label is played during the day by a listener. But, labels have the ability to promote their label and their artists themselves because of the Stereofame graph (the social network), as well as other graphs like Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo. Labels can contact listeners directly, encouraging them to perform actions which will increase his or her point total, as well as the artists point total.

Listeners who don't become labels (and just want to hang out)

The primary means for listeners to maximize their point value is by listening to great music and inviting friends to play Stereofame. As a listener, you have control over the number of points that you earn, as well as control the number of points that artists and labels earn. This is why artists and listeners may contact you to encourage you to perform actions that will help them gain more points. You may choose to respond or not respond to these requests. You may also communicate directly with other artists and/or labels that you like, as well as other listeners who may share your musical interest. As you perform these and other actions, you gain points that can be spent at the point store for great rewards. As a listener, your point total is simply the sum of your actions below.

Note, these points do not apply to individual contests.

Artists, Labels, and Listener Actions to get points

Additional Label Actions to get points

Additional Artist Actions to get points

Losing Points

• Removing an artist from a label: Up to 200 points (the earlier the artist was signed by the label, relative to other labels, the more points it takes to remove an artist).

Points and Rewards History

You can view your total points earned, point balance, rewards redeemed, and how and when you obtained these points and rewards by going to the Points tab on your profile page.

The details of Stereofame's special recipe are a bit complicated (Warning: there's a lot of math...), but for sure we'll always reward the fans with the hottest bands on their label.

Artists

During time period t, for each Artist A:

where |A_a| is the number of actions a on artist A during time t and w_a is the weight given to action a. Current weight values are:

Action (a)	Weight (wa)
Profile View	5.00
Song Thumbs Up	20.00
Song Thumbs Down	-15.00
Song Listen	10.00

Labels

During time period t, for each Label L:

where

• R(B,L) = 1 for the first label that signed the band, 2 for the second, etc.
• L_best = the X bands of Label L with the highest
• L_middle = the Y bands of Label L with the highest that are not in L_best
• 
• 
• L_bands = the bands signed by Label L
• λ = 0.01386

Growth Scores

Growth scores provide a good measurement of "who's hot" and "who's not." It's a way for listeners to determine which artists and labels are receiving the most recent attention by the listeners. Growth scores are an indicator of recent actions by listeners as it relates to a particular artist or label. Labels may want to review growth scores of artists when determining whether to add or drop artists from their label in order to maximize his or her points. You may view growth scores on the "Charts" page