Judging and Competitions
How do the competitions work?
There are two main types of competition: Channel competitions and promotional competitions with our partners. The channel competitions take place on a monthly basis. While each promotional competition is unique, our monthly competitions consist of three rounds:
Regular judging
Semifinals
Finals
In regular judging sessions, all items in the channels (sub-genres) battle for chart placement. This phase takes place from the first of the month until six days before the month ends.
During semifinals, the Top 40 entries in each channel battle amongst themselves over a four-day period. This determines the channel winner (#1 ranked artist).
In the finals, the last two days of each month, the Top 10 in each channel are rolled into one of five finals channels (Rock, Pop, Roots, Urban, Electronic) The final round decides the Grand Prize winners across these channels.
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What are the different finals channels?
OurStage has five different music finals channels: Rock, Pop, Roots, Urban, and Electronic. These channels include the following sub-genres:
Rock: Rock, Metal, Indie Rock, Punk
Pop: Pop, Singer-Songwriter)
Roots Music: Country, Folk, Americana
Urban: Rap, R&B
Electronic: EDM, Ambient/Chill
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What are the different kinds of "battles?"
Battles are where two or more songs are selected, according to our unique fair judging algorithm, to go up against each other and be rated by our users. There are two kinds of battles:
Head-to-Head:
Two songs pitted against each other for the love of a good fan.
Sort4:
The Thunderdome of music judging. Four songs enter, but only one can emerge victorious.
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Why can't I just vote for one particular band?
This would defeat the purpose of fair judging. If you could choose what to judge, artists could sit there all day and judge for themselves, unfairly influencing the charts and making music discovery no fun at all. We want our charts to reflect the collective wisdom of our entire community. This is what makes OurStage so unique and free from all the self-promoting noise that makes other sites a drag to visit.
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So how can I support my favorite artist more directly?
You can use our “Judge For Me” feature to do exactly that.
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Why am I limited in the number of battles I can do in semifinals and finals?
There are only so many items to judge in a competition. We limit artists to one set of battles in each of the final stages of the month in order to prevent people from trying to cheat their way to the #1 spot by unfairly participating in thousands of battles. You will be able to complete varying numbers of battles in the Finals Channels, because there are a different number of items to be judged. This system guarantees that every item in a channel receives equal exposure with the same number of chances to be judged favorably as every other entry.
Keep in mind that OurStage does not limit how many battles you can participate in or for how long you judge during the regular judging session. In the interest of keeping this competition fair to all artists and fans, however, we decided to set a limit after the regular judging phase.
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Don't artists just try to vote their competitors down?
We suppose they can try, but our systems are really smart and can identify this kind of judging behavior. Artists can't game the system by voting down opponents. We hope and encourage everyone to be honest. But those who choose to counter the counter-culture of OurStage, are statistically irrelevant to our system. Ouch.
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Judge For Me
What is "Judge For Me?"
The Judge For Me feature allows fans to see what competitions an artist is in so that they can judge for that artist more frequently. Once a fan has decided to judge for an artist in competition, that artist's song or video will appear approximately every 5 battles (but it could be more frequent than that based on the number of competitors in the competition). The best way for you as an artist to get this to your fans is to simply search for your own name in the OurStage search bar. The results page will show your name/profile with a "Judge For Me" button to the right. Click this button and share the URL with your fans. Fans can also access this feature four different ways:
From the main navigation bar at the top of the page, fans can select Competitions > Find An Artist, and then simply enter the artist name into the search to find them in competition
Fans can search for the artist using the site search window at the top right of the page. Artists in competition will have a "Judge For Me" button next to their name
Fans can navigate to the artist's profile and click the "Judge For Me" button next to their avatar
Fans can also navigate to any competition page and will see a call to action at the top of the page for them to judge for a specific artist
In any of these four paths, fans can click the "Judge For Me" button to see what competitions an artist is in. They will then select a competition to start judging. Fans will see a banner at the top, which indicates that they are judging for that artist and which will give them a countdown indicating how many battles before their artist shows up again.
Artists, make sure that you share your "Judge For Me" page on your social networks. This will make it easy for your fans to support you and help you climb the charts.
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I directed my fans to my "Judge For Me" page, but it says I'm no longer in the running for a competition?
If you did not make the Top 40 before the semi-finals round, then your fans will not be able to judge for you in that phase since your position in the competition is locked. Be sure to rally your fans for the next month's competition so you can make the semi-finals rounds and climb the charts.
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Why don't I see the countdown for my artist in this competition?
If there is no countdown visible, it is likely that the competition has entered the semi-finals or finals rounds. In these rounds, the field of competition has narrowed such that we cannot accurately tell you when a particular artist will appear again - our system works actively to provide an equal opportunity for all entries to be judged. You will still be judging for your artist if you select their “Judge For Me” button on their profile or in search…we just can’t tell you when they will come up next in battle. The good news is that with fewer artists in the final rounds of competition, the ones who remain will certainly be much more available for judging.
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Content Removal Policies
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is a violation of the OurStage Terms and Conditions. You must have the copyright or permission of the copyright holder in order to upload media (music or video). If a media item violates OurStage's Terms and Conditions, it is immediately removed from OurStage, and a notice is sent to the user responsible for the post. OurStage's Terms and Conditions cover copyright violations and offensive content. Since this is a manual process, we may not be aware of all media items that violate OurStage's Terms and Conditions. If you find a questionable media item, be sure to flag it. If you want to make sure you're up-to-date on all the rules, check out OurStage's Terms and Conditions.
Contributors: Once we get a report of a media item that violates OurStage's Terms and Conditions, the item will be removed as soon as the claims are validated, and you will be sent a takedown notice. Requests to reinstate an item must be made after-the-fact. You can appeal any decision by e-mailing our community team at
community@ourstage.com.
If you are a trademark or copyright holder and you believe that your rights have been violated in any way, please complete and mail a signed copy of the form below to our designated agent at:
OurStage Inc.
Attn: DMCA Agent Paula Schmitz
519 CR 455
Thorndale, Texas 76577
Our agent information is provided pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 512(2).
Upon receipt of a fully completed and signed notification form, we will disable access to the allegedly infringing materials and will promptly notify the individual who posted the materials that access has been disabled as is our obligation under the Copyright Act. In the event your notification is (1) unsigned or (2) not on our form and therefore does not contain the authorization language of our form, we will work with you to obtain a properly executed notification. However, we will not be able to respond to your request, if any of the other information is missing from your notification. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 512(g)(2), the individual who posted the materials may provide us with counter-notification that the materials in question were removed or disabled as the result of a mistake or misidentification of the materials. This counter-notification must (1) be signed, (2) include the individual's name, address and telephone number, (3) include a statement that the individual is making the counter-notification under penalty of perjury and (4) state that the person consents to the jurisdiction of the federal district court where his or her address is located. If we receive such a counter-notification, and determine that we would like to restore access to the materials, we will send you notification stating access to the materials will be restored within ten to fourteen business days. Access will be restored between the tenth and fourteenth business day after we receive a counter-notification unless you inform OurStage that you have filed a court order to restrain the individual who posted the material from engaging in further infringement activity on our network and servers. If we determine that we do not want to restore access to the materials, you will not receive any further notification.
You can access the Notification Form here.
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Flagging items for review
OurStage is a big site with a lot of media items on it, so it's difficult to make sure everything is running smoothly all the time. We appreciate the input of our users when they come across an item of concern. Please use the following categories when flagging media on OurStage: "Copyright Violation" or "Offensive."
Copyright Violation: Use this flag to alert OurStage of a media item that violates another artist's copyright. This can include sampling, repurposed images, uploading material not owned by that user, etc. (To learn more about Copyright law in the United States, please feel free to check out the US Copyright Office's FAQs.)
Offensive: This flag is for materials which users might find offensive due to language and/or graphic sexual or violent content. Please take into account the context in which an item is placed, as there may be slightly different standards for music that is placed in different channels.
All flagged items will be reviewed so that the appropriate action is taken. Users are always notified when their media is moved, removed, or, in extreme circumstances, their account suspended or banned. Be aware that no immediate action will take place until we've had a chance to review the item in question.
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Artist Prizes
What are the prizes for artists?
OurStage offers monthly prizes for the winners of our finals channels. The artist in the #1 spot in each of the five finals channels at the end of the month is the Grand Prize winner. The prizes may evolve and change from month-to-month as we constantly seek new ways to help artist grow their careers, so be sure to check out our prize page to see the latest. Prizes will include radio play on Amazing Radio (UK and US), as well as consideration for music licensing in film, television, and commercials, and editorial spotlight coverage.
For our promotional competitions, artists also have the chance to win great prizes like performance slots at music festivals, reviews in major publications and so much more, depending on the competitions and special promotions running during a given month. Check here for a list of current prize opportunities. For our promotional competitions, the winners are ultimately decided upon by our sponsor partners. In these cases, the winner will be put in contact with the partner for fulfillment.
Winners will be contacted by OurStage after the competition has ended. All artists are able to view their rank on OurStage.com, but note that the system takes about 20 minutes to tally the results after a competition ends, so please allow 35 minutes to pass before checking the final ranking.
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Charts
How do songs and artists make it onto the "What's Hot" list?
The "What's Hot" list is comprised of songs that have had the most success on the OurStage charts. All songs and artists listed under "What's Hot" have performed consistently well in their respective channels during the last year.
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How often do the rankings change?
Depending on the intensity of the battles, the rankings can change constantly. However, it can take up to 35 minutes to update the rankings.
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How are "Standings" different from "Top Tracks" on the charts page?
The "Top Tracks" section is a weekly snapshot of the "Standings," and it does not have bearing on the outcome of a competition. Every Sunday morning, we take a look at the current standings and post the results as the "Top Tracks" for a week. You can view previous weeks by using the dropdown menu on the right side of the "Top Tracks" page.
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What is the Best Of The Best?
The Best Of The Best charts show the Top 100 artists on OurStage in Pop, Rock, Urban and Country. Charts are generated four times a month and reflect the best artists over a six-month period. Charts are published up to 48 hours after the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd of each month.
The Best Of The Best chart rankings are determined by a number of factors. The specific algorithm may change from chart to chart but basic factors include:
Competition results
External information gathered from band URLs listed on their individual profile page
General user preferences and behavior
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How does the ranking engine work?
The ranking or “judging” is done via two patent-pending algorithms that serve up all of the material in a channel in a fair and unbiased manner for fans to judge. We call this “Peer Relative Ranking,” which ensures that each item is judged fairly by a real audience. This system simply CANNOT be cheated or gamed. It is designed to provide each media item in any given channel an equal opportunity to be judged. Depending on how much our users like something (i.e. rank favorably), and how long they want to keep on judging, the ranking engine will try to get users to determine just how much a particular item is liked over other ranked items. This is why users may see the same item coming up multiple times during a series of battles. Fans who are judging have to view or listen to the material served for a minimum of 15 seconds each before they can rank one item over another. Once all of the rankings from all of the users are tallied, the best music, as determined by the community, rises to the top.
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Selling and Buying Music
Music sales
OurStage used to offer the option to buy and sell songs, but the system we used has become outdated. We are currently working on implementing a new system that will improve the experience of buying and selling for fans and artists alike.
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EPKs
What is an EPK and why do I need one?
EPK stands for Electronic Press Kit. A press kit is a condensed packet of information that artists and their representatives use to highlight important facts, achievements and press clips, as well as materials the recipient (usually writers and critics, booking agents, music supervisors, etc.) might need to learn about an artist, including photos, contract info, stage plots and, of course, music.
Your OurStage EPK contains the same "Overview," "Media," "Photos" and "Calendar" sections as your Profile, with the addition of "Artist Info" and "Press" sections to provide additional information. Create a killer EPK by uploading your best tracks, videos, photographs and compelling bio.
Best of all, this kit is free with an OurStage artist account.
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How do I create an EPK?
First, you must be registered on OurStage with an active account. To create your EPK, go to your profile page and add photos, post upcoming performances to your "Calendar" (see information on adding the calendar feature to your profile below) and upload your best songs and videos.
When your profile is bursting with evidence of your talent, click the "View My EPK" link at the top right of your profile page. All of the information you entered on your profile will appear here with your songs and videos. Tailor your profile bio for a more professional audience by cutting it down to a 150-word bio that highlights your style of music, your industry achievements, and what makes you unique as an artist.
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How complete does my EPK have to be?
The more content you add to your EPK, the better you'll look to potential talent buyers and venues. Many of our competitions require that winners have their EPK more than 85% complete. See individual competition rules for details.
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How can I get my EPK to 100% complete?
Each time you fill out information in your EPK, you increase your completion percentage. Each section of the EPK has a different completion percentage:
Portrait 5 %
Overview 5 %
Bio 10 %
Genre 5 %
Artist Info 15 % if Full (can get partial credit)
Songs 5% per item (Max. 15%)
Videos 5%
Photos 5 % for any
Calendar 5 % for any
Stage plot 5 %
Links 5% per item (Max. 15%)
Press 10 % for any
By filling out all of the above sections of your EPK, you will make your EPK 100% complete. You are encouraged to upload more than the minimum songs, videos and links required.
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How do I send someone my EPK?
You can email your EPK to anyone by clicking on the mail icon in the "Share" header above your EPK. You'll need the contact's name and email address. Adding a short, personal message is optional, but highly recommended. Press "Send It" to deliver the email.
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How do I create a custom stage plot?
You will find the option to add (or edit) a custom stage plot on the "Stage Specs" section of your EPK. If a custom stage plot has already been made, then the "Stage Specs" section also allows you to change it. Artists can supply input lists and upload their own stage plot.
Once you've selected the option to design or edit your custom stage plot, you'll be taken to OurStage's Drag and Drop Stage Plot Editor where you'll see three things: Name, Details, and the editor itself. Give your stage plot a name, and then describe it (as a suggestion, listing the required equipment). The current list of available items for the Drag and Drop Stage Plot Editor are as follows: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric bass, acoustic bass, electric piano, turntable, drum kit, guitar amp, bass amp, monitor, outlets, microphone stand, instrument microphone, Direct-in box and a laptop.
To build your custom stage plot, drag and drop any instruments or equipment you require onto the great area between them. Remember, your audience is at the bottom of the box, meaning the top of the box is the back of the stage. If you mess up and put an item in your plot you don't wish to have there, just drag the item to the trashcan to remove it. Once you've got this all set, you can save your stage plot.
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Technical Issues
System Requirements for OurStage.com
OurStage.com uses the latest in Internet web-browsing technology. As a result, we need our viewers to have at least Adobe Flash 8 installed; Version 9 is preferred. If you aren't sure whether or not you have Flash installed, or if your version is out-dated, you can check by going to Adobe's Flash site.
We also highly recommend using Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox for Windows operating systems, and Safari, Firefox, or Chrome for Mac. AOL's built in browser will not display all of the images on our site correctly, so AOL users should consider using one of these other browsers. Additionally, we suggest using a broadband Internet connection to view OurStage.com due to the speed requirements necessary for streaming video and audio.
With the addition of the banner players, among other changes, OurStage no longer provides support for Internet Explorer 7. If you are using Internet Explorer 7 (or earlier) you will experience severe compatibility issues, ones that cannot be resolved without upgrading your browser to a newer version of IE or switching to another browser.
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What browsers is OurStage optimized for?
The OurStage experience is optimized for Internet Explorer (IE 8 or above) or Mozilla Firefox on Windows operating machines, and Safari, Firefox or Google Chrome on Macs.
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What formats should I use to submit my song or video?
For songs:
Upload the highest-quality audio file available, which may be an uncompressed .wav or an MP3 with a bit rate of 256 kbps or greater. Do not upload a music file that has copyright protection embedded because this will prevent the file from working on our site.
Specifications:
Accepted upload formats: .mp3, .wav, .ogg, .m4a
Maximum duration: 15 minutes
Cover art image size: 360 width x 360 height pixels minimum size in .jpg, .png or .gif format
For videos:
The preferred file format is h264 and aac in an m4v container. We also support .wmv, .avi, .dv, .mpg, .mpg4, .mov, .3gp, .3gp2, .m4v, .mp4 or .asf.
The preferred video size is 640x480 with a total bitrate of 600kbps.
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Troubleshooting
I didn't get my registration email/I was not able to register.
To complete the registration process and activate your OurStage account, you will need to click the activation link provided in your email confirmation.
If you entered the correct email address but did not receive the confirmation email within a few minutes, it is likely that your mail client or Internet Service Provider (ISP) is filtering the message as spam. Check your spam or junk mail folder for the message. If you don't find the message in the junk mail folder, please e-mail our support team and they will activate your account for you.
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I signed up for the wrong type of account.
If you sign up for the wrong type of account (i.e. fan that signed up for an artist account), then you will need to create a new account under the correct type. Please be aware that you cannot use the same e-mail for multiple accounts, so you will need to switch that before making your new account. Once you've made the new account, please contact community and they can deactivate the extra account.
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When I click on a song, it doesn't start playing. Why not?
Users need Flash installed on their computers. Click here to find out more about the software requirements for OurStage. If you do have Flash and are still unable to play the media on our site, please let us know.
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Can I give you some feedback?
Yes, we need and crave your feedback. We do our best, but it's only when users get the chance to kick the tires that we find out what's working and what could be improved. Send us an email.
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Help me!
Don't panic. Just write to the OurStage technical support staff using the help form. This will send an e-mail to the OurStage staff, and they will get on it.
