1. Editions that stay available
Public submissions are reviewed by the editors. Each approved recording joins the current open edition immediately. Only approved public submissions count towards its 100 places. When the hundredth entry is added, that edition closes to public additions and the next edition opens. Existing tracks remain available in their original edition; they are never moved or deleted just because the edition fills up.
The same Spotify track cannot be submitted again. Different recordings may enter later editions after review. These editions are collections on the Rock Magazine website, with embedded Spotify players; they are not automatically created playlists in a Spotify account.
2. Vote immediately
Voting requires an active, confirmed Rock Magazine Digest subscription. Confirm your subscription first, then request a one-hour voting link using the same email. No account or Spotify sign-in is required. You may support up to five different tracks each UTC day, once per track per day. You can return the following day and support the same track again. A keyed email hash enforces the limits.
3. Weekly Top 10 and Monthly Top 15
Each edition has its own contests. Weekly totals run from Monday 00:00 UTC to the next Monday. Monthly totals run from the first day of a calendar month at 00:00 UTC to the first day of the next month. An approved track enters the current periods immediately, with no waiting for the edition to fill up.
When an edition closes, its current weekly and monthly contests continue to their scheduled ends. The next edition starts its own contests immediately. After those final periods, tracks in the completed edition participate only in the global chart.
4. All-Time Top 100
The global live chart includes approved tracks from every edition. Its score uses valid votes received during the preceding 30 days, so historic totals do not permanently reserve the top places. A dated global result is recorded each week using the 30 days ending at that week’s closing time.
5. Scores and results
Each accepted vote has equal weight. Streams, followers, shares, purchases and editorial preferences do not add points. Tracks with no valid votes are not ranked. Ties are ordered by the time the track joined, then its internal identifier. The charts contain at most 10, 15 and 100 tracks respectively.
Completed results are saved when the chart is next visited after the period ends. Published snapshots remain available and are not silently overwritten. Existing results published under the previous rules remain accessible at their original addresses.
6. Monthly chart prizes, artist cards and badges
The first three artists in each edition’s final Monthly Top 15 receive a permanent personal artist card in Rock Magazine, free of charge. Each card introduces the artist, describes their music, includes listening links and records the verified monthly result. The artist in first place also receives a separate feature article in the magazine, in addition to their personal card.
Monthly No. 1: artist card + feature article. Monthly No. 2 and No. 3: artist cards. Prizes are awarded only after the calendar month ends and the results are finalized. A live position does not secure a prize, and recordings without valid votes do not qualify. The existing tie-breaking rules determine first, second and third place.
The editorial team prepares the cards and the winner’s article using the artist’s supplied biography, project information, approved photographs and links. Publication follows receipt of the materials and editorial preparation; the magazine does not invent biographies or publish placeholder interviews. Winners can contact the team through the contact form. Articles are published as separate editorial stories, rather than simply renaming the artist card.
Existing artist pages and previously earned achievements remain available. Repeat results add dated history and counters. Badges recognize debut, monthly Top 3, first places, chart returns and consecutive results.
7. Partner placements
Editors may add clearly labeled partner placements to completed editions. These do not take one of the original 100 public places and cannot enter that edition’s weekly or monthly contests. They may compete in the global chart through genuine reader votes. A commercial placement does not buy votes, a rank or an achievement badge.
8. Fair play and inquiries
Automated, purchased and exchanged votes are prohibited. Editors can review and exclude invalid votes from totals before results are finalized. Each published result is a dated record; report suspected abuse or request a correction through our contact form. Voting opens only when email verification and the security check are connected.