Hotstar is a hybrid concept. It is a mix of music service, social media and casual game…iTunes meets Twitter meets casual freemium game!

It’s a platform exclusively aimed at the grass roots of the music industry; unsigned and independent artists who produce music and promote their work. It’s a portal for music fans who want to discover & support new music of all genres and have fun playing games with it!

This is the MVP (minimum viable product) of Hotstar, the first version of the game…an extended fully functional Beta test of the concept and as such we welcome all feedback and suggestions at this stage. There are plans to add many more mini games to create an extensive compendium of games, to open up the game play aspect of the concept to all styles of casual game. 

Tell us what you think about Hotstar, what works, what could be tweaked. We have plans to expand into video with a TV channel and we're also opening up the concept to merchandising and service providers…all of which will be linked to game play. The HotStar record company is also on the drawing board...watch this space!

What is the object of the game I hear you ask?

For the player, it is to gather a solid Collection of new music, build a solid Roster (10 card playing hand) to drive their music choice to the top of the charts and earn themselves a reputation as a taste maker and forging a reputation as a grass roots music mogul...all acheived by supporting their favourite artists in their quest for chart success.

For the artist, Hotstar is a fair trade concept; we believe that balanced royalty sharing with the artists is essential and can only help to enhance the musical quality of all genres at the grass roots level, leading to a more diverse and interesting mainstream music scene.

The dream is to discover and break new artists into the mainstream music charts. Hotstar gives us and you the opportunity to be part of and share in that process, by supporting and promoting artists' work down the road to success, while making new friends and having fun along the way!

Login/Sign Up

 1. We ask you to enter specific details when you sign up, as these relate to game play.

 2. Once you have signed up/logged in, why not go to your Home page and add a few photos and tell us a little about yourself in your own words? Here you can tell other players what country you live in, what types of music you enjoy etc. It’s up to you what you chose to share with other players. Use your Dashboard to add, edit and delete images and text.

 3. Why not click the Chart tab and browse the HotStar Charts? You can sort the tracks by artist, genre or trackname.

 4. Click on a track that you like the look of and have a listen. Listening to a track for over 2 minutes gives that tune Track Points which will boost its chart position….you’re already playing the game!

 5. You’ll see that we’ve given you a generous amount of HitCoin currency to get you started. You can also win HitCoins in the game!

 6. Like a track you’ve just found? You can buy tracks from the Copper Chart with your free HitCoins and use Rondo to buy them from the other charts. Click on the currency icon on the track listing to go to the purchase page. You’ll need at least 10 Track Cards to populate your Roster to take part in the Mini Games to boost your tracks up the Charts and gain Player Points.

 7. Purchasing a track from one of the charts deposits it into your Collection; this is where all your music arrives. Congratulations, you have just added points to your Track Cards’ score! The process of purchasing not only gives you the Track Card in the game but also sends you the MP3 as a download for your own personal use.

 8. Click the blue + icon on a track within your Collection tab to add it to your Roster Queue.  From your Roster Queue drag and drop the tracks you want onto the empty Roster Slots by clicking and dragging the tracks name tag to an empty card slot.  Once you’ve spent some time choosing the tracks you like (mindful that selecting different genres help your Genre Diversity Bonus in the Mini Games), add at least 10 to fill up your Roster from your Roster Queue. You’ll notice that if you’ve chosen tracks from different genres of music to fill your Roster Slots, the Diversity Bonus Multiplier shows a number on the coloured pie chart display. This indicates that your Player Score from each Mini Game will be multiplied by this number!

 9. Now you’ve assembled a diverse Roster with 10 track cards, why not take it into one of the Mini Games to boost your track cards further? Choose the game from the Game tab and enter the contest. Remember Track Cards and Players can add points to their score in the Mini Games, but they can also lose points. Dare you gamble with the Track Cards chart position, your Rosters value and your place on the Player Leader Board? How far can you go, when will you stick, twist or bust?! Make sure you swap those Roster cards about as they win or lose points.

 10. Another way of scoring points is to promote Track Cards via Social Media. Go to the Community tab and compose a message using the dialog box. By posting a promotional message to Twitter & Facebook via HotStar both the Track Card and the Player scores points! Click on a card and click on the Facebook or Twitter icon. This will trigger a dialogue pop up from your browser. Write your promotional message and hit Send.

 11. Time to check how your Track Cards are doing in the Chart…and perhaps buy some more music to strengthen your Roster? Time to set your strategy. Can you discover the next big thing? Which are tracks that are moving up, having an impact on the Chart? Can you drive a track through the different divisions from Copper to Platinum and dictate other player’s strategy? Not keen on a certain genre of music?  So how will you create a diverse Roster, how will you boost your Diversity Bonus Multiplier to rapidly rise up the Player Chart?

 12. Be careful not to leave tracks that are falling fast down the Chart on your Roster for too long, as they will quickly affect your position on the Player Leader Board!

Have fun playing, listening to and sharing your musical discoveries!

By submitting music to HotStar you are agreeing to the following terms, conditions and guidelines.

All copyright to the music submitted by the artist must be owned by the person submitting or the person submitting it must be the legal representative of the owner(s) of the copyright.

Music submitted to the game should not be a ‘cover version’ of another artist’s song without express written permission from the owner of the copyright of the song, which has to be submitted to HotStar in writing & approved before the music can be put forward for submission.

Digital samples used on submitted recordings must be owned by the submitter or the artist’s legal submitting agent. Written consent from the owner of the copyright of the sample must be submitted to HotStar before uploading the track.

HotStar has no liability to any financial claims from any outside company, service or agency if these copyright rules are ignored. The submitting artist (or their agent) is wholly responsible for all financial and legal liability due to the neglect of copyright and disregard of the terms of conditions of HotStar.

HotStar is not liable for any financial damages or any other damages that may occur due to the negligence caused by the flagrant ignorance of the digital music submission copyright requirements set out in these terms and conditions.

By submitting digital music to HotStar the artist (or their agent), takes full legal and financial responsibility for any copyright infringement that may occur.

Any adult or offensive language within a song’s lyrics must been notified in writing to HotStar before the submission stage, so an appropriate warning rating label can be attached to the songs presentation. Failure to notify HotStar of adult or offensive language within the song will result in the song being removed from the site & the artist being banned from making further submissions to the game.

Players/users are encouraged to flag up any violations of this rule. This can be done through the report button found on the tracks in the chart.

Adult and offensive language is rated using the same rules applied by national radio & TV broadcasters and record company vetting for retail advisory stickers.

Offensive language used in artist names is not permitted.

HotStar uses the same decency rules that apply to national & international TV broadcasting. Nudity and adult images are not permitted.

Broadcasting contract

By submitting and uploading your music you are giving HotStar the right to broadcast your music track within the online game site and within any other format directly related to HotStar Productions Ltd and The STA&R Company Ltd business format for promotional purposes. This may include radio, television and internet video away from the HotStar game site.

HotStar Productions Ltd & The STA&R Company Ltd do not own the copyright of your work, only the right to broadcast it as we see fit to promote your work and the game.

Written notice is sought from any artist or player that doesn’t wish to participate in the marketing of music and any part of website content.

HotStar Productions Ltd and The STA&R Company Ltd is thereby given written permission for broadcast use within the game and marketing opportunities at the point of  sign up and log in by the acceptance and agreement of the terms and conditions.

General Rules

Images or lyrics that portray homophobia, sexist or religious negative bias will be withdrawn from the site without notice.

Any digital submission that disregards any of these terms and conditions will be withdrawn from the site without notice

HotStar reserves the right to refuse or remove any submission at any time without notification. Reasons for refusal or removal from the game site can be obtained by contacting HotStar directly.

Currency Introduction

The game has two game currencies Rondo & HitCoins.  A royalty percentage split of 50%- 50% between artist and HotStar will be paid to artists whose track has been purchased in the game by players using the Rondo currency only.  

NB: Only tracks purchased with the Rondo currency are paid a royalty.

HitCoins are given free by the game administration or won during game play and therefore tracks ‘purchased’ with HitCoins from the Copper Chart are not eligible for royalty payments.

Royalty Payments

Royalty payments are paid as a rate of a 50%- 50% split between HotStar and the registered submitting artist of the track.

Royalties are paid to the artist registered to the tracks quarterly. A royalty statement will be provided by HotStar with a breakdown of sales data and a payment made via the 3^rd party payment gateway.

Royalties are only paid on tracks downloaded and paid for using the Rondo currency. NB: No royalty is paid for downloads from the Copper Chart paid for using HitCoins

The 50% royalty paid to the artist by HotStar is subject to VAT charges @ 20% and a 4% fee levied by the 3^rd party payment gateway provider PayPal. It is the artist’s responsibility to notify & pay tax authorities from earnings from their digital downloads.

Breakdown of how royalty payments are calculated.

Hotstar reserves the right to change these figures after written notice. 

HotStar is only responsible for royalty payments (extrapolated from game play data related to download sales), to the registered submitting artist.

A detailed royalty statement will be sent via email quarterly containing how many tracks have been sold, from what chart they were purchased from.

HotStar is not liable for any money owed to any company or individual attached or associated to the artist or song except for the registered submitting individual.

Withdrawing a Track from the Game

HotStar reserve the right to withdraw any track form the game at any time. A written explanation will be given to the artist involved after the removal.

A. You must first have 10 Track Cards placed in the slots in your Roster to enter the Mini Games.

Go to the Game tab and click on a game you'd like to play. As you enter the game you will see your Roster cards displayed below the game.

Select card by card to enter the game and try and boost your Roster cards up the Chart!

1. Click on a Track Card from your Roster displayed below the Slot Machine to add it to the game

2.Click the Play button when it indicates green

3.When the wheel lights up green, drag it to spin the barrels

4. When the barrels stop the score is calculated and a pop up tells you that it has been added or subtracted to your Player Score and the Track Card Score

5. Repeat 

1. Click on a Track Card from your Roster displayed below the game

2. Select the category you'd like to compare to the opponents Track Card

3. Select whether you'd like to chance a higher or lower figure

4. Click Play

5. You score will be calculated and added or subtracted to your Player Score and the Track Card Score

6. Repeat

You can take the same Roster of Track Cards through the game 3 times free of charge.

Mogul awards are gained by the player collecting, promoting and talent spotting using elements of game play.

A players Mogul score shows a players level of achievement. 

See 'Mogul Award System' in Help.

A. By adding messages and photos to your profile, you can give the players and artists an idea of your taste in music (and other interests), which in turn will help them guide you to artists on Hotstar and find new friends.

A. You have to sign up and log in to play

NB. You must have 10 Track Cards from your Collection in your Roster to play the Mini Games

Mogul Awards signify the skill level and game play mastery of players

The Mogul awards and achievements are given out in sequence and points match the level of achievement.

Therefore a player has to gain a Level 1 Copper Mogul Award first before he/she can move on to Level 2 Bronze Mogul... 

A player cannot gain Level 5 Platinum Mogul award until he/she has gained all the other levels previously. 

Player points, HitCoins and Mogul points are awarded with each level.

A players' Mogul score shows the level of mastery over Hotstars' many facets 

Point system subject to change

Investment Mogul (5 levels) Download 10/20/30/40/50 track cards using Rondo

 When a player downloads 10 cards from the charts, paying with Rondo, he/she is awarded the Level 1 Mogul Award (Copper background, 1 Mogul point, 50 player points). The levels go up with each 10 cards purchased. *See Award Points Table

      Copper Chart Mogul (5 levels) Download 10/20/30/40/50 track cards from Copper Chart

 When a player downloads 10 cards from the Copper Chart paying with any currency he/she is awarded the Level 1 Mogul Award (Copper background, 1 Mogul point, 10 player points). The levels go up with each 10 cards purchased. *See Award Points Table

Chart Mogul (5 levels) Download 5/10/15/20/25 track cards from each chart.

 When a player downloads 5 cards from each Chart (paying with Hitcoins or Rondo) he/she is awarded the Level 1 Mogul Award (Copper background, 1 Mogul point, 30 player points). The Mogul is awarded for sets of 5 cards (1 from each chart), from each chart as they are downloaded. The levels go up with each 5 cards from each chart purchased. *See Award Points Table

            Collection Mogul (5 levels) Own 10/20/30/40/50 track cards

 When a player owns 10 cards from any chart, using any currency, he/she is awarded Level 1 Mogul Award (Copper background, 1 Mogul point, 20 player points). The levels go up with each 10 cards purchased. *See Award Points Table

        Player Mogul

 As the player reaches the player score of 5000, Mogul Award level 1 is gained.

           Level 2 = 15000      Level 3 = 25000      Level 4 = 35000      Level 5 = 50000 

     *See Award Points Table

       Genre Mogul (20 levels) Owning 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11..20 different genres.

 Each different musical genre a player downloads obtains this award. Player points rise by 5 for each different genre and Mogul points match the number of genres owned. So for example, 2 different genres scores 2 Mogul points and 10 player points…3 genres score 3 Mogul points and 15 player points. *See Award Points Table

       Buy In (Single Award) Downloading a Platinum track

 For each track purchased from the Platinum Chart (highest cost chart) the player gets 3 Mogul points and 75 player points. *See Award Points Table  

       Future Investor (5 levels) Downloading a Number One track from each chart.

 A player that downloads a number one track from each chart gains this award. Copper Chart Number 1 gains 1 Mogul point and 10 player points, Bronze Chart number one gains 2 Mogul points and 15 player points etc. *See Award Points Table

It’s all part of the game play. 

We use general details to help artists to promote and market their work, give them a clue where their fan bases are, what age groups are following their music etc. 

HotStar does not disclose any of your personal details in this manner (email address, real name etc). Your personal details are protected by our privacy policy. 

There is no limit. 

All track cards can be owned by all players. 

Only players who place them in their Roster score from them. 

Players can only play with 10 track cards at a time.

Click on the track, listen to it for more than 2 minutes and that track will gain points! 

A single track can only score this way with 3 plays in any 24 hour period. Once this period has passed the track can score more streaming points

You can use HitCoins to add scoring listens within this 24 hour period.

For each different musical genre in your Roster, you will gain x1 points multiplier added to your player score from participating in the mini games. 

Adding new tracks or rotating tracks in your Roster adds value to your track cards.

You can only score player points from the 10 active tracks in your Roster…but you can also lose player points if tracks in your Roster drop down the Charts.

The higher a track is in the chart, the more potential for scoring is on offer, but you can also score well by driving a track from the Copper to the Platinum Chart.

No. You must take the track through a game to make the ‘adding track to Roster’ scoring mechanism active again. 

Remember: Removing a track from your Roster loses points.

So build your Roster carefully!

3 times in each 24 hour period. 

However, you can use HitCoins to gain more message scoring instances within that 24 hour period.

3 times in a 24 hour period. 

However, you can use HitCoins to gain more game playing instances within the 24 hour period.

No. It can only score once on its chart ascent and minus score on the decent. It must drop back down to the Bronze Chart to ‘reset’ so it can score ascent and decent player points again.

Yes! Extra player points are scored for every track card in your Roster that’s in the Top 30 of the Platinum Chart

We have put in place a 12 week ‘burn down’ period for all tracks in the Platinum Chart top 30. A track card can only stay inside the top 30 for 12 weeks before being ‘deactivated’ for a week. Deactivation stops the track card from gaining anymore points for that week so therefore will drop down the chart. This is to create a natural ‘shelf life’ and ‘chart churn’ to the top track cards, preventing constant domination. This is designed to act in a similar way the mainstream chart release and shelf life promotion mechanism works.

Mogul Awards are giving to players for gaining different levels of achievements and game play skill.

HitCoins, Player Points and Mogul Points are awarded for achievements

A players Mogul score shows the level of mastery in talent spotting, promotional skill and game play strategy.

How does scoring work?

Every time a player interacts with a track on the site, that track gains or losses stock points therefore affecting its position in the charts. For the player to add those scoring points to his/her player score, they have to include the track in their Roster.

Only tracks included in the player’s Roster can score for points the player. Examples of how a PLAYER can add to their score.

• Stream a track from their Roster for over 2 minutes. (Only 3 plays per track every 24 hours scores points. Extra scoring streams can be acquired using HitCoins)

• Purchase a track (required to allow it to be added to the Roster)

• Add a track to their Roster

• Play a mini game with the Roster

• Post a Roster track to social media, promoting it to other players and friends (only 3 posts per track every 24 hours score points. Extra scoring messages can be acquired using HitCoins)

• *Driving a Roster track up the chart crossing from one division boundary to another (ie from Gold up to Platinum Chart)

• Gaining a top 20 Platinum chart places for their Roster tracks

• Adding genre diversity to the Roster to increase game bonus (a sliding scale for each genre included) Examples of how a PLAYER can lose player points from their score.

• Removing a track from their Roster

• Play a mini game with the Roster

•  Adding Mogul Awards in sequence

• *Allowing a Roster track to drop down a division (ie, from Platinum back down to Gold Chart) *This bonus or subtraction is only scored once for each time a track crosses over a chart boundary.

Examples of how a TRACK can score points

• Stream a track from anywhere in the game for over 2 minutes (max number of plays = 3 per track in 24 hours. Extra scoring streams can be acquired using HitCoins)

• Purchase a track

• Add a track to the players Roster

• Play a mini game with the track

• Post a track within the players Roster to the social media, promoting it to other players

• Track climbs the top 20 of the Platinum Chart scores points for every place gained in the top 20. Examples of how a TRACK can lose points

• Removing a track from the player Roster

• Play a mini game with the track

• Staying in the Platinum Chart top 20 for over 12 weeks consecutively (the track is disabled, so can’t score for one week & will have to be removed from the players Roster)

A. This is purely for game play purposes. The game is designed to help unsigned and independent artists market their music within Hotstar and social media.

A. By adding messages and photos to your profile, you can give other players and artists an idea of your taste in music (and other interests), which in turn will help them guide you to new music from artists on Hotstar and find new friends.

A: You can either click on the songs name on the Track Card or click the play icon (>) where the song is listed in the chart format or in the card format in your Roster.

A: To add a Track Card to your Collection you have to purchase it from the Chart using HitCoins or Rondo.

A: Click on the green £ icon. Confirming the purchase takes you to the payment gateway page. Enter the details of the purchase amount by following payment dialogue. 

A: You can only use HitCoins to purchase Track Cards from the Copper Chart. Track Cards from the other charts are only available to buy using Rondo. 

A: When buying a Track Card, you can purchase any amount of Rondo you may require for further purchases in the game.

A: From your Collection, select the track card by clicking on the blue + icon. Go to your Roster page and it will appear on the left hand side under the Roster Queue list.

A: Click and hold the track card song name, and drag and drop it into an empty slot numbered from 1 to 10 in your Roster. 

A: Click the x button on the track card.

A: You can only play the Mini Games if you have 10 cards in your Roster

A: By dragging the blue slider bar underneath the Roster cards

A: As you add different genres to your Roster you will see the Genre Diversity pie chart change to indicate how many genres are represented. Each different coloured genre pie slice gives you x1 bonus score.

A: Click on the Hotstar logo at the top left of the screen.

HitCoins can only be used to purchase tracks  that are in the Copper Chart. 

You can edit your Profile/Account information from your Dashboard

Landing Page – The front page of HotStar, where players and artists sign up/log in, read news stories, views the player leader board and listen to the top tracks in the charts.

Home – The players and artists outward facing page, where they can add their biography, photos and messages for other users to view

Roster – Where players assemble their 10 card playing hand from their Collection. These are the cards that score points in the games.

Collection – Where the music Track Cards that are purchased by players are found.

Chart – A breakdown of the best performing Track Cards in order of popularity. Popularity is measured by purchased downloads, streamed plays and game play data.

Games – A compendium of casual mini games, used as tools to boost the chart position of Track Cards by utilising the players 10 Track Card Roster.

Community – Where players and tracks can gain points by posting promotional messages and links on Twitter and Facebook.

Dashboard – Where players and artists edit, manage and upload media to their account.

Shop – HotStar and artist merchandise available for purchase linked to game play. Coming Soon!

Account – Check and manage your HotStar account from this tab.

Catalogue – Where tracks the artists have uploaded are listed.

Track Card – An interactive digital playing card created by HotStar from digital music tracks that are uploaded by musical artists.