KAN Samples
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Guide

Leaderboard scoring

A separate score from XP - built to reward producers whose work resonates, not just producers who log in a lot.

Why it's not just XP

XP counts every action you take on the platform. Useful for personal progression, but it means a passive consumer (someone who plays + likes lots of songs) could out-XP a serious producer. The leaderboard fixes that by ranking on impact, not activity.

The scoring formula

Each producer's leaderboard score is calculated as:

score = likes_received × 5
      + submissions × 50
      + finishes × 200
      + hardcore_finishes × 500

Three things to notice:

  • likes_given is excluded. You can't climb the leaderboard by liking other people's tracks. Likes count only for the producer receiving them.
  • plays_received is excluded too. Plays can be trivially inflated by a bot hitting your song page in a loop. We still show your total plays on your profile - they're a useful signal of reach - but they don't drive your leaderboard rank.
  • Submissions and finishes carry the most weight. One finish (200) outranks 40 likes received (200). One hardcore finish (500) outranks two normal finishes (400). The score rewards making music and getting genuine reactions, in that order.

How ranks are computed

Producers are sorted by score descending. When two producers tie on score, the tie-break order is:

  1. Higher XP total wins
  2. If still tied, the earlier-joined account wins

Ties on score share the same rank number - so it's possible for two producers to both sit at #3 with no one at #4. (The system uses SQL RANK(), not ROW_NUMBER().)

What the leaderboard shows you

  • The full ordered list, top-down
  • Your own rank (highlighted) wherever you are in the list
  • Each producer's breakdown: plays, likes, finishes, hardcore finishes

What it doesn't do

  • No seasons / no resets. All-time scoring. A producer who finished 30 challenges in 2024 stays on top even if they go dormant in 2025.
  • No decay. Plays and likes don't expire. The longer your songs are on the platform, the more they'll accumulate.
  • No regional filtering. One global board.

Practical: how to climb

Most efficient → least:

  1. Finish more challenges. 200 points each, 500 if hardcore.
  2. Submit even to challenges you don't finish. 50 per submission.
  3. Make tracks people want to like. 5 points per heart, no cap.

Plays no longer count toward the leaderboard - there's no shortcut around actually making and submitting music.