The algorithm reads three signals: what's hyped near you, what your friends love, and what's heating up across genres you've earned in. Every recommendation shows its math. Nothing pays for placement.
01 · How it works
Three inputs. One engine. Every output explainable.
A simple weighted blend you can audit. No black box. No paid boost. Geographic relevance, social proof, and HYPE momentum — that's the whole formula.
Inputs
What we read
Your county & region
Songs you've finished
Friends & their HYPE
Active HYPE on entities
Current geographic velocity
→
Engine
The blend
40% taste match
25% geographic weight
20% social proof
15% momentum velocity
0% paid placement
→
Outputs
What you see
Ranked artist feed
Show recommendations
Tour-friendly venues (artists)
Booking radar (venues)
Audience matches (promoters)
Auditable
Every recommendation exposes its weight breakdown. Click the "why this?" panel to see the four signals at the score they hit.
Anti-monoculture
The cascade prevents global hits from drowning local scenes. Top three slots are reserved for sub-1,000-HYPE entities at fan request.
Unmonetized
No artist, label, or promoter can pay to rank higher. Sponsored slots appear at position 4+ and are labelled. Always.
02 · Geographic cascade
Local first. Global last.
Every entity in a recommendation is weighted by how close it is to you. The closer the source, the heavier the count. This is what keeps your feed from being national algorithm soup.
×1.0
Local
Your county · ~30 mi
HYPE from your county counts at full weight. The smallest, most local artists get the strongest signal.
×0.7
Regional
Your state · ~150 mi
Drive-distance shows and regional acts. Where your scene tends to tour.
×0.4
National
Your country
Broad-market acts. Discounted so they don't crowd out hometown shows.
×0.2
Global
Anywhere on Earth
International discoveries. Always available — never the dominant signal.
Adjusted HYPE for ranking = raw HYPE × geographic weight × recency factor
Where you are: Cumberland County, MELocal: Portland Metro · ×1.0
03 · Four role lenses
Same engine. Different question.
Fans ask "what should I listen to?" Artists ask "where should I tour?" Venues ask "who should I book?" Promoters ask "who should I program?" One model, four queries.
For you · ranked
Cumberland County · this week
Cassette Maker
Same producer as Phantom Ridge · 2 friends hyped · 84% match
Local
Sara Pell · Provincetown Tapes
Charting in Massachusetts · folk · matches your nights
Regional
Silver Reverend
Top 50 nationally · Northeast breakout · friends-of-friends signal
National
Moonlit Tepui
Global ambient · matches your night-listening pattern
Global
Marble Sky
New release this morning · hyped 142× in last hour locally
Local
Why this?
Auditable score
Cassette Maker
Recommended at position 1 · score 0.847
Taste match
0.88
Geographic
1.00
Social proof
0.62
Momentum
0.74
Suggested tour · 6 stops
Phantom Ridge · Wreckage
1
Portland, ME
Home · State Theatre · 22 Jun
8.4k HYPE
2
Boston, MA
Crystal Ballroom · 14 Jul
6.1k HYPE
3
Burlington, VT
Higher Ground · 19 Jul
2.9k HYPE
4
Brooklyn, NY
Music Hall of Williamsburg · 26 Jul
5.3k HYPE
5
Philadelphia, PA
Underground Arts · 02 Aug
3.7k HYPE
6
Washington, DC
9:30 Club · 09 Aug
4.2k HYPE
↑ Routed by HYPE concentration + drive distance · projected 78% avg fill
Hot cities · ranked by your audience
Where your music is hyped
Boston, MA
6,128 HYPE · ↑ 22% this month · 12 venues open
×1.0
Brooklyn, NY
5,341 HYPE · friends-of-fans pattern · 31 venues
×0.7
Washington, DC
4,209 HYPE · Northeast breakout · 18 venues
×0.7
Philadelphia, PA
3,712 HYPE · ↑ 41% in last 60 days
×0.7
Burlington, VT
2,931 HYPE · drive-distance · single venue cluster
×0.7
Booking radar · State Theatre
Local artists with momentum that haven't played here yet
Phantom Ridge
Indie · Portland · 8.4k HYPE
94% fit
Cassette Maker
Lo-fi · Portland · 3.2k HYPE
87% fit
Marble Sky
Synth-pop · Portland · 5.7k HYPE
82% fit
Provincetown Tapes
Folk · Provincetown, MA · 4.1k HYPE
79% fit
Silver Reverend
Post-punk · Boston · 6.1k HYPE
76% fit
Fit score = audience overlap with your last 12 sold-out shows + capacity match + format compatibility
Why these acts?
Booking radar score
Phantom Ridge
94% fit · ranked 1 of 12
Audience overlap
0.96
Local proximity
1.00
Capacity fit
0.88
Booking momentum
0.91
Audience matches · Disco Mortis
Artists scored against your last 4 shows
Lethal Intentions · BPM 138-142
89% audience overlap with After Hours Vol. 3 · ↑ regional
Match
Mirror Field · ambient techno
76% match · format fit for your downtempo set
Match
Anodyne · breakbeat
82% match · plays well after your peak-hour sets
Match
Fluorescent Heaven · single
Trending in your genre · safe rotation pick
Trending
Cinder Bath · industrial
Wildcard · 64% match but rising fast in your audience
Wildcard
Audience signal
From your past shows
Lethal Intentions
89% match · 142 BPM · suggested for After Hours Vol. 4
Genre fit
0.92
BPM compatibility
0.96
Audience overlap
0.89
Trend velocity
0.78
04 · Transparency by default
Every recommendation shows its math.
If you don't know why something was recommended, you can't tell if you've been manipulated. iHYPE shows the four signals that drove every ranking — and never hides paid placement.
04
Signal weights are public.
Taste 40%, geo 25%, social 20%, momentum 15%. Posted in the docs, with a changelog every time the board votes a change.
$0
Sponsored slots are labelled.
When a music ad reaches a recommendation surface, it's tagged "Sponsored," appears at position 4+, and never displaces top organic results.
∞
You can audit anyone.
Tap "why this?" on any recommendation. See the breakdown. Disagree? Flag it — flags route to public moderation review.