Crowdsurf Weekly Tastemaker Challenge

Plain-English summary of how the challenge works, who can win, and how prizes are paid.

1. Sponsor

Crowdsurf Music, Inc. (“Crowdsurf”) is the sponsor of the Weekly Tastemaker Challenge. The challenge is run from the Crowdsurf mobile app and the public leaderboard at crowdsurf.audio.

2. Eligibility

• You must be 18 years of age or older at the time you participate.
• You must be a legal resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.
• You must have a valid Crowdsurf account in good standing and a verified Venmo or PayPal account capable of receiving U.S. dollar payouts.
• Employees, contractors, and founders of Crowdsurf Music, Inc. are not eligible to win.
• Where prohibited or restricted by law, void.

3. Challenge period

Each weekly challenge runs from Sunday 12:00 PM Pacific Time to the following Sunday 12:00 PM Pacific Time. The leaderboard at the close of each Sunday determines that week’s winners. Crowdsurf may adjust the cutoff time in the event of a service outage; any such adjustment will be posted on the leaderboard page.

4. How to enter

No purchase necessary. To enter, simply use the Crowdsurf app during the challenge period: share songs with friends, grow your waves through reshares, and engage normally on the platform. Your entry is automatic — there is no separate sign-up.

5. Winner determination

Each user’s rank is determined by Crowdsurf’s internal scoring system, which combines:

• Each song you share, plus the number of unique people who reshare it after you in the same wave (your position score).
• The reach of waves you start (your wave score).
• Activity recency, capped to the current challenge week.

The user with the highest combined score at the cutoff is ranked first. Crowdsurf does not publish the full algorithm and may tune scoring weights between weeks; tuning will not be applied retroactively to a closed week.

6. Prizes

The prize structure rotates each week. Some weeks award a single grand prize; others split a larger pool across the top tastemakers. The specific prize structure for each weekly challenge is posted on the public leaderboard at crowdsurf.audio at the start of that week and applies to entries made during that week’s challenge period.

Week 5 prize structure (current):

Current weekly prize pool: $275. Prizes are paid in U.S. dollars via Venmo (or PayPal if Venmo is unavailable) to the winner’s verified handle within seven days of the challenge close. Winners must respond to a payout request within fourteen days of the close to claim a prize; unclaimed prizes are forfeited. The payout method, payout window, and claim window apply to every week regardless of the prize structure.

7. Fraud and manipulation

The following behaviors will result in disqualification and may result in account suspension:

• Creating duplicate, fake, or bot accounts.
• Self-referrals or coordinated reshare rings designed to inflate scores.
• Spam invites or non-consensual sharing of contacts.
• Any attempt to circumvent rate limits or scoring safeguards.

8. Final decisions

Crowdsurf has sole and final discretion in verifying winners, resolving disputes, disqualifying entries, and interpreting these rules. All decisions are final.

9. Publicity

By participating and accepting a prize, winners grant Crowdsurf the non-exclusive right to display their Crowdsurf username, display name, profile photo, and top wave on the public leaderboard, on Crowdsurf marketing materials, and on Crowdsurf social channels for promotional purposes related to the challenge. All collection and use of personal information is governed by the Crowdsurf Privacy Policy.

10. Taxes

Winners are solely responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes resulting from prize receipt. If aggregate winnings to a single person exceed $600 in a calendar year, Crowdsurf may require a completed IRS Form W-9 before final payout and may issue a Form 1099-MISC.

11. Platform disclaimer

This challenge is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Apple Inc., Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram, or any other third party. Apple, the App Store, Apple Music, Spotify, and Instagram are trademarks of their respective owners.

12. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Crowdsurf is not responsible or liable for: (a) technical failures, downtime, dropped connections, server errors, lost or delayed entries, or any error in the calculation, display, or capture of leaderboard data; (b) any injury, loss, or damage of any kind arising out of participation in the challenge or receipt of a prize; or (c) any third-party act, including delays or refusals by Venmo or PayPal to process a payout. By participating, you agree to release Crowdsurf, its officers, employees, contractors, and affiliates from any and all such claims.

13. Governing law and arbitration

These rules are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

You and Crowdsurf agree to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to the challenge or these rules through binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, seated in San Francisco, California. Either party may bring qualifying claims in small-claims court instead of arbitration.

You waive any right to participate in class actions, class arbitrations, consolidated proceedings, or jury trials. If a court finds the class-action waiver unenforceable in your case, the parties’ agreement to arbitrate is void as to that case only, and any dispute will be heard exclusively in the state or federal courts located in San Francisco County, California, where you consent to personal jurisdiction.

If any provision of these rules is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

14. Winners list

A list of confirmed winners for any closed weekly challenge is available on request, free of charge, for sixty (60) days following the close of that challenge. Send a request with the week number to hello@getcrowdsurf.com.

15. Changes and contact

Crowdsurf may update these rules at any time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. The Crowdsurf Privacy Policy and Terms of Service also apply to your use of the Service. Questions? Reach us at hello@getcrowdsurf.com.