Game Guide

Road to Headliner is a free-to-play online multiplayer band management game. You take on the role of a band manager — recruiting musicians, writing and recording songs, booking shows, planning tours, and competing against other players in seasonal leagues.

The game world is shared and alive: you compete alongside real players and AI-managed bands that populate the music scene. There are no pay-to-win mechanics and no ads — success is determined by how wisely you manage your time, money, and talent.

Each season lasts 12 real-world weeks. You start fresh with a new band each season, but your manager profile, achievements, titles, badges, and prestige carry over permanently. Choose a Manager Style to define your strategy, climb through 5 leagues by earning prestige, and make pivotal decisions at milestone events throughout the season.

When you create your account, you'll set up your first band:

1. 1.Choose a band name — Pick something memorable. This is how other players will know you.
2. 2.Select a home city — Your starting location determines your initial venue options and local fanbase.
3. 3.Pick a genre — Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Metal, Indie, and more. Your genre affects which fans you attract and how songs are scored.
4. 4.Choose a Manager Style — Tour Specialist, PR Wizard, Business Shark, DIY Indie, or Talent Scout. Each grants unique passive bonuses for the season (see Manager Styles section).
5. 5.Recruit musicians — Browse the talent pool and sign your first members. You need at least 3 musicians (including a Vocalist) to activate your band and start booking shows. Each musician has stats for skill, creativity, stamina, and charisma.

Once your band is set up, you'll land on your Dashboard — your command center showing resources, upcoming actions, and recent activity. The Season Advisor will suggest your best next moves based on your band's current state.

When creating your band, you choose a Manager Style that defines your management philosophy. Each style provides unique passive bonuses that shape your strategy for the entire season.

Available Styles:
- Tour Specialist — +15% fan conversion at shows. Best for managers who plan to tour heavily and grow through live performances.
- PR Wizard — +10% buzz from shows. Ideal for building visibility and keeping your band in the public eye.
- Business Shark — -10% booking fees, +1 action queue slot, -10% operational costs. The efficiency pick for managers who want to stretch every dollar.
- Talent Scout — Musician quality bonuses (upcoming). Will provide advantages when recruiting and developing musicians.
- DIY Indie — Free Tier 1 rehearsal room, -10% costs. Great for budget-conscious managers who want to focus on grassroots growth.

Choosing Your Style:
Your manager style is locked for the season, so choose based on your planned strategy. Tour Specialist pairs well with aggressive touring, PR Wizard works best with frequent shows and marketing, and Business Shark lets you do more with less.

Roster Requirements & Band Status:
Your band needs at least 3 active musicians (including at least one Vocalist) to become Active and unlock shows, tours, and other actions. Until you meet this requirement, your band stays in Forming status and cannot book gigs.

If your band was Active but drops below 3 musicians or loses its Vocalist, it enters Critical Roster — you'll have a 72-hour grace window to recruit replacements before consequences kick in. Keep your roster healthy!

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Your band is more than just a name — it's a living system with four health meters:

• •Morale (0-100, starts at 70) — How happy your band members are. Naturally drifts +1/day. Drops from overwork (fatigue > 50: -2/day, > 75: -3/day), firing musicians (-5), and tense/rival chemistry between members.
• •Fatigue (0-100, starts at 0) — Physical tiredness. Accumulates from rehearsals (+2-5), shows (+3-17 depending on venue tier), and travel. Naturally recovers -4/day.
• •Cohesion (0-100, starts at 50) — How well your band plays together. Improves +1/day naturally, boosted by rehearsals and friendly musician chemistry.
• •Risk (0-100, starts at 0) — Chance of disasters. Increases when fatigue is high (>60: +2/day, >80: +3/day). Hiring a Wellness Coach reduces it.

How to boost Morale:
- Schedule a rest day (no activities for 24h = +2 morale)
- Team Bonding Day ($80 + 1 MT = +6 morale)
- Keep fatigue below 50 to avoid overwork penalties
- Recruit musicians with friendly chemistry

How to reduce Fatigue:
- Rest days give -12 fatigue (vs -4 on active days) — just don't schedule any actions!
- Wellness Session ($150 + 2 MT = -8 fatigue)
- Upgrade Sleep / Hotel ($100/member = -6 fatigue next day)
- Use Health-first tour pacing (-15% fatigue)

Musicians each have individual stats (technique, creativity, stage presence) that grow through rehearsals and shows. They have contracts with weekly salaries.

Staff like managers, sound engineers, and PR agents provide passive bonuses to your operations.

Musicians aren't just stat sheets — they have unique personalities that affect your band's dynamics.

Traits:
Each musician has personality traits that provide both advantages and disadvantages. A perfectionist might produce higher quality work but take longer. A natural showman might boost live performances but clash with quieter members. Understanding your roster's traits is key to building an effective team.

Band Chemistry:
As musicians spend time together, relationships develop naturally:
- Friends boost each other's morale and improve cohesion
- Tense relationships create friction and slow cohesion growth
- Rivals can undermine morale and increase the risk of conflicts

Chemistry isn't just flavor text — it directly affects your band's daily performance. A harmonious band with good chemistry will outperform a group of talented strangers.

Managing Your Roster:
Sometimes the best musician on paper isn't the best fit for your band. Consider personality, chemistry with existing members, and long-term compatibility alongside raw stats when making hiring decisions.

Creating music follows a four-stage pipeline. Items move between tabs automatically as they progress:

1. 1.Ideas (Ideas tab) — Brainstorm song concepts in Writing Session rehearsals. Develop ideas to increase quality. When ready, start a demo recording.
2. 2.Demos (Demos tab) — Rough recordings. Once a demo is COMPLETE, choose a studio tier and send it to the studio.
3. 3.Studio Recording (Studio tab) — Shows demos currently recording (with progress indicator) and completed songs waiting to be released. Once you release a song, it moves to the Releases tab.
4. 4.Releases (Releases tab) — Published music generating streams and revenue. Release as a Single (1 song), EP (2-6 songs), or Album (7+ songs).

The flow: Idea → Demo → Song (Studio) → Release. Each song appears in only one tab at a time.

Studio Tiers:
- Tier 1: $100, 3 MT, max quality 70
- Tier 2: $350, 5 MT, max quality 80
- Tier 3: $900, 7 MT, max quality 90
- Tier 4: $2,500, 9 MT, max quality 100

Practice sessions are how your band improves and stays sharp. Schedule sessions to develop skills, generate ideas, and build cohesion.

Session Types:
- Technique Practice — Improves individual musician skill stats. Essential for better show performances and recordings.
- Set Rehearsal — Practices your setlist and boosts band cohesion. High cohesion means tighter live shows.
- Writing Session — Generates new song ideas. The quality depends on your musicians' creativity and the rehearsal room tier.
- Media Training — Improves your band's professionalism and public image. Helps with reputation growth.

Duration & Cost:
Each session can last 1, 2, 4, or 6 hours. Longer sessions cost more MT and cash but produce stronger results. You can schedule up to 3 sessions per day, but each additional session increases fatigue. Sessions cannot overlap — one must finish before the next begins.

When Do Sessions Start?
When you schedule a rehearsal, it doesn't start instantly. The server processes actions on hourly ticks (every hour on the hour, UTC). Your session will begin on the next hourly tick when no other action is running. This means a short wait of up to ~60 minutes is normal. Once started, the full duration counts from that point.

Newcomer Quick Jam:
During week 1 of the season, a special 1-hour rehearsal option is available. This Quick Jam costs minimal MT and lets new bands get an early start on building cohesion and generating song ideas before committing to longer sessions.

Room Tiers:
Three room tiers are available, each requiring a minimum reputation to unlock:
- Tier 1 (Basic Studio) — Available from the start. Lowest cost, standard quality.
- Tier 2 (Professional Studio) — Requires 35 reputation. Better results, higher cost.
- Tier 3 (Premium Facility) — Requires 60 reputation. Best quality multiplier.

Room Tier & Skill Growth:
The rehearsal room tier now directly affects how much your musicians grow. As your band's average skill increases, low-tier rooms provide diminishing returns. High-skill bands need better rooms to continue improving — a Tier 1 room won't push a 75-skill musician much further, but a Tier 3 room will.

Chain Bonuses:
Scheduling 3 or more sessions consecutively gives a quality bonus that stacks — boosting skill growth, idea quality, or cohesion gain.

Shows are your primary source of income and fan growth.

Booking Shows:
- Use the city selector on the Shows page to browse venues in any city worldwide
- Venues range from intimate bars to massive arenas, each with a tier and reputation requirement
- Higher-tier venues require higher reputation to unlock
- Set your ticket price — higher prices mean more revenue but fewer ticket sales
- Playing outside your home city earns distance bonuses (1.2x-2.0x fan multiplier)
- Visiting a new region for the first time gives a 1.5x fan bonus and +20 buzz

Performance Score:
Your show performance depends on musician skill, song quality, band cohesion, equipment, and fatigue level. A great performance fills the venue, earns maximum revenue, and grows your fanbase.

Tours:
Plan multi-city tours to expand your reach. The tour workflow is:
1. Book shows in different cities from the Shows page (use the city selector)
2. Create a tour from the Tours page (set name, pacing, hotel quality)
3. Add shows as tour stops — select from your booked shows
4. Confirm the tour — travel costs are calculated and charged upfront

Tour settings:
- Pacing controls fatigue: Aggressive (1.5x fatigue), Balanced (1.0x), Health First (0.7x)
- Accommodation affects rest quality: Budget ($30/night, +30% fatigue), Standard ($80), Luxury ($200, -30% fatigue)
- Tour date range is derived automatically from your show dates
- Travel between cities is handled automatically (Van/Bus/Train/Flight based on distance)

Tour vs. Separate Shows:
- Tours provide distance bonuses, first-visit bonuses, automated travel, pacing controls, and count toward Tour Pro achievement — but require 2+ stops and upfront costs.
- Separate shows offer full flexibility with no upfront travel costs — but lack tour bonuses and multi-city momentum.

Hire professional support staff to give your band passive bonuses across all operations.

Available Roles (9 total):
- Agent — Negotiates better show booking deals and venue access
- Sound Engineer — Improves live show sound quality (+6% show performance)
- Tech Crew — Reduces equipment failures and show issues (+4% show performance)
- Tour Manager — Reduces travel fatigue on tours
- Producer — Improves studio recording quality
- PR Manager — Boosts buzz gain from shows and marketing
- Accountant — Reduces operational overhead costs
- Lawyer — Improves contract terms and reduces severance costs
- Wellness Coach — Faster recovery and lower risk buildup

Contracts & Loyalty:
Staff are hired on fixed-term contracts with weekly salaries. Their loyalty grows daily when paid on time but drops quickly if your band is in debt. Staff with very low loyalty may quit. Firing staff costs 2 weeks severance and reduces band morale.

Strategy:
Invest in staff early — their passive bonuses compound over weeks. A Sound Engineer + Tech Crew combo can significantly boost your live show earnings.

Marketing campaigns build buzz and grow your audience between shows.

Campaign Channels:
- Social Media — Low cost, moderate reach. Good for maintaining buzz between shows.
- Press Interviews — Medium cost, targets music journalists. Best timed with new releases.
- Radio Pitching — Higher cost, broad reach. Effective for established bands with quality tracks.
- Playlist Pitching — Get your songs on popular playlists for streaming exposure.
- Video Content — Expensive but high impact. Create music videos and behind-the-scenes content.
- Street Team — Local grassroots marketing. Cheap but only affects your home city.
- Influencer Partnerships — Expensive but powerful. Partner with influencers for maximum exposure.

Campaign Target:
- Brand — General awareness campaign. Works even without any songs or releases. Great for building early buzz.
- Release — Promote a specific release. More effective when timed with a new album or single.

Can I run marketing without songs? Yes! Brand campaigns don't require any songs or releases. They build buzz and help your band get discovered. This is a smart early-game strategy to build awareness before your first release.

Campaign Duration:
- Short (3 days, 3 MT) — Quick burst, 80% effectiveness.
- Standard (7 days, 5 MT) — Balanced option, 100% effectiveness.
- Long (14 days, 7 MT) — Extended reach, 120% effectiveness.

Buzz is your band's current visibility level. It decays daily at a tiered rate: 4% at low buzz, 5% at mid buzz, and 7% at high buzz. The higher your buzz, the harder it is to maintain — so you need consistent marketing to keep awareness up. Shows, releases, and campaigns all generate buzz. Running multiple campaigns of the same channel at once reduces effectiveness (50% overlap penalty).

Design and sell merchandise to create a reliable revenue stream alongside shows and streaming.

How It Works:
1. Create Designs — Choose a merch type (T-Shirts, Hoodies, Posters, Stickers, Vinyl, Hats, Tote Bags, or Patches), set your name, base cost, and selling price.
2. Order Stock — Purchase inventory in bulk. You need stock on hand to sell.
3. Sell at Shows & Online — Merch sells automatically at shows and through your online store. Sales depend on your fanbase size and show attendance.

Pricing Strategy:
Set your selling price above your base cost to earn profit per item. Higher-quality designs with recognizable branding sell better. Watch your inventory — running out of stock means missed sales.

Secure sponsorship deals for steady weekly income that helps fund your operations.

Finding Sponsors:
Click "Find Sponsors" to generate new offers based on your band's current reputation and fanbase. Higher reputation attracts better-paying sponsors.

Sponsor Offers:
Each offer includes:
- Weekly payment — Cash paid to your band every week
- Duration — How many weeks the deal lasts
- Requirements — Minimum buzz, reputation, and shows per week you must maintain
- Reputation threshold — Minimum reputation needed to accept

Managing Deals:
You can have multiple active sponsorship deals simultaneously. You can also voluntarily terminate a deal, but you'll pay an early termination penalty (50% of remaining contract value).

A deal allows up to 5 warnings before it ends, so a single slip is recoverable — get back into compliance to stop the penalties.

Strategy:
Sponsorship income is reliable and requires no MT to maintain. Accept deals early to fund your growth, but be careful not to overcommit to requirements you can't meet. Monitor your buzz and reputation closely — penalties can add up fast.

Build relationships with industry professionals who can open doors for your band.

Meeting Contacts:
Contacts appear as your band gains reputation and plays shows in different cities. They include venue owners, producers, journalists, label executives, and other industry figures.

Interactions:
You can interact with contacts in four ways, each costing Management Time:
- Pitch (2 MT) — Present your band to the contact. Good for making first impressions.
- Do Favors (3 MT) — Help them out to build trust. Costs more but builds relationships faster.
- Network at Events (2 MT) — Meet at industry events for casual relationship building.
- Damage Control (2 MT) — Repair a damaged relationship after a negative event.

Relationship Levels:
Each contact has a relationship level that grows through repeated interactions. Higher levels unlock better opportunities — exclusive venues, recording deals, media coverage, and more.

Interact with other bands for mutual benefit or competitive drama.

Collaborations:
Send collaboration requests to other bands for joint recording sessions. Both bands contribute musicians and share the results:
- Quick Session (2 MT) — A fast collab with modest results
- Standard Session (4 MT) — A deeper collaboration with better quality output

Collaborations boost both bands' visibility and can produce unique cross-genre material that appeals to both fanbases.

Rivalries:
Declare a rivalry with another band for dramatic effect:
- Rivalries generate +4 buzz and +5 controversy but increase risk by +2
- A one-sided beef becomes a Mutual Rivalry if the other band accepts
- Mutual rivalries amplify the buzz and controversy effects for both bands
- You can also choose to publicly defuse a rivalry, which reduces controversy

Strategy:
Collaborations are safer and build your network. Rivalries are riskier but generate more buzz and media attention. Use rivalries strategically when you need a publicity boost, but don't let controversy spiral out of control.

The game world is dynamic — unexpected events, milestone moments, and weekly challenges keep every season fresh.

Random Events:
Each day, your band may encounter random events that require your attention. Events range from opportunities (media interviews, festival invitations) to crises (equipment issues, internal conflicts). Some events offer choices with different risk/reward tradeoffs. If you don't respond in time, events expire with potentially negative consequences.

Milestone Events (Weeks 5, 7, 9):
In addition to random events, every band receives guaranteed Milestone Events at weeks 5, 7, and 9. These are personalized story moments with meaningful choices that shape the rest of your season. See the dedicated Milestone Events section for full details.

Weekly Challenges:
Every week, you receive two unique challenges tailored to your band's current situation. These might ask you to:
- Record a certain number of songs
- Play multiple shows
- Reach a buzz or fan milestone
- Sell out a venue
- Complete a marketing campaign

Completing challenges earns bonus rewards including cash, fans, buzz, and reputation. They provide focus and direction for your weekly planning.

Achievements:
Long-term milestones that recognize your accomplishments across the season. From recording your first song to headlining a major venue, achievements mark your journey and award prestige points. Achievements now grant tangible rewards — titles, badges, and bonuses (see the Achievements & Rewards section).

At key points during the season, every band receives a special personalized milestone event. These are guaranteed story moments with meaningful consequences — choose wisely.

Week 5 — Genre Crossroads:
You face a choice: pivot your genre to chase a trending sound, or stay true to your roots. Pivoting can open new fan markets but risks alienating your existing audience. Staying true rewards loyalty and deepens your genre identity.

Week 7 — Label Interest:
A record label approaches your band with an offer. Accept the deal for an upfront cash injection and marketing support, or remain independent and keep full creative control. The label deal comes with obligations that may limit your flexibility.

Week 9 — Final Push:
With the season winding down, you choose between pushing hard for a final surge — risking fatigue and burnout for maximum gains — or playing it safe to protect what you've built. The aggressive option can catapult you up the leaderboard, but failure hits hard.

From week 5 through the end of the season, one genre is highlighted each week as the Spotlight Genre. Bands whose primary genre matches the spotlight receive powerful bonuses.

Spotlight Bonuses (+20%):
- Fan Growth — Gain 20% more fans from shows, streaming, and marketing
- Show Attendance — Venues fill faster when you're in the spotlight
- Chart Scoring — Your songs score 20% higher on the weekly charts

How to Use It:
The spotlight genre changes every week, so plan your releases and shows around the schedule. If your genre is coming up, save your best material for that week. Time a new release or a big show during your spotlight week for maximum impact.

Your released songs generate ongoing streaming revenue and can enter the weekly charts.

Streaming Revenue:
Every released song earns passive daily income based on your fanbase and song quality. The more fans you have and the better your music, the more you earn from streaming. This creates a virtuous cycle — invest in quality, grow your fans, and watch the royalties flow.

Weekly Charts:
Songs are ranked weekly based on streaming performance, show play counts, and buzz. Charting songs earn significant bonus fans and visibility:
- Hitting #1 on the chart is a major milestone that can transform your band's trajectory
- Even placing in the top 40 provides steady fan growth
- Consistency matters — songs that chart for multiple weeks in a row gain viral momentum

Building Your Catalog:
Unlike shows that require your active time, streaming revenue is truly passive. A large catalog of quality songs creates a reliable income floor that sustains your band even between tours.

Managing your finances is just as important as managing your music.

Revenue Streams:
- Shows — Your primary income source early on. Ticket sales minus venue cut.
- Streaming — Passive daily income from your released music catalog. Grows with your fanbase.
- Merch — Design and sell merchandise at shows and online. A major revenue source for established bands.
- Sponsorships — Brand deals that provide steady income in exchange for promotional obligations.

Expenses:
- Musician Salaries — Your roster expects weekly pay. Better musicians cost more.
- Staff Salaries — Professional support staff are paid weekly for the duration of their contracts.
- Studio Fees — Higher-tier studios produce better quality but cost significantly more.
- Marketing — Campaigns require investment to build and maintain buzz.
- Travel — Touring between cities costs money. Transport mode affects cost and fatigue.

Emergency Loans:
- You can borrow up to $5,000 if you need a short-term rescue.
- Loans have a 3-day grace period before interest starts.
- After the grace period, interest is 0.5% per day, capped at $75/day.
- Loan balance only drops when you actively repay it from the Finances page.

Ticket Pricing Effects:
- Premium Pricing — +5% show performance score and +2 reputation per show. Higher revenue per ticket but fewer sales.
- Standard Pricing — No modifiers. The safe default.
- Budget Pricing — More ticket sales but -1 reputation per show. Use sparingly.

Buzz Decay (Tiered):
Buzz no longer decays at a flat rate. The higher your buzz, the faster it fades:
- Low buzz (0-33) — 4% daily decay
- Mid buzz (34-66) — 5% daily decay
- High buzz (67-100) — 7% daily decay

This means maintaining very high buzz requires constant activity, while modest buzz levels are easier to sustain.

City Fan Diminishing Returns:
Playing the same city repeatedly yields fewer and fewer new fans. Vary your show cities to maximize fan growth — each new city gives a fresh audience with full conversion rates.

Returning Player Bonus:
If you've been offline for 48 hours or more, you receive up to 24 bonus MT when you log back in. This helps returning players catch up without falling behind.

Starting Budget:
You begin each season with $15,000 in cash. Spend wisely — going into debt (floor: -$5,000) triggers penalties, limits your actions, and risks staff quitting.

MT is the core resource that gates all your actions. Think of it as your manager's energy and attention.

How MT Works:
- You regenerate 1 MT per hour, up to a maximum of 48 MT
- Every action costs MT: booking shows (3-5), rehearsals (2), recording (4-6), marketing campaigns (2-3), etc.
- MT doesn't carry over beyond the 48 cap, so check in regularly

Server Time & Hourly Ticks:
The game server runs on UTC time and processes all actions on hourly ticks (every hour on the hour). When you queue an action, it won't start instantly — it will be picked up on the next hourly tick. This means there can be a short wait (up to ~60 minutes) before your action begins. Once started, the full duration runs from that point. If you're in a different time zone, keep in mind that ticks follow UTC — events like Daylight Savings changes in your local time won't affect the server schedule.

Strategic Tips:
- Don't let MT hit the cap — you're wasting regeneration
- Plan your day: queue up actions before you log off
- High-impact actions (studio recording, tour booking) cost more MT but yield bigger returns
- The Action Queue lets you schedule actions in advance, so your band stays productive even when you're away

The competitive structure keeps the game fresh and fair.

Seasons:
- Each season lasts 12 real-world weeks
- All players start fresh with new bands each season
- Your awards, prestige points, and account history carry over permanently
- Milestone events at weeks 5, 7, and 9 add story-driven decisions (see Milestone Events section)
- Genre Spotlight from week 5 onward gives weekly genre bonuses (see Genre Spotlight section)
- Division Rivals are assigned at week 5 for head-to-head competition (see Division Rivals section)

Divisions & Leagues:
- Players are grouped into 5 leagues with 3 division tiers (Underground, Mainstream, Headliner)
- Leagues now require prestige to enter — everyone starts in League 5 (free), and higher leagues need 25-400 prestige (see League Progression section)
- Each division has 40-80 bands competing for promotion
- Top 25% promote to the next tier; bottom 25% are relegated
- Returning players can move up one league per season

Leaderboards:
- Division leaderboard — Your primary competition within your division
- League leaderboard — Browse all divisions in your league
- Global leaderboard — Top 100 across all divisions, showing each band's division and league
- Score formula: Fans 30% + Shows 25% + Releases 25% + Reputation 20% (log-normalized)

Charts:
- Weekly song charts rank the best tracks across all players
- Charting songs earn bonus prestige and attract sponsors
- Songs in the Spotlight Genre receive a 20% chart scoring bonus that week

Festivals:
- End-of-season tournament brackets
- Qualify by reaching the top of your division
- Festival winners earn exclusive awards and maximum prestige

Awards:
- Season-end recognition for achievements: Best Song, Most Tours, Biggest Fanbase, etc.
- Awards are permanent and visible on your manager profile

Festivals are the season's competitive circuit: regional single-elimination brackets in Weeks 9-12 where bands meet head-to-head.

Festival Points:
- From Week 6 you earn CircuitFP for playing Tier 3+ shows, hitting regional charts, keeping buzz high, and good festival-organizer relationships.
- Points earned in Weeks 9-10 also count as QualFP, which decides entry and seeding for the top tiers.

The four tiers (one locks each week):
- Showcase (Week 9) — band age 14+ days and 3+ completed shows.
- Regional (Week 10) — age 21+ days, 5+ shows, 500+ fans.
- Major (Week 11) — top 30% QualFP in your region, or a Regional winner.
- Premier (Week 12) — top 10% QualFP, or a Major winner.

How it works:
- Meeting the requirements guarantees a slot — no lottery. Brackets are seeded by your points; eligible players are placed first and bots only fill the empty slots.
- Matches resolve automatically on the festival weekend (Friday/Saturday/Sunday evenings) — you don't need to be online. Each match scores live performance, release quality, buzz and professionalism plus a small random roll; the higher score advances.
- Rewards: every win gives buzz and reputation; the champion earns a big bonus.

Open the Festivals page from Week 6 to track your points, eligibility and brackets.

Leagues now require prestige to enter. Prestige is earned from past season results, achievements, and awards — it represents your track record as a manager.

Prestige Requirements:
- League 5 (Newcomer) — Free entry. Everyone starts here.
- League 4 (Rising) — 25 prestige required
- League 3 (Established) — 75 prestige required
- League 2 (Professional) — 200 prestige required
- League 1 (Headliner) — 400 prestige required

Climbing the Ladder:
- Returning players can move up one league per season — you can't skip from League 5 straight to League 1
- Prestige is earned from division placement, awards, achievements, and rivalry wins
- Higher leagues have tougher competition but better rewards and more prestige at stake

Why It Matters:
League progression gives long-term purpose beyond a single season. Each season builds your manager's reputation, and reaching League 1 (Headliner) is the ultimate goal.

At week 5, the system analyzes the leaderboard and pairs you with your closest competitor in the division — your Division Rival.

How Rivalry Works:
- Your rival is the band closest to you in the standings at the time of pairing
- Actions that directly compete with your rival (playing the same cities, charting against their songs, outperforming them in head-to-head metrics) earn Rivalry Points
- The rivalry is displayed on your dashboard alongside your rival's stats

Season-End Reward:
At the end of the season, the rivalry winner (the band with more rivalry points) earns a bonus prestige award. This is separate from your division placement — even a mid-table band can earn extra prestige by outperforming their rival.

Your dashboard now includes a Season Advisor — a context-aware assistant that suggests the best next actions based on your band's current state.

What the Advisor Does:
- Analyzes your band's health, resources, standings, and recent activity
- Suggests high-impact actions you should prioritize right now
- Adjusts recommendations as you progress through the season
- Warns you about upcoming deadlines, low resources, or missed opportunities

Examples of Advice:
- "Your MT is nearly capped — consider booking a show or starting a recording session"
- "Buzz is declining — run a marketing campaign before your next show"
- "Your genre spotlight is next week — prepare your best material for release"
- "Fatigue is high — schedule a rest day before your tour"

The advisor can be dismissed if you prefer to manage without guidance. It reappears each time you log in, but you can toggle it off in Settings.

Achievements track your band's milestones throughout the season and now grant tangible rewards that carry over to your manager profile.

Scope: Achievements are per band, per season. Each new season starts fresh, but the rewards you earn — titles, badges, and prestige — are permanent.

Categories (15 total):
- Music — First Track, First Release, Hit Maker (top 10 chart), Chart Topper (#1), Prolific (20 songs)
- Live — First Gig, Sold Out, Road Warrior (10 shows), Tour Pro (3 tours), Crowd Pleaser (90%+ avg fill rate across 5+ shows)
- Fans — Fan Favorite (10K fans), Superstar (100K fans)
- Business — Money Maker ($50K earned revenue — shows, streaming, merch, sponsors only; excludes loans)
- Special — Comeback Kid (recover from <20 to >70 morale), Genre Pioneer (first band with 1K+ fans in a low-demand genre)

Achievement Rewards:
Achievements now grant real rewards beyond bragging rights:
- Titles — Displayed on your manager profile (e.g., "Chart Topper", "Road Warrior", "Genre Pioneer")
- Badges — Collectible icons you can showcase on your profile (up to 5 at a time)
- Cash Bonuses — Some achievements grant an immediate cash reward to your current band
- MT Bonuses — Certain milestones refund MT or grant bonus MT on unlock

How It Works:
Achievements unlock automatically when you hit milestones. You'll receive a HIGH-priority notification when a new achievement is unlocked, along with your reward. The Achievements page shows all 15 milestones — both earned and locked — grouped by category.

Your manager profile is your persistent identity across all seasons. Unlike your band (which resets each season), your manager profile carries your full history and reputation.

Profile Features:
- Bio — Write a short description about yourself as a manager
- Title — Display a title earned from achievements (e.g., "Chart Topper", "Road Warrior", "Genre Pioneer")
- Badge Showcase — Display up to 5 badges earned from achievements and awards
- Season History — Your complete record of past seasons, bands, and final placements

Privacy Settings:
Control what other players can see on your profile:
- Choose whether to show or hide your season history
- Control visibility of your bio and badges
- Your league rank and current band are always visible

Earning Titles & Badges:
Titles and badges are earned through achievements. Some are common (First Gig, First Track), while others are rare and prestigious (Headliner Champion, Perfect Season). The rarest titles become a status symbol in the community.

For Beginners:
- Focus on one thing at a time — don't spread your MT too thin
- Start with small venues and work your way up
- Use the Newcomer Quick Jam in week 1 to jumpstart your band's cohesion
- Rehearse regularly to build cohesion before big shows
- Write several songs before recording — pick your best ideas for the studio
- Keep an eye on musician morale; unhappy members perform worse
- Follow the Season Advisor suggestions on your dashboard — they'll guide you through the early weeks

Common Mistakes:
- Booking venues too large for your current fanbase (empty shows hurt reputation)
- Ignoring fatigue — exhausted bands give terrible performances
- Spending all cash on marketing without good songs to back it up
- Changing musicians too often (kills cohesion)
- Letting MT cap out (wasted regeneration)
- Playing the same city repeatedly (diminishing fan returns — vary your cities!)
- Using Tier 1 rehearsal rooms when your musicians have high skill (they need better rooms to grow)

Mid-Season Strategy (Weeks 5-9):
- Watch for Milestone Events at weeks 5, 7, and 9 — these choices have lasting consequences
- Check the Genre Spotlight schedule — release your best material during your genre's spotlight week for +20% bonuses
- Monitor your Division Rival (assigned at week 5) — outscoring them earns bonus prestige
- Upgrade to higher-tier rehearsal rooms as your band's skill increases

Advanced Strategies:
- Time your releases with marketing campaigns and your genre's spotlight week for maximum impact
- Tour strategically: vary cities to avoid diminishing fan returns. Build regional fanbases rather than grinding one city
- Invest in staff early — their passive bonuses compound over weeks
- Watch the leaderboard and adapt: if competition is fierce in one city, expand elsewhere
- Save MT for high-value actions during festival qualification weeks
- Use Premium Pricing on shows when your band is strong (+5% performance, +2 reputation)
- Build your Manager Profile — titles and badges from achievements carry prestige into future seasons
- Plan for League Progression — a strong finish earns prestige to unlock higher leagues next season