[quintin3265]

Perhaps public voting, with registration required and with hidden toplists used, is a good compromise. That seems to address everyone's concerns - the public still has a say, anonymity is preserved, and all valid votes will have to have visited each song's details page. Is this acceptable to everyone? If so, I'll implement it during the holiday period of December 26-30, when there's plenty of time to do this sort of work.

As to funding, it may be feasible to continue offering prizes of $50 or $100 even without any immediate revenue, because the return on investment is so high. However, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to make micropayments of $1.00 or $2.00 to have their songs promoted to the frontpage above the fold. This solution allows people who don't want to pay to avoid paying, requires no reviews, and provides exposure to those who want it. The number of these promoted songs would be limited to 3 or 5 to prevent clutter, and the price of a weeklong spot would be determined by demand. Would anyone pay to promote their songs in this manner? All of the proceeds would then be rolled over into competition prizes.