How the band name check works

Every source is searched in parallel. If one is down, the others still report and the name is retried later.

Names are compared after cleaning them up: case, accents and punctuation are ignored, “&” reads as “and”, and a leading “The” is dropped. So “The Black Keys” and “black keys!” are the same name.

Then each result is fuzzy-matched against your name, which catches near-misses like “Neon Harbour” for “Neon Harbor”. Anything less than 75% similar is ignored, and each source contributes its four closest matches at most.

Every match gets a threat score between 0 and 1:

similarity²
× (0.25 + 0.5 × popularity + 0.25 × recency)
× region boost × split-up discount

• Similarity is squared, so close matches count for far more than loose ones.
• Popularity is based on the larger of fans or listeners, on a log scale: 10 fans scores about 0.17, 10,000 about 0.67, and a million or more scores the maximum. An artist with no audience numbers still scores a little, because they exist.
• Recency is 1 if their latest release is from the last two years, 0.6 within five years, and 0.3 if older.
• Region boost: ×1.25 when the match is based in your band's home country, because that's where a clash actually hurts. Set the home country in the band's settings.
• Split-up discount: ×0.7 when MusicBrainz says the band has broken up.

The highest-scoring match decides the verdict for the name.

• TakenTop score 0.6 or higher

  Someone with a real audience or recent releases is already using this name, or something very close to it.

• CautionTop score 0.25 to 0.6

  Lookalikes exist, but they're small, inactive, split up or a looser match. Look at who they are before you commit.

• OpenTop score under 0.25

  Nobody notable turned up on any source. It's not a guarantee (see below), but it's a good start.

Results are kept for 7 days and shared, so a name someone else already checked comes back instantly. A check where a source was down is retried after an hour, and any bandmate can force a fresh scan once a result is an hour old.

• It isn't a trademark search. A registered trademark can block a name even if no artist is using it. Every name has a link to the US trademark search. For anything you'll spend real money on, talk to a lawyer.
• It can't see bands that never released anything. If they're not on these catalogs, they won't show up. Each name has quick links to search Google, YouTube and Instagram too.
• The numbers are only as good as the sources. Fan counts and locations come straight from public data, and some artists leave them blank.

BandNamer uses instant-runoff voting, the most common form of ranked choice. Each member keeps one ballot ranking any or all of the band's names, their own included.

1. Every ballot counts for its highest-ranked name that's still in the running.
2. If a name has more than half of those ballots, it wins.
3. If not, the name in last place is knocked out (every name tied for last goes together), and its ballots move to each voter's next choice. A ballot with no choices left sits out the rest of the count.
4. Repeat until one name has a majority.

If every name left is dead level, the ones with the fewest first-choice votes go out. If they're level on that too, it's a tie, and you'll need a rehearsal-room conversation.

The vote never closes. Bandmates re-rank as new names come in, and the standings show every round. You see them once you've cast your own ballot. Top picks (each member can flag up to five of their own names) are just for show and don't count toward the result.