Music & Sound Annotation Expert

Role Type: Contractor
Location: Remote

Job Description

We are seeking Music & Sound Annotation Experts to contribute to a project focused on advancing music and audio technology.

In this role, you will listen to short field recordings and accurately document audible details, including instruments, tempo, musical key, background sounds, and crowd reactions. You will use a structured web-based platform to complete annotations and, in later project phases, evaluate AI-generated descriptions against the actual audio recordings.

Key Responsibilities

1. Listen to 30–90-second field recordings using headphones in a quiet workspace and complete structured annotations covering:

   • Instruments present in the recording.

   • Tempo and musical key.

   • Timestamps of background events such as traffic, sirens, and applause.

   • Relevant audio scene details.

2. Compare paired recordings of the same song captured at different locations and identify similarities and differences.

3. Review AI-generated descriptions of audio clips and identify accurate, incorrect, or fabricated information, providing brief written explanations.

4. Attend paid onboarding and calibration sessions, along with short weekly project syncs.

Preferred Backgrounds

Candidates with experience in any of the following areas are encouraged to apply:

1. Working or gigging musicians, session players, music producers, or mixing engineers.

2. Music educators, ear-training instructors, band or choir directors, and conservatory students or graduates.

3. Location sound recordists, sound designers, foley artists, or podcast and documentary audio editors.

Required Qualifications

1. At least 3 years of hands-on experience in music or audio-related work.

2. Strong analytical listening skills, with the ability to identify individual instruments in busy, noisy, real-world audio recordings—not just studio recordings.

3. Ability to identify tempo within a few BPM and recognize musical keys. Relative pitch with a reference is acceptable.

4. Comfort with detailed and repetitive annotation tasks using web-based platforms, including dropdowns, timestamps, and structured notes.

5. Clear written English skills for brief, evidence-based feedback (e.g., identifying when an accordion enters a recording).

6. Access to quality headphones, a quiet workspace, and a reliable internet connection.

7. Availability of 20–25 hours per week throughout the engagement period.