Music Audio Expert - Japanese

$35–62/hr

rate as listed

Workload: 10+ hrs/week
Engagement: Project-based
Location: Worldwide
Field: Creative

Evaluate AI-generated music and lyrics in Japanese, scoring head-to-head samples on musicality, prompt adherence, vocal quality, and mix quality. Requires professional music production or audio engineering background plus native-level Japanese and working English.

The work

You listen to pairs and batches of AI-generated music and decide which output is better — and articulate why in language an engineering team can act on. Sessions mix comparative rating (musicality, creativity, prompt adherence, vocal quality, production and mix quality) with structured annotation: genre and sub-genre tagging, song-structure segmentation, and vocal/instrumental characteristics against a fixed taxonomy. A significant share of the work is Japanese-specific: judging whether generated lyrics scan naturally, whether pitch-accent and mora timing sit correctly against the melody, and whether vocal synthesis produces convincing Japanese phonemes rather than accented approximations.

Expect written rationales alongside every score. The lab consuming this data cares less about your rating than about the reasoning behind it, so evaluators who can name the specific artifact — a smeared transient, a pumping bus compressor, a sibilance problem in the vocal chain, a chord substitution that breaks the genre convention — are the ones who stay on projects.

What the screen looks for

Verifiable production credits: three or more years as a producer, audio engineer, or mixer, with releases or sessions you can describe in detail.
Fluent audio-engineering vocabulary used correctly under follow-up, not recited.
Demonstrated Japanese songwriting or lyric-writing experience, plus enough English to follow written rubrics and instructions.
Consistency — the ability to apply the same standard across a long session without drifting.

A music degree covering performance, theory, and lyric writing strengthens an application but does not substitute for professional studio work.

Logistics

Fully remote and asynchronous, with work claimed from a queue. Part-time at 10+ hours per week, projected to run up to six months, immediate start. Observed pay on this listing runs $34.72–62.49/hr, banded by demonstrated depth and assessed skill — treat that as a range others have reported, not a guarantee. Onboarding is a resume upload plus a 25-minute conversational AI interview, with next steps typically within a few days. You will need decent monitoring: reference headphones or monitors, and a quiet listening environment.

What they look for

3+ years professional experience as a music producer, audio engineer, or sound mixer
Native or near-native Japanese with working English comprehension
Experience writing lyrics and songs in Japanese
Fluency in audio-engineering terminology (mix, master, vocal chain, dynamics)
Working knowledge of music theory, song structure, and genre taxonomy
Degree in music covering performance, theory, and composition (preferred)

Before you apply

Would you pass this screen?

Drawn from what this listing actually requires. Answered in your browser — nothing is sent to us, and we do not store your answers.

Are you a native or near-native speaker of both Japanese and English, able to understand music-related terminology and creative direction in both languages?
Bilingual Japanese and English proficiency · required
Have you written original music with lyrics in Japanese?
Music creation experience in Japanese · required
Do you have at least 3 years of professional or advanced experience as a music producer, audio engineer, sound mixer, or equivalent hands-on music creation role?
Years of audio/production experience · preferred
Do you have a college degree or equivalent advanced training in music that included performance, theory, and lyric/composition studies?
Formal music training · preferred
Can you commit to 10+ hours per week for the next 6 months, beginning immediately or within the next 2 weeks?
Part-time availability · required

0 of 5 answered

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 11 questions

Matched to what this platform's screening actually measures. Answer each out loud in 60–90 seconds: claim → concrete example → implication.

What it tests: Can the candidate move beyond subjective taste to structured, repeatable evaluation using audio-engineering terminology and musical taxonomy? Do they distinguish between musicality, production quality, and prompt adherence as separate dimensions?
A strong answer: The answer names specific contexts (studio work, formal training, peer review) where they regularly assessed music and describes at least three distinct evaluation axes they used—for example, vocal timbre, mix balance, harmonic progression, structural coherence—with real examples of how they communicated findings to others.
Where people lose it: Saying 'I know good music when I hear it' or 'I have a trained ear' without naming any concrete criteria or terminology. Conflating personal preference ('I like this song') with objective assessment. Failing to mention how they've communicated musical feedback to collaborators or creators.

Summary, eligibility guidance and screening preparation are prepared by Sidequest from the platform's posting. Check the source listing before applying.