Music & Sound Annotation Expert

$30–45/hr

rate as listed

Workload: 20–25 hrs/week
Engagement: Project-based
Location: Worldwide
Field: Creative

Listen to 30–90 second field recordings and document exactly what's audible — instruments, tempo, key, timestamped background events, crowd reactions — through a structured annotation platform. Later phases shift to grading AI-generated descriptions of the same clips against what you actually heard.

What the work actually is

This is transcription of hearing, not of words. You put on headphones, play a 30–90 second field recording, and fill a structured form: which instruments are present, approximate tempo in BPM, musical key, timestamps for background events like a passing siren or a burst of applause, and short notes on the scene. A second task type gives you paired recordings of the same song captured in different locations — a busker played from across the street versus from three feet away — and asks you to judge what held constant and what changed. Later phases invert the task: you read an AI model's description of a clip you've heard, and mark each claim correct, wrong, or invented, with a one-line justification anchored to the audio.

The recordings are real-world, not studio. Expect traffic, wind, room reflections, overlapping conversation, clipped phone-mic capture, and instruments buried under all of it. The distinguishing skill is picking an accordion or a hi-hat out of a noisy mix and being honest about the point at which you stop being sure.

What micro1 screens for

The screen is AI-led and conversational, and it pushes on specifics. Expect to be asked how you would establish tempo on a rubato street performance, how you determine key with relative rather than perfect pitch, and what you write down when you can hear that something is there but cannot name it. Vague claims about a "great ear" get followed up until they resolve into a method or fall apart. Your stated background — gigging, session work, live sound, foley, ear-training instruction, post audio — should hold up to three or four layers of follow-up about actual repertoire, gear, and situations.

3+ years hands-on music or audio work, in any of the listed lanes
Tempo within a few BPM; key by relative pitch, with a reference tone permitted
Tolerance for repetitive structured entry — dropdowns, timestamps, short notes
Brief, evidence-based written English: "accordion enters around 0:12," not "nice folk vibe"

Logistics

Remote contractor engagement, largely async annotation work on your own schedule, with a paid onboarding and calibration session and a short weekly sync you're expected to attend. The listing asks for 20–25 hours per week across the engagement window — this is not a few-hours-on-the-weekend arrangement. You supply quality headphones, a quiet room, and reliable internet. Observed pay for this listing runs $30–45/hr; rates on these projects vary by phase and are not guaranteed.

What they look for

3+ years hands-on music or audio experience (performance, production, live sound, or post)
Analytical listening in noisy real-world mixes — instrument identification under interference
Tempo estimation within a few BPM and key identification by relative pitch
Precise timestamping and structured data entry in a web annotation tool
Clear, concise written English for evidence-anchored annotation notes
Quality headphones, quiet workspace, reliable internet, 20–25 hrs/week availability

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.

Do you have at least 3 years of hands-on music or audio experience (performing, producing, engineering, sound recording, or music instruction)?
Audio experience · required
Can you commit 20–25 hours per week for the duration of the engagement window?
Weekly availability · required
Do you have quality headphones, a quiet workspace, and reliable internet?
Listening setup · required
Can you identify musical key using relative pitch with a reference tone, and estimate tempo within a few BPM?
Pitch and tempo · required
Can you write brief, structured annotation notes in clear English (for example, 'accordion enters around 0:12')?
Written English · required
Are you able to attend a paid onboarding/calibration session and a short weekly sync?
Live sessions · preferred

0 of 6 answered

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 10 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: Whether your experience is genuinely hands-on and ear-driven, or mostly adjacent — booking, teaching theory on paper, curating playlists.
A strong answer: A concrete lane and specifics: instruments played and in what settings, sessions or gigs per month, the console or DAW you work in, or the kind of location sound you capture — with enough texture that follow-up questions have somewhere to land.
Where people lose it: Leading with taste rather than practice. Describing genres you love, records you admire, or how long you've been 'obsessed with sound' reads as a listener, not a practitioner, and the follow-ups will expose it fast.

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