Music & Sound Annotation Expert

Music & Sound Annotation Expert

Remote | Contractor | $30-$45/hour

Annualized Equivalent: $62,400-$93,600/year based on 40 hours/week

About the Role

We are seeking Music & Sound Annotation Experts to contribute to a project at the forefront of music and audio technology.

Your ears will be the ground truth. You will listen carefully to short field recordings and document exactly what is audible, including instruments, tempo, musical key, background sounds, crowd reactions, and other scene details.

As the project progresses, you will also help evaluate AI-generated descriptions of audio recordings by determining whether the model accurately represents what you actually heard.

This is a detail-focused opportunity for professionals with hands-on music or audio experience who have strong analytical listening skills and can consistently make precise, evidence-based observations.

What You’ll Do

Audio & Music Annotation

• Listen to 30-90 second field recordings using headphones in your own quiet workspace.
• Complete structured annotations through a web-based platform.
• Identify the instruments present in each recording.
• Identify the tempo and musical key.
• Record timestamps for background events such as traffic, sirens, applause, and other audible activity.
• Document relevant scene details based on what you hear.

Comparative Audio Review

• Compare paired recordings of the same song captured in different locations.
• Determine what remained consistent between the recordings.
• Identify what changed between recordings.
• Carefully distinguish musical elements from environmental and background sounds.

AI Model Evaluation

In later phases, you will:

• Review AI model descriptions of audio clips.
• Determine what is correct, incorrect, or invented.
• Identify descriptions that do not accurately reflect what is audible.
• Provide brief written explanations supported by what you actually heard.

Project Participation

• Attend a paid onboarding and calibration session.
• Participate in a short weekly sync.
• Maintain consistent quality and attention to detail throughout the engagement.

Who We’re Looking For

Candidates may come from a variety of music and audio backgrounds, including:

• Working or gigging musicians
• Session players
• Music producers
• Mixing engineers
• Music educators
• Ear-training instructors
• Band or choir directors
• Conservatory students or graduates
• Location sound recordists
• Sound designers
• Foley artists
• Podcast audio editors
• Documentary audio editors

Requirements

• 3+ years of hands-on music or audio experience.
• Strong analytical listening skills, including the ability to identify individual instruments within busy, noisy, real-world recordings-not only studio recordings.
• Ability to identify tempo within a few BPM.
• Ability to identify musical key; relative pitch with a reference is acceptable.
• Comfortable performing detailed and repetitive annotation work through a web platform.
• Comfortable working with dropdowns, timestamps, and short structured notes.
• Clear written English for brief, evidence-based notes.
• Ability to document precise observations, such as identifying when a particular instrument or sound enters a recording.
• Quality headphones.
• Quiet workspace suitable for focused audio analysis.
• Reliable internet connection.
• Availability for 20-25 hours per week during the engagement window.

Why This Role Matters

This role puts practical music and audio expertise at the center of how recordings are understood and evaluated. Your ability to listen critically, identify specific sounds, and document what is genuinely present will help establish reliable ground truth for music and audio technology.

If you have substantial hands-on experience in music or audio and can combine analytical listening, musical knowledge, accuracy, and strong attention to detail, this is an opportunity to apply those skills to structured audio annotation and AI evaluation work.