Project Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why should I sign up to be a project participant for Measure of Music 2023?
It's a free event to help you upskill--we hope that's motivation enough but on top of that, you'll hear how to use key music tech APIs/programs directly from those developing and using the platforms every day. You'll be able to expand your network and meet people involved and interested in music, tech & data from all over the world. You'll also have a great new portfolio piece that you can show off to future employers.
There will be people with casual interest in music & data as well as people looking to make it their full time job. There are recent grads & career changers. Those that have already signed up are from cities all over the Americas, Europe & Africa with varying skillsets and include a high percentage of women and people of color. All are welcome!
After I sign up, what else do I need to do/do? What is check-in/participation confirmation?
You'll be required to do the following before/during the event:
- Mandatory Participation Confirmation (opens 2 weeks before event & closes 24 hours before the event)
- Mandatory Day-Of Check In (every day of the event you check in via a form so we know you're 'here' including the Friday we start).
Full details of pre-event schedule can be found here.
The participation confirmation is similar to checking into a flight. We will send you an email when check-in opens & try to provide additional reminders. At this time you'll be able to provide information about your skills, provide a bio, choose to meet your team in-person (if applicable) & pick teams (if you want to).
This check-in is to ensure everyone is still planning on attending and allows you to provide the most up to date information about you as possible. This also allows you to pick team mates once everyone has already registered.
Unfortunately, if you do not check in within the allotted time, your participant ticket will be canceled and you will be unable to participate.
Prior to the start of the event, some of our sponsors & data providers may ask for you to sign up to gain access to data. If we need additional information from you or need you to do anything, we'll let you know. This will be optional but will be beneficial for you to take advantage of.
What's the deal with in-person options for the project participation?
We will have several sponsors offering up their office space for the event weekend! Those that sign up for the hackathon will be given the option on the participation confirmation form, which opens about 2 weeks before the event, to be able to select if they'd like to meet in person in their city. Those meeting in-person will be paired in groups together within their respective cities. More information will be shared in early February on which cities are available and how to sign up.
What types of projects will we be working on?
In addition to the panel & talks, participants will spend the weekend working on data-related projects with the APIs and data that will be provided by the sponsors (and any other publically available data). You'll be completing a project that can easily be done with about 16-24 hours of group work to be able to present to an audience. You will have the option to work on sponsor-provided business cases or you are free to come up with their own music data idea and roll with it.
You can 2021 Projects & 2022 Projects to get more inspiration.
Will I learn to code/how to do data science during Measure of Music?
While Measure of Music celebrates music & data, it is not a data analytics or data science course. If you have an interest in learning to code, we recommend using a free platform such as Codeacademy to learn technical skills which you can use to work with the music data provided to you during the event.
Coding skills are absolutely not necessary to participate in the hackathon, though.
What should I do to prepare for the project?
While it's not necessary to do any prep work, some sponsors provide access to their platforms or data early so you can start getting familiar prior to the event.
In addition, if there's a skillset you want to highlight or improve upon during your project, it's a good idea to brush up on that before the event, see the above question about learning to code. Other examples could be things like presentation development, graphic design, public speaking, data visualization, etc. We won't be able to teach you all of these skills during such a finite amount of time, so we'd recommend you doing some independent learning prior to the event if you think you need some additional experience.
We also may have some pre-conference events in which you can meet some participants, which can help you pick teammates early.
When will the project participant spots be opened and why are they being opened in batches?
In 2021, we had over 100 people drop out of the hackathon. In order to avoid that this time, the window to sign up for the project part of Measure of Music will only be a few weeks rather than a few months.
So now, we stagger the tickets to release batches every week (from Jan 13 to Feb 10), so even people finding out late about Measure of Music have their chance to participate.
After the final batch of spaces are filled, we will release more as we get cancellations up until February 17. February 17 will be the final day to register (if spaces are available).
I can no longer participate in the project/hackathon, what should I do?
Please cancel your registration by filling out this form: http://measureofmusic.com/cancel. You will receive a confirmation once your registration has been canceled (within approx. 2 business days). Once your registration has been canceled, if you wish to still be a spectator, you will need to re-register.
Will there be a wait list this year?
No. The waitlist proved too challenging to manage and caused too much ambiguity for those on the wait list. If you sign up, you have a spot and once spaces are filled, that's it. See above to read about how the tickets will be staggered.
What if I signed up as a spectator and then signed up as a participant? What should I do?
You don't need to do anything special, however; you may see in your HeySummit account or via email links for both spectator and participant access (unfortunately, we can't remove the spectator access if you got both ticket types). Always use the participant links as you will have preferential access for the duration of the weekend.
Can I still participate if I have no experience/can't code?
Of course! Everyone is welcome regardless of previous experience. Your ability to write, design, present or most importantly, your passion for music and eagerness to learn new things are more than enough!
Can I still participate if I participated in the past?
Absolutely! We're glad that you loved it so much that you want to give it another go.
Can I still participate if I work in music and/or data professionally?
Of course! We've had everyone from beginners to professionals working on projects. We understand there are many reasons why a professional might want to participate. For example, if their everyday work is proprietary in nature, having a portfolio piece that they're able to share can be very valuable.
If you happen to have a bit more experience, you'll be paired with less experienced people just to keep things balanced. Your teams will appreciate your expertise! That being said, if you'd rather lend a helping hand, we are looking for mentors to support those project participants, as well. Just send an email to [email protected] to inquire.
What if I can't make it the whole weekend? How much time is expected for this? How do I check-in at the the start of the event?
To sum it up, you must be available from:
- Fri, Feb 24: 6:30PM local time (6:30PM LA time at the latest)
- Sat, Feb 25: Meeting times/availability to be agreed upon by your team on your own. (approx. 8 hours)
- Sun, Feb 26: Meeting times/availability to be agreed upon by your team on your own. (approx. 8 hours)
- Sun, Feb 26 for Project Presentations: 6:45-10PM UK | 7:45-11PM FR | 10:45-2PM LA | 1:45-5PM NY | 12:45-4PM TN
We completely understand that 3 days is a big commitment, especially a Friday. Because of that, we're going to be flexible for Friday attendance. Though we understand participants have signed up from all over the world (and we love that!), this event's timing is most convenient for those in the Americas, Africa & Europe. While we can allow some flexibility on availability for some of the event, ALL participants must be available to present their projects as judges will be making their decisions live.
In addition, in order to be fair to your team members, ALL participants must be available by Friday, February 26 at 6:30PM (in your time zone) with the latest being 6:30PM LA time. If you have not checked in with your team for the event by that time, your spot will be forfeited. Note: Those in the Americas will miss all of Friday's talks if you do not join until 6:30PM and they may not all be available for playback later.
Each day of the event, once all team members are accounted for, there will be a process to report in that all are present to ensure everyone participates & we can reach out to anyone missing directly.
If you cannot be available for these times, we ask that you PLEASE cancel your registration. We have filled all spots every year & people end up missing out. You can cancel here: http://measureofmusic.com/cancel.
You'll be working with other people and you don't want to let them down so be sure that you're willing to commit to this! At the conclusion of the 3 days, we're expected that you've spent around 24 hours working & watching (about 8 hours each day!). If that seems like too much, perhaps you should get involved by being a spectator instead.
What if I already have a group I want to work with? What if there's someone I don't want to work with?
You'll have the opportunity to share that with us at check-in. We'll do our best to accommodate all requests but we also want to ensure the event is fun and fair, so should we need to redistribute participants to ensure everyone has a diverse array of talent we may. If you request to not be on someone's team, that request with absolutely be adhered to.
How many groups will there be?
We have to cut off registration so we don't watch too many hours of presentations. Groups will have between 5-7 people. The max amount of participants will be under 150 people.
If the event is virtual, how do we all communicate?
All talks will be on Zoom. Throughout the weekend there will be a Slack channel for everyone to be able to talk with one another easily. Teams will also be able to use any platform of their choosing to communicate with one another, such as Google Hangouts (free).
What data can I use for my project?
For your project, you can use any data that is free, publicly available and not in violation of any company's terms & conditions. This means that you CANNOT use your own company's data, your personal data (such as your own Spotify For Artists data), data that is available to you through your university or data scraped from any website where their terms & conditions prohibit such activity.
The only exception is if you are willing to and are legally able to offer up data to all participants. Meaning, if you are willing to give everyone read-only access to your YouTube data in case they also want to use it for their project, then you may use that data in your project.
These restrictions are why we've worked to provide you with so many sources of data! If you have any doubts as to whether a data source is acceptable in advance or during the event, do not hesitate to ask.
I have more questions!
Happy to answer them! Email us at [email protected].