Street Performing Musician

About Us

At micro1, we work with human experts across a wide range of fields to build more reliable AI systems. Human expertise is at the center of everything we do, and we believe the best technology creates more opportunities for people to create, perform, and discover.

In the first edition of microsessions, we're inviting local musicians to perform live in outdoor areas across San Francisco on August 6–7. We'll sponsor artists to play in some of the city's most iconic public spaces, introduce their music to new audiences, and professionally capture their performances as part of a project exploring the future of music education.

We are creating this as something musicians enjoy being part of, and something San Francisco enjoys stumbling upon.

What You'll Be Doing

We're looking for 20–40 solo musicians and small groups (1–3 performers) to perform live across San Francisco on Thursday, August 6 and Friday, August 7.

Selected musicians will:

1. Perform a 1–2 hour live set during one of three daily time slots:
2. LUNCH - 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
3. AFTERNOON - 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
4. HAPPY HOUR - 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
5. Perform at one of several high-foot-traffic locations across the city, including FiDi, the Marina, Dolores Park, Alamo Square, Pier 39, and Golden Gate Park (locations will be finalized with each musician before the event but musicians must ultimately secure their desired locations and any associated logistics)
6. Wear micro1 event apparel during the performance + feature basic signage explaining microsessions.
7. Be filmed and recorded by a small production crew for approximately 20-60 minutes during their set.

About the Recording - What It's For

Every performance will be filmed and recorded. We're upfront about this on-site and in this brief because we think a project about honoring musicians should be honest with everyone it touches. Here's exactly what the recording is used for:

1. Marketing: a launch film and social content celebrating the artists and the city.
2. Model Training Research: audio can help AI models better understand music — things like recognizing instruments and genres, learning music theory (keys, chord progressions), and understanding the cultural roots of a style, as well as potentially enhancing artist discoverability. The goal is building tools that help people learn and discover music.

Musicians are compensated and every performer participates with full consent and a signed release covering the licensing described here.

Who We're Looking For

1. Solo musicians or groups of 1–3 people.
2. Available for a 1–2 hour set within one of our time slots between August 6–7 (playing on both days is welcome if you're interested).
3. Able to perform at a location you're already permitted or approved to play at (whether by city permit or private-property arrangement) — final locations are subject to our approval but we are not able to coordinate permits at this time.
4. Responsible for your own instruments/equipment; please build any related costs into your quoted rate.
5. Able to share a video, Instagram, or portfolio link showing a past performance.
6. Comfortable being filmed and recorded per the terms above.

Originally posted on Himalayas