Call For Music

NIME 2021 invites submission of proposals that showcase New Interfaces for Musical Expression in performance and composition. We look forward to receiving submissions that expand and reshape our understanding of NIME in the conceptualization, performance, and perception of music.

Typical NIME performance pieces last for 5-15 minutes, however, proposals for shorter or longer performances will also be accepted. Submissions can be for existing works as well as proposals for new ones. Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, submissions that focus on novel forms of online performance will be given special consideration. We highly welcome submissions from authors from under-represented communities along the lines of race, sex, gender, gender identity, age, ability, socio-economic background or status in and outside of academia.

If a music submission is selected for performance at NIME, proposing artists are expected to be available to perform their work on any day of the conference. The NIME 2021 organization is unable to consider requests for musical performances to happen on specific days.

Please contact the music chairs with any questions regarding the suitability of a potential NIME performance submission.

Music Review Process:

Given the nature of music submissions, we understand that full anonymity may be difficult to achieve without compromising the supporting material. However, contributors should meet these basic criteria of anonymization:

• Avoid any trace of the authors’ names and affiliations in the written material.
• Use PubPub’s built-in media uploader to host video, audio or image files.
• Identity and affiliations of the author(s) should not be mentioned in the title, description or opening/closing credits of the submitted media.

The review process is as follows:

1. Each submission will be assigned to, at least, 3 reviewers for independent evaluation.
2. A meta-reviewer will moderate a discussion amongst the reviewers, write a summary review, and recommend whether to accept or reject the performance.
3. The music chairs will make the final decision on acceptance and will inform the authors of their decision along with the reviewers’ comments.

Submission Guide:

NIME uses two steps for a submission: Create your submission on PubPub, our multimedia platform for publication and then submit it through CMT, our conference management system. To submit a music submission to NIME 2021, follow these steps (an illustrated guide to this process is forthcoming):

1. Create an account on PubPub if you do not have one already.
2. Create a Pub — Click the "Create Music Submission" button on the PubPub Submissions page. This will be your music submission and will eventually be published if accepted by the review process. Save the URL for future reference.
3. Follow this template to create your submission. The easiest way to follow the template is to copy-paste it into your own Pub, where it will be available for quick reference. Of course, you will ultimately delete or replace everything from the template with your own content.
4. Make sure your Pub is anonymous. Find the pencil icon beside your name, click on it, and uncheck the “List on byline” checkbox. Close out of the pop-up window. (Do not click on the “x” button next to your name, this will remove you as a contributor to your own Pub).
5. Download your Pub as a PDF. Find the "Download" button to the right of the title near the top of your Pub.
6. Upload the PDF to the CMT, NIME2021's conference management system.

Presentation Format:

The presentation format will depend on the author’s location and their ability to travel to Shanghai. Due to the pandemic, travel into China is currently limited. If the author / performer is located outside of China and can not travel to Shanghai, they will be asked to either prepare a prerecorded video or a live stream of their performance, which will be made publicly available. If the author / performer is located in China or is able to travel to Shanghai for the conference dates, an in-person concert at a venue in Shanghai will be scheduled, which will be publicly live streamed and recorded.