Together with Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, we are trying to find out what you think about remix competitions. Please share your opinion with us.

Remix competitions have become very popular among aspiring music producers. If established artists like Depeche Mode, Green Velvet, UMEK,  Mauro Picotto, 50 Cent or Fatboy Slim call for remixes, up to 1000 and more music producers take the chance to submit their own interpretations of the original tune. Despite their popularity, remix contests are  the subject of controversy generating countless debates among artists. Organizers promote remix competitions as promising career opportunities for unknown artists to get a foot in the door of the professional music business. Participants, on the other hand, often accuse the initiators of exploiting artist’s dreams and use remix contest simply as promotional tools.

Regarding this controversy the present paper will analyze the following questions:

• Do remix competitions have any impact on the participant’s career?
• What are the motivational factors of participants when they enter a remix competition?
• Which features of remix competitions are important for artists in order to participate?

The results can provide interesting insights into the driving forces of remix competitions for artists as well as for event organizers. The result will be published under a Creative Commons license. You will get an email as soon it is released, if you are registered to the FOEM forum.

The survey is completely anonymous. No personal data will be asked and nobody will be able to determine which participant filled out which questionnaire. The project is being run by Philipp Peltz, a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University in Sydney.

All data is strictly confidential. The data will be used exclusively for scientific purposes in the context of this research project. If you have any questions or concerns about completing the questionnaire or about participating in this study, you may contact Philipp at: philipp.peltz(at)students.mq.edu.au

This survey will be online for 3 months, until February 22, 2011.