JAMS: A JSON Annotated Music Specification for Reproducible MIR Research

The continued growth of MIR is motivating more complex annotation data, consisting of richer information, multiple annotations for a given task, and multiple tasks for a given music signal. In this work, we propose JAMS, a JSON-based music annotation format capable of addressing the evolving research requirements of the community, based on the three core principles of simplicity, structure and sustainability. It is designed to support existing data while encouraging the transition to more consistent, comprehensive, well-documented annotations that are poised to be at the crux of future MIR research. Finally, we provide a formal schema, software tools, and popular datasets in the proposed format to lower barriers to entry, and discuss how now is a crucial time to make a concerted effort toward sustainable annotation standards.