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For industry guests

Session Guidelines

Everything you need to know before your first Aux Cord Passport session. Read this once and you're set.

What a session actually is

An Aux Cord Passport session is an intimate listening room, usually 5 to 10 independent artists in a partner studio, taking turns playing their music on real speakers for the rest of the room.

You're there as a guest. Drop in, listen, give private feedback if you want, leave when you're done. There's no spotlight on you and no stage. The artists are the focus, you're the room they're hoping to land with.

How sessions run

Every session uses the same format. Knowing how it works in advance means you can plan when to arrive, when to listen carefully, and when to step out for a call.

How it works

  • 1. Artists sign in on a sheet when they arrive. The list is the rotation.
  • 2. The host calls names from the top, first to sign in plays first.
  • 3. Each artist plays one song when the aux cord comes to them. No interruptions.
  • 4. After it ends, the room can share a moment of feedback if the artist wants it.
  • 5. Then the aux moves to the next artist.

A typical session runs 2 to 3 hours. You'll usually hear 5 to 10 artists. Show up at the start and you catch the full lineup, show up halfway and you'll still hear plenty.

Your visibility

When you RSVP, you choose how visible you are on the session page. Pick what fits the day, you can change it any time before the session starts.

Anonymous

Artists know an industry pro is in the room. Nothing else about you.

Title only

Your title and company show. Your name and photo don't.

Publicize

Full name, photo, title, and company. Artists come prepared.

Bringing a +1

You can bring one guestwith you to any session. When you RSVP, just tell us their name so the studio knows who's coming.

Your +1 is your responsibility. Bringing a partner, a colleague, or another industry friend is fine, bringing strangers isn't the move. The room stays intimate because everyone in it is there for the music.

Listening etiquette

The whole room can tell when someone's actually listening versus scrolling. The artists notice. So do the other guests.

Do

  • Phone face-down or away when artists are playing
  • Step out of the room for calls or DMs
  • Nod, react, vibe, they're reading the room
  • Wait until between sets to talk to anyone

Don't

  • Take calls in the room while music plays
  • Talk to your +1 mid-set
  • Pull out a laptop and start working
  • Walk out mid-song unless something's urgent

Feedback & connecting

After a session, you can leave private feedbackfor any artist who stood out, visible only to them. If you want to connect, you can opt to share your contact info with the message and we'll pass it along.

In-room, feedback is optional and at your pace. Some guests volunteer thoughts after a set, some never do. Both are fine. If an artist asks "what did you think?", either give it to them straight or say "not my lane today" and move on. Both are respectful.

Bookmark artists you want to follow. They live in your dashboard forever, even after the session ends.

Recording & content

Don't record artists without their permission. Their unreleased tracks are their intellectual property and the room runs on trust.

Posting a quick story about being at the session is fine, tag @auxcordpassportand the studio. Don't identify anonymous guests in your post.

Code of conduct

  1. 1Listen when artists play.
  2. 2No solicitation in the room, connect via the platform after.
  3. 3Respect the studio space.
  4. 4Don't record artists without permission.
  5. 5No harassment, discrimination, or personal attacks.
  6. 6One +1 max. Tell us their name when you RSVP.
  7. 7Show up or cancel. Don't ghost, your seat could've gone to another guest.

Violations may result in your industry access being suspended.

Cancellation

Cancel from your dashboard any time before the session if your plans change. The studio plans on you being there, a heads-up matters.

Repeated no-shows are noted. Two ghosts and we may pause your access. Only 2 industry seats exist per session, so an empty one is a missed connection for an artist.