Sonic Love Letters to New York, spoken by you.
Add your story to the rhythm of New York.
Join us in celebrating the local heroes, businesses, and memories that make this city so great.
We're creating three collections on the app, featuring audio stories (submitted by you!) geotagged around New York. Think of this as an "interactive map meets sonic love letter" celebrating the businesses, local heroes, and individuals that make New York the city it is.
Here's what you need to know:​
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You can submit audio stories to the three categories below.
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Audio submissions can vary in duration up to a maximum of 2 minutes.
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We recommend writing a short script first before you start recording. We'll publish your transcript along with your audio.
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As you're crafting your story, we encourage you to tell your story in a way that allows listeners to understand its context in any season and at any time.
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Before you press record, be sure to check out some tips on easy and effective audio storytelling from our team!
Collection 2:
Community Impact
Nonprofits, volunteer groups, community gardens, designers reimagining public spaces, educators championing racial justice... those building a better future, let's amplify the work you're doing. Share a story about who you are, what you do, and what your dreams are for the future of the city. Here's an example we made for Brooklyn Grange.
Collection 3:
Businesses
Hear directly from the people behind the business. Local business owners, how did you get started? What inspires you about the community you're a part of? What do you love about being a business in New York? Here are two examples we made for WORD Bookstore and Katz’s Delicatessen.
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How to Record
Great Audio at Home.
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As you begin writing your short script, start with a compelling hook to attract the listener's attention. Audio can be a visual medium if you provide vivid, sensory details and create scenes for people to imagine.
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Using a smartphone or laptop, the great news is you already own a good way to record audio. You can use simple tools like Voice Memos, ASR Voice Recorder, Easy Voice Recorder, GarageBand, or QuickTime to record your story.
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Find a quiet, non echo-y room to record in for better audio quality. Your voice will have an echo if you're in a room with a lot of hard surfaces, so recording in a room with carpet or a couch is ideal.
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Practice reading your sentences out loud to be sure you’ll be able to voice them with ease. Avoid long pauses and filler words like "um".
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Use headphones if you can to monitor your volume and make sure you’re close enough to the microphone, but not too close that you’re making disruptive sounds.
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Check for interfering noise like air conditioners, fluorescent lights, refrigerators, traffic, radios, etc. Background music (in a restaurant, car, etc.) can be distracting to listeners if it isn't included for a specific reason.
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