Cornell A Cappella and Matching Markets
There are currently fourteen active a cappella groups on Cornell’s campus – and as the Daily Sun article below describes, each has an equally intense audition process. Some are all-gender, some are all-male, some are all-female, and some are culturally oriented, but together, they form a massive, inclusive community. Once at the beginning of each semester, the groups simultaneously host auditions, and prospective members decide upon which groups to audition for (many audition for more than one). Meanwhile, current group members have to decide which new members to take based on what they are looking for and auditionees’ performances in a series of rounds and callbacks.
When first learning about matching markets in INFO 2040, my first thought was how much the topic resembled the process of auditioning for Cornell a cappella. While not monetary, auditionees have “values” and rankings for each of the groups that they audition for, as do current group members with prospective new members. More specifically, there are two instances of matching throughout the audition process:
The first instance of matching in Cornell a cappella auditions occurs when current group members decide which auditionees to accept as new members. As the Sun article describes, many facets factor into a group’s “value” of an auditionee: the auditionee’s sound, personality, and musical abilities, to name a few. Groups also take into consideration the types of voices their sound is currently missing; for instance, if Groups A and B are both co-ed, but Group A had 4 male-voice seniors graduate, and B currently has a more male-voice-heavy sound, Group A might value male voices higher than Group B. Essentially, while some auditionees will be highly valued by each group, others will be valued by some groups more than others, solely based on what each group is looking for (value ≠ talent).
Receiving a callback is the initial outcome of matching an auditionee to groups that value them the highest. After callbacks, groups reassess their value of each auditionee, and once again, auditionees will be matched to groups that value them the highest – this time, with the outcome of being accepted into those groups. Groups usually have constraints on the number of people they can take, so values are of great importance. Moreover, in matching terms, we can consider the “price” of accepting an individual to increase for each reason that might dissuade the group from taking that person, and if a group’s value for the individual’s acceptance is > “0” after applying the “price,” that person is accepted.
The second instance of matching in the audition process occurs when auditionees choose which group they would like to join. Auditionees often do preliminary research into which groups they would like to audition for, and there are multiple factors that make up one’s value of each group: for instance, social fit, intensity, the group’s gender specifications, cultural significance, and more. As the Sun article describes, when auditionees continue through the process, they get to know each group more thoroughly, and their value of each group might change. Additionally, if a person does not make it past a certain round for a group, their value for that group will automatically drop to “0.” While they matter eventually, their values are not taken into consideration until the very end of the process.
Auditionees can be accepted into multiple groups. After they are accepted, they need to reconsider which group they value the highest – which would be the group they eventually join. In matching terms, we can consider auditionees to be the “buyers” of spots in each group they were accepted into. Not every spot will be filled, but each person will end up being matched to the group they value the highest.
I found it interesting to apply matching markets to a cappella, as it serves to demonstrate how relevant the course topics we are learning are to everyday activities. While the auditions cycle has already occurred for this semester, I will look at the process in a new light going forward.
Source: https://cornellsun.com/2019/09/11/perfect-pitch-a-look-inside-intense-a-capella-auditions/