At the beginning of December, we'll begin migrating to a new version of the RPM website. In preparation for this, please save and archive anything currently on the site that you might want to keep.

We'll bring over some of the existing content, but at this time we're not sure how much, and are leaning more towards the "blank slate" approach to the new site. That's because the current website is actually quite a Frankencreature which has evolved over many years, and migrating each individual aspect, from each distinct technological era and created by different generations of users and techies, will be difficult.

We are very excited about the possibilities that a new platform will give us, and we look forward to seeing you on the other side!

The Jukebox Uploader is active so you can put your 2017 songs in place!

So: on your RPM profile, you've:
1. Marked the date you submitted
2. Let us know your preferred track -- include the name/number of the track you want us to play during the Global Listening Party (i.e., 3. Like a Boss)
3. We'll mark your album as "received" as soon as we process it (please be patient! There is lots of new music, but we're moving along at good clip!) and you can upload it into the Jukebox player.

Next: help us load the Jukebox with your music, so everyone can check it out. It’s easy and fun:

What follows are more detailed instructions and guidelines for using the Jukebox Uploader, which are lengthy but may be helpful if you're having problems. We HIGHLY encourage you to take a minute to look them over, as there are many useful tips, explanations & features explained therein!

We know you want to look your very best when representing your love of RPM music. Pictured below is the 2017 shirt, which looks even better in person.
We've still got a few shirts available in sizes L and XL. All sizes are unisex, and shipping is included.
Click "Read More" to see available previous colors & sizes, too.

Sizes

Unisex Large $25.00 USD Unisex XL $25.00 USD

There's a ton of new music to listen to on here.

Fire up the Jukebox to see what  RPMers have created this year. Only have time for a sample? Click above on the home page player, which is now updated hourly with a random selection of this year's music.  Bands have also shared their music on social media using the hashtag #RPM2017.

Thanks for participating!

RPM will always be free for all participants -- that's been part of our mission from day one. But we need your support to keep the wheels turning, and invest in new ideas.

So for the first time, we are asking the whole community to participate in a meaningful fundraiser. If everyone who participated in RPM donated just $10 (say, the cost of a CD), we'd be in the black and in a position to move forward. (And if you're in a position to make a larger donation, then that will help cover the people who aren't able to donate at all.)

Some of you have donated to RPM in the past, and for that we are deeply grateful. Unfortunately, only about 2% of participants make donations, and that doesn't cover even our most essential costs.

Please consider chipping in and making a donation to RPM this year, and we'll put it to good use.

You can click the "Donate" button at right!

We are also happy to accept donations in Bitcoin at the following address:
19Bh9Trm2Ke4qoYEPZtgkXJxGKYsdTRTnN

That’s 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material recorded during the month of February. Go ahead… put it to tape.

It’s a little like National Novel Writing Month, (NaNoWriMo.org) where writers challenge each other to write 1,700 words a day for 30 days, or the great folks over at February Album Writing Month (fawm.org), who encourage artists to write 14 new songs in February. Maybe they don’t have “Grapes of Wrath” or “Abbey Road” at the end of the month, or maybe they do—but that’s not the point. The point is they get busy and stop waiting around for the muse to appear. Get the gears moving. Do something. You can’t write 1,700 words a day and not get better.

Don't wait for inspiration - taking action puts you in a position to get inspired. You'll stumble across ideas you would have never come up with otherwise, and maybe only because you were trying to meet a day’s quota of (song)writing. Show up and get something done, and invest in yourself and each other.

Anyone can come up with an excuse to say “no,” so don’t. Many of you are thinking “But, I can’t do that! I don’t have any songs/recording gear/money/blah blah blah...” But this doesn’t have to be the album, it’s just an album. Remember, this is an artistic exercise. Just do your best using what you have in order to get it done. If you have a four-track, become a four-track badass! Use your iPhone, your '80s cassette recorder, that program on your laptop, a Pro Tools rig, or just borrow something – use it. Do your best. Use the limitations of time and gear as an opportunity to explore things you might not try otherwise. If you can afford time in a studio, fine, but let’s be completely free of any lingering idea that “good” records can only be made in a studio. If that were so, then all the old scratchy blues records or Alan Lomax field recordings that have changed the world’s culture wouldn’t still resonate with us today. Springsteen’s haunting classic “Nebraska” was a demo he did at home on a crappy machine. That album is fricking awesome. What label would put those recordings out now? (See: who cares) There are a million examples of this kind of stuff, but the fact will always be: Well written, honest music is compelling and undeniable no matter what it was recorded on. So put it to tape.

Now that RPM 2016 is behind us, let's take a moment to listen to a few more tunes from this year! Ladies and gentlemen, Episode 4 of the 2016 RPM podcast: Listen Now!

Thanks again to Robert Gonyo for coordinating and producing another excellent season of the RPMcast.

Please say hello to Episode 3 of the 2016 RPM podcast! Listen Now!

There will be one final wrap-up podcast as well, so if you haven't submitted yet, it's not to late to submit a track for possible inclusion to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (.mp3s or .wavs, please; feel free to attach it, or, even better, you can send a link to a Dropbox or other online service where it is hosted). One track per participant, please, so pick your favorite! We can't promise everyone's track will end up on the podcast, so sorry in advance if we can't get yours on there, but we'd love to showcase the breadth of creativity this challenge inspires!

We are proud to present Episode 2 of the 2016 RPM podcast! Listen Now!

Let's get this party started! The first episode of the 2016 podcast is officially here. Listen Now!

The real history of RPM is in the music: every song, every album, every band that ever recorded a track tells part of the story. More than 40,000 songs have been created as part of the RPM challenge during the first decade. Some participated once, and some have done it every year, like a glorious ritual of music. Every musician who has participated has a story as rich and surprising as their own lives.

But if you ever wondered how things look from behind the scenes, it’s something like this.

The RPM intergalactic infostorm can't be contained by any one dimension or media stream. As such, we transmit on multiple channels to reach the beings who live in the far corners of the social mediaverse.

Love us in Facebookistan

Soar with us in the thin atmosphere of Twitterria

Swim with us in the tropical Youtubarium

Transpose your matter matrix Instagrammatically

Sojourn with the trolls of Reddit

The RPM challenge is not a money making venture, for the artists or the organizers. For the first 10 years, the RPM Challenge was a project of The Wire, a weekly paper that absorbed whatever costs were necessary, with much-welcomed financial help from donators and occasional sponsors, not to mention the tireless efforts of the many, many volunteers who helped over the years.

The Wire has ceased publication, but with your support we're still delighted to carry RPM forward. Donations to help defray the costs of running--and growing--an annual global music challenge are more welcome than ever.