You probably have heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where, every November, writers are challenged to create a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.
The annual Record Production Month (RPM) Challenge is a similar idea, but for musicians instead of writers. Originally launched in the U.S. in 2005, the RPM Challenge invites musicians to create an entire album of music — 10 songs or 35 minutes — in 28 days during February.
For the second year in a row, Trent Radio (the station at 92.7 CFFF FM that’s operated by the students of Trent University) is hosting a local RPM Challenge for Peterborough and area residents.
The RPM Challenge isn’t a competition or contest, and there is no winner. Its sole purpose is to give musicians that extra push to finish original material and to help them achieve a sense of creative satisfaction.
The challenge is open to all participants of every musical genre and style. The completed albums are made available for streaming and sharing via an online jukebox and an in-person listening party is held at the end of February.
The rules for the RPM Challenge are simple:
- 10 songs or 35 minutes of recorded material
- Only original compositions (no covers of other artists)
- Recording can only be done during the month of February (no pre-recorded material)
- Compositions can be written during February or prior to February, but they must be previously unreleased.
It doesn’t matter how you record your songs, whether in your home studio or in a professional studio or even on your cell phone. Production values aren’t as important as getting your songs written and recorded during February.
For the local RPM Challenge, Trent Radio is asking musicians to submit their albums no later than midnight on Wednesday, February 28th. The material can be submitted digitally (email hraymond@trentradio.ca for more information) or dropped off in the Trent Radio mailbox or in person during business hours (physical copies should be marked “RPM Challenge”). Trent Radio is located at 715 George Street North at the corner of George and Parkhill, just down the street from Sadleir House.
Halfway through the month, on Thursday, February 15th, Trent Radio will be hosting an RPM Social at Sadleir House (751 George St N, Peterborough). The event begins with a mixing workshop at 8 p.m., a performance by Hurricane Charlie (Patrick Walsh and Jill Stavely) at 9 p.m., and a “live off the floor” RPM Compilation Album performance and recording (if you want to participate in the RPM Challenge but can’t finish a record, you can perform your original song at the social).
And, every Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon until April 15th, Trent Radio will be playing tunes from the local RPM Challenge and talking about the experiences of making an entire album in month.
At the end of February, Trent Radio will be hosting a listening party (location to be determined). For updates, follow the Trent Radio RPM Challenge on Facebook.
If you’re feeling especially ambitious, as well as submitting your completed record to Trent Radio you can submit it to the official international RPM Challenge website at www.rpmchallenge.com.
The RPM Challenge was launched in 2005 by Dave Karlotski and Karen Marzloff, former co-owners of the now-defunct alternative newspaper The Wire in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The inaugural challenge was open to Portsmouth residents only, but by February 1, 2005 more than 200 musicians had signed up. Since Portsmouth only has 20,000 residents, Karlotski and Marzloff realized musicians from across the country were submitting their records, and they opened up the challenge to everyone.
By 2007, several well-known websites and media outlets picked up the story, and participation increased to over 2,400 musicians and bands from locations around the world, including Tokyo, Auckland, Montreal, and Oslo. Participants represented every continent. More than 850 completed albums were submitted by the 2007 deadline.
Since then, each installment of the RPM Challenge has resulted in hundreds of new records from around the world. Musicians have created more than 50,000 songs for the RPM Challenge since 2015. Some musicians have participated only once and some have done it every year.
“There are as many reasons for doing the RPM Challenge as there are people participating,” says Marzloff. “It often starts with the idea of having a deadline. But once you sign up, and you’re doing the work, new ideas emerge. It opens up the creative process for musicians around the world.”
