Not only does Converse offer stylish footwear, but with the help of Rubber Tracks, they also offer the chance to record original music for free, in support of local and fledgling music. And they have a big announcement to make—one that could have you strumming your guitar in the same room as John, Paul, George, and Ringo once did.
You may recognize Rubber Tracks as the sponsor of free shows that have traveled across the nation. Just last month, we saw a star-studded lineup take Sinclairs’ stage, establishing a five-night residency to make one hell of a week for concert-goers. Supporting the likes of Passion Pit, The Descendents, Slayer, Chance The Rapper, and many more, Converse’s Rubber Tracks concert series has been offering free music to the Boston area and various cities across the nation for a few years now. The name Rubber Tracks was coined when Converse embarked on a mission to offer free studio sessions for burgeoning musicians in Brooklyn. Since the project’s inception, the brand has expanded this idea to several creative sites from San Francisco to Toronto, including Boston on the roster.
The project has aided the production of music for plenty of familiar faces, including Boston-based Bent Shapes. And today, they are proud to announce the beginning of a new facet of the Rubber Tracks project, one that proves to be bigger and better than what they initially had in mind. For the next ten days, they will be opening their services to 12 iconic recording studios around the world, spanning eight countries and four continents.
Keeping with the spirit of its initial implementation, Rubber Tracks plans to keep all recording sessions free of charge, in an effort to encourage and stimulate creativity and new music. This expansion is set to include these studios:
London, England
Abbey Road Studios
Los Angeles, CA
Sunset Sound
Berlin, Germany
Hansa Tonstudio
Kingston, Jamaica
Tuff Gong
Reykjavik, Iceland
Greenhouse Studios
Vancouver, Canada
The Warehouse Studio
Seattle, WA
Avast Recording Co.
Atlanta, GA
Stankonia
Sydney, Australia
Studios 301
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Toca do Bandido
Brooklyn, NY
Rubber Tracks Studio
Boston, MA
Rubber Tracks Studio
The concept for Rubber Tracks was born out of an effort for the brand to reach beyond shoes, and to offer opportunities for musicians in their beginning stages with low budgets and endless creativity. Jed Lewis, the brand’s Global Music Marketing Director, said Converse has had plans to expand the project since its beginning, and that the expansion seeks to extend their initiative to artists worldwide.
To register for a session at one of these studios and yourself amongst the musical spirits of Bob Marley, The Beatles, Outkast, and many more: register here. Rubber Tracks is accepting applications starting today until June 24th. The registration process involves applicants electing their top choices of studios, with an artist bio and video or audio sample submissions highly encouraged. If selected, the artist will be notified in July in order to prepare for their recording session. Note that when ranking studio preferences that travel costs will be covered by Converse. And did we mention that the recording session is free?
If you haven’t already been convinced to take advantage of this unique opportunity, take a look at the places you could be recording:
