Converse Rubber Tracks

Originally a basketball shoe, Converse has grown to be an iconic footwear of choice. You wear them, we wear them, and a lot of musicians wear them, too. Noticing this and appreciating the crowd of Chuck Taylor wearers, Converse is giving back to the music community that has embraced the brand throughout its over 100-year history with the global launch of a monumental new Converse Rubber Tracks program that opens the doors to some of the world’s greatest recording studios in music history. Over a two-week period, Converse Rubber Tracks will activate across eight different countries in four continents, offering aspiring musicians the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to record original music at 12 landmark studios at no cost, and with no strings attached—the music you make is all yours, Converse just wants to give you a day in the studio to do what you do best.

Emerging artists, bands, and musicians (must be ages 18 years and older) and of all genres across the globe can register for the rare opportunity to record at the following participating studios: Abbey Road Studios in London, England; Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California; Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany; Tuff Gong in Kingston, Jamaica; Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik, Iceland; The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, Canada (we took a studio tour, and WS is a beauty!); Avast Recording Co. in Seattle, Washington; Stankonia in Atlanta, Georgia; Studios 301 in Sydney, Australia; Toca do Bandido in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the original brick-and-mortar Converse Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn, New York; and the second permanent Converse Rubber Tracks studio in Boston, Massachusetts, slated to open this summer.

Registration ends next week, Wednesday, June 24, so don’t miss your chance to enter. The process is simple: an online submission that requires applicants to rank their top three studio preferences, and encourages all to enter a brief artist biography or description via a video or written application. If selected, chosen artists will be notified in early July. Following a thorough planning session with studio producers, artists chosen will be taken to one of their studios of choice in September this year, with most travel accommodations arranged and select expenses covered by Converse.

The Converse Rubber Tracks program was born out of the brand's desire to give back to the music community and provide opportunities for artists who might not be able to afford studio time. Since the flagship studio opened in Brooklyn in July 2011, over 900 emerging artists have had the opportunity to record original music alongside the Converse Rubber Tracks team of experienced engineers at no cost. At the end of their studio time, the artists retain all of the rights to their own music. Over the past three years, the program has expanded beyond the studio in Brooklyn with Converse Rubber Tracks pop-up studios, which has brought the Converse Rubber Tracks experience on the road to vibrant music communities around the globe, including Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Montreal, São Paulo, Beijing, Amsterdam, London, Hamburg, Paris, and Mexico City to name a few. 

To find out more about Converse Rubber Tracks, and to learn more about how to register for one of the coveted sessions, visit here.