The RPM Challenge, AI Music, and the Difference Between Creation and Assistance

As artificial intelligence reshapes music creation, the RPM Challenge faces a question that goes beyond rules and into the heart of why the challenge exists.

By Lane Sullivan

The rise of AI-generated music has created a growing tension in creative communities — and the RPM Challenge is no exception.

The question isn’t simply “Is AI allowed?” It’s more fundamental: does AI support the creative process, or does it replace it?

Understanding that distinction matters for a challenge built on intention, effort, and completion rather than polish or commercial viability.

What the RPM Challenge Has Always Been About

The RPM Challenge has never been a competition for technical excellence. Its value lies in constraint:

Historically, RPM has celebrated rough recordings, lo-fi production, imperfect mixes, and first takes that probably should have stayed demos.

The challenge isn’t about how good the music is. It’s about showing up, finishing, and learning through momentum.

AI-Created Music: When the Process Is Bypassed

There is a meaningful difference between making music and prompting music.

Fully AI-generated songs — where melody, harmony, lyrics, arrangement, and performance are produced with minimal human involvement — may technically meet RPM’s output requirements, but they bypass the experience.

RPM is a process challenge, not a release challenge. The struggle is the experience.

Generating a complete album through prompts alone is similar to running a marathon on a moving walkway. The destination is correct; the effort is not.

Using AI as a Tool: The Gray Area That Matters

The more productive conversation is not whether AI exists, but how it is used.

AI can function as an assistive tool in ways that align with RPM’s ethos:

In these cases, the artist remains responsible for decisions, revisions, and the final outcome.

Authorship Is the Real Line

If you can explain why each major creative decision exists, the song is yours.

When the explanation for a song’s structure or content is simply “the AI did it,” authorship becomes thin.

When AI offers options that are accepted, rejected, reshaped, and contextualized, authorship remains intact.

Why AI Might Actually Help RPM Survive

Participation in RPM has declined as life has grown busier and attention more fragmented.

Used responsibly, AI tools can reduce technical friction, help participants finish projects, and lower the barrier for new and returning musicians.

The threat is not AI itself, but removing the creative struggle entirely.

A Reasonable Middle Ground

RPM has never been about gatekeeping sound or technology. It has always been about honoring effort, intention, and completion.