Creative Lab Hawaii Music Immersive
Staff and attendees gather for a closing dinner on the final night of the 2017 music immersive, where they listened to all the songs that they created that week.
Creative Lab Hawaii is an economic development program funded by the State of Hawaii, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT), Creative Industries Division. Since 2015, there have been dozens of Creative Lab programs throughout the state in film, fashion, and music.
We all know that the islands are full of talented, creative people. With Creative Lab Hawaii, we connect this creative community with the "mainstream" industry to provide resources and develop relationships that help our local creators reach their fullest potential!
Visit creativelab.hawaii.gov to learn more about all of the programs that Creative Lab Hawaii has to offer.
What is the Creative Lab Hawaii Music Immersive?
Held each summer the week after Hawaii Songwriting Festival, the music immersive invites a small group of aspiring songwriters ("attendees") to spend four days on the Big Island creating original songs with professional songwriters and producers. Each day, they are split up into a different "songwriting pod" of 3-4 writers/producers, giving the attendees the opportunity to work with and learn from several different "staff" writers throughout the immersive. Every morning, each pod receives a specific songwriting assignment from a music supervisor who is looking for music to place in the films, TV shows, or advertising projects they are working on. Between writing sessions, the music publishers, music supervisors, and music licensing representatives on the staff are available to mentor the attendees, provide feedback on their songs, teach them about the music industry, and most importantly, develop genuine and meaningful relationships that continue long after the immersive ends.
After the immersive, our industry partner Secret Road Music represents the songs that were created. As an industry leader in music publishing and licensing, Secret Road actively works to pitch the songs and get them placed in film, TV, and advertising. Attendees are also paired with a staff member for individual mentoring during the year that follows the immersive, though attendees are encouraged to maintain the relationships they built with all of the staff. Finally, a few attendees are selected to fly to the mainland for follow-up meetings, additional writing sessions, and to attend a major music conference.
While priority is given to Hawaii residents, approximately 10-30% of the attendees each year may be from the mainland or from another country. Prerequisites to application include attending a music conference (not necessarily the Hawai'i Songwriting Festival, though of course we encourage it!) and prior co-writing experience. If you are interested, please contact Charles Brotman at [email protected].