I’m an Award Winning Creative Director & Technologist / Web Audio & Music Technology Pioneer / Community Builder / Speaker & Author who loves prototyping the future, but not so much a fan of talking about myself and writing pages like this ; ) So here we go….
As a pioneer of the early Web, I placed myself at the intersection of technology, creativity, and community, with a focus on technology's power to amplify human creativity and foster genuine connectivity. I’ve spent decades giving millions of people music-making superpowers. I pioneered online audio, creating Looplabs, the web’s first online music creation platform, revolutionizing interactive audio, social music creation and remixing, receiving recognition from Steve Jobs, SxSW, and the prestigious Webby Awards. I’ve designed innovative interfaces, experiences, and installations, presented at global conferences, and published books on the intersection of technology and art. As a community builder, I’ve built online communities amassing millions of members, organized global (un)conferences, TEDxYouth events, and launched national festivals in Canada (FITC) and Australia (_SOUTHSTART). Currently, I’m deep down the rabbit hole of Generative AI exploring image, sound, and video creation looking to leverage my decades of experience crafting simple, fun, and powerful creation tools for this next generation of possibilities with AI. ( hit me up if this is your jam )
Check out what I’m doing now.
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A bit more….
I was a preteen SYSOP playing with light pens and running a BBS in the 80s, and dropped out of university when exposed to the birth of the web in the early 90s, hanging out on telnet chats and cutting my teeth building music websites for bands as part of the Canadian Music Exchange (Canada's IUMA). In the mid-1990s, pre-Google, I founded CRASH!MEDIA, an award-winning Research & Design Studio dedicated to pioneering interactive developments during the web's early days. In 2000 we received international attention, receiving SxSW's International Design Award for developing the first drag-and-drop interface on a website.
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Craig Swann’s CRASH!MEDIA presented a feature that would become a standard part of our lives in the future, dragging images and dropping them into a box area in order to access extra content. Such simplicity offered a significant new means of navigating, and paved the way for countless interfaces not least for shopping carts. - Rob Ford - Founder FWA / The Evolution of the Digital World 1990-Today / TASCHEN
Web Audio Innovator
In 2000, I created Looplabs, the Web's first music creation platform. Years before Tim O'Reilly popularized the term “Web 2.0," LoopLabs was democratizing music creation, allowing anyone with an internet connection to create, share, and remix music directly from their web browsers. The viral impact and innovation of Looplabs was recognized by the Webby Awards and personally showcased by Steve Jobs at the launch of the Safari browser, marking its significance at the dawn of the read/write web.
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“Another site I want to show you. This is really fun. This is a flash site - to the max. If you haven't seen this one, it's really fun. You can just make music here” Steve Jobs
This groundbreaking achievement not only empowered and entertained millions—giving a musical voice to a newly connected world of all ages and walks of life—but birthed a new world of interactive online audio possibilities as a new platform for sound and interactivity.
For the next decade I had the pleasure and privilege of working on amazingly fun and innovative projects launching national and international marketing campaigns, products, platforms, and experiences for top global brands including : Microsoft / Intel / Coca-Cola / Sony / Bacardi / BBC / Heineken / Napster / Adidas / Vodafone / MySpace / Nokia / Rolling Stone / Calvin Klein / American Airlines / The Discovery Channel / Volvo / Honda / Toyota / Chevrolet / Volvo / Ford / Cadillac / Mercedes / Hyundai / ESPN / Miller Brewing / Absolut / Sapporo / Reebok / Gilette / CBC / Warner Music / MySpace / Napster / Universal Music / RocNation / Honda / General Mills / HP / University of Toronto / Rogers / McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology / Toronto Symphony Orchestra / Gemini Awards / Boston Symphony Orchestra
(2007 / Lebron James 23:23 Sprite Campaign Commercial debuted at NBA All-Star Game)
“We were looking to break outside the box with a DJ Mixer that would define the category. This technology delivered a home run - the ease of use and the end result made it one of the top performing UGC components in Bacardi to this day. Its effectiveness as a concept and as an online UGC program is proven by the fact that Bacardi used the platform for 4 years -through 2007”Todd Tilley, Global Creative & Strategy Director, BACARDI Global Brands
Social Media Music & Remixing
While building technology that attracted and engaged millions of users, these campaigns lacked a true sense of community. To remedy this, in 2009, years before Spotify would hit the US, I partnered with Marc Anthony and licensed Looplabs into the world’s first social media platform for music creation and remixing. I worked and partnered with brands, music labels and publishers - integrating into Facebook and MySpace - while amassing a community of more than 1 million members collaborating with Artists including Ke$ha, Bob Dylan, Jason Derulo, Wyclef, Willow Smith, Ministry of Sound, Our Lady Peace, the Ting Tings and many more.
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“As a partner in the technology startup I invested in, he worked on his award-winning Looplabs technology, and through his efforts was able to grow a company from zero to more than 1,000,000 members. We asked Craig to lead the charge in taking over my online identity, and he was able to grow my online following from 2.5 million followers to well over 10 million followers. His rare and unique ideas on using technology to create new interactive products and experiences both online and through live events provide exciting opportunities not before explored. Whether it’s creating campaigns that integrate thousands of cameras at a live show into a fan-created video or allowing fans to remix and create their own tracks based on artist material to purchase, I fully anticipate that he will continue to make vital contributions to this field.” Marc Anthony 12x Grammy award winner and Top-selling Salsa Artist of All time
Realtime Music Creation & Collaboration
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By 2014 technology had evolved as did the way we interact with it. Looplabs was re-imagined , utilizing Web Audio and WebRTC, as an easy-to-use real-time collaborative music studio supporting live audio and video chat, messaging and shared real-time workspaces. It was the first platform to do so, ultimately partnering with Beatport and growing to more than a million members.
“Over breakfast in a matter of minutes Craig pulled out his Mac, fired it up, went to Looplabs, pulled down some beats, took a spoon, beat it on the table and created another sort of a backbeat. That became a track, then he pulled down some strings and then a keyboard and a vocal and within 15 minutes it created a song. With the punch of a button, sent it to someone else who put another mix on it and sent it back. Being a part of watching that experience in a short time frame over breakfast pretty much blew my mind.” Les Garland Co-Founder MTV & MTV Awards Co-Founder VH-1
Community Building IRL & URL
As a result of my innovations, I was invited to share my work, thoughts, and experiments on the future of technology and human interactions at International Design and Technology events around the world. Sharing was a big part of my ethos, and culture. Inspired by speaking at events, and being keenly aware of the shift humanity was undergoing, I’ve spent the last twenty years organizing and curating experiential offline events to bask in the glow of human brilliance. Beginning in the early 2000s I curated a series of International events and (un)conferences : Osmosis, Flux and BD4D in Toronto, New York, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and the UK as well as co-launching Canada’s Design & Technology Conference FITC. These gatherings, during the rise of the Flash generation, united a vibrant and dynamic community of early innovators including Joshua Davis, Ze Frank, Brendan Dawes, G-Munk, John Nack, Casey Reas, Jared Tarbell, James Paterson and many more.
Upon arrival in Australia in 2017, I co-founded _SOUTHSTART in my continued journey of connecting people to ideas, possibility and each other. The event has become a cornerstone event for startups, creatives and technologists and Australia’s leading festival of innovation, imagination and impact.
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Holy Cow! You did it! You made it to the bottom of the page! I’m keen to connect with incredible humans and find ways to leverage my unique perspective and experience in helping pioneer the next generation of creation tools. Reach out and say hello if that resonates. craig@looplabs.com
Awards & Recognition
2002 SxSW - Best International Design
2002 Webby Award - Music
2002 SxSW - Best Non-Profit
2002 SxSW - Streaming Audio
2002 FlashForward - Best Audio
2002 FITC - Best Audio
2002 Create Online : Feature
2002 FWA - Site of the Month - Looplabs
2002 FWA - Site of the Day - Looplabs
2002 FlashForward - Best Sound
2002 Ultrashock Award -Looplabs
2002 Macromedia Site of The Day
2002 Macromedia Canadian Showcase
2003 Communicaton Arts - Interactive - Best Music/Entertainment
2003 Looplabs showcased by Steve Jobs at Apple Keynote
2003 IronFlash Award - FITC
2003 Canadian Digital Creativity - Top 50 Innovator
2004 IronFlash Award- FITC
2004 FWA - Site of the Day - Bacardi Freestyle
2005 FWA - Site of the Day - CRASH!MEDIA
2005 FITC - Best Audio - Bacardi Freestyle
2005 TASCHEN: Web Design - Best Studios
2005 TechTV - Television Segment / 4-part Series
2006 Create Online Magazine : Sound Issue (Feature)
2006 TASCHEN: Music Sites
2006 TASCHEN: Flash Sites
2007 Japanese WEB Magazine
2008 Computer Arts Feature Article
2008 FWA - Site of the Dav - American Airlines Flagship Experience
2008 Webby Award Honouree - American Airlines Flagship Experience
2010 Webby Award Honouree - Charles Ives Music Studio w/ Boston Symphony Orchestra
2014 FWA - Digital Pioneer
2023 Startup Muster - Australia’s Top Start-up Event - _SOUTHSTART
Speaking
Sharing insights, technology, and possibility have been at the forefront of my career and I’ve been fortunate to have shared more than 50 Keynotes on Interactivity, Music and the Future in more than 25 cities in 13 countries.
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2002 BD4D.06 / London / Audio Visual Experimentation
2002 Digital Arts World / London / Web Audio
2002 FlashForward / New York / Flash Audio
2002 FITC / Toronto / Flash Audio
2003 SxSW / Austin, TX / SxSW Award Winners Panel
2003 FlashForward / San Francisco / MX AUDIO FX
2003 FITC / Toronto / MX AUDIO FX
2003 FITC / Toronto / Connecting to the Future of Flash
2003 MMUG / Ottawa / 1000 Pounds of Sound
2003 FlashForward / New York / 1000 Pounds of Sound
2004 FITC / Toronto / Aural Stimulation
2004 FlashForward / San Francisco / Aural Stimulation
2004 Flashbelt / Minnesota / Interactive Sound with Flash
2004 OFFF / Valencia, Spain / Experimental Audio
2004 FlashForward / New York / Chronic Sonic
2004 Media Elements / Holland / Physical Interactions
2004 Media Elements / Holland / Interactive Audio Concepts
2005 FITC / Toronto / Behind the Music
2005 FITC / Toronto / Source + Imagination
2005 FlashForward / San Francisco / Sound Ideas
2005 BD4D.09 / London / Motion Music
2005 FlashForward / New York / Sound Ideas
2005 Spark Festival / Amsterdam / Interactive Expressiveness Image & Sound
2005 DesignFest / Toronto / Interactive Expressiveness Image & Sound
2006 FutureFilmFest / Bologna, Italy / Interactive Expressiveness
2006 FlashForward / Seatle / Let’s Get Physical : Extending Flash
2006 FlashForward / Seattle / Aural Fixation : Dynamic Flash Audio
2006 OFFF / Mexico City / Interactive Imagination
2006 OFFF / Barcelona / Interactive Imagination
2006 FITC / Hollywood, CA / Perceptive Interactions + Alternative Interfaces
2006 FITC / Hollywood, CA / WTF is Phlash 5
2006 FlashForward / Austin,TX / Interactive Animation : Sight,Sound,Motion
2006 Esquina Norte / Tijuana, MX / Sound Designs
2006 Adobe MAX / Singapore / Interactive Imagination
2006 Adobe MAX / Seoul, Korea / Interactive Imagination
2006 Adobe MAX / Taipei, Taiwan / Interactive Imagination
2006 Flash On The Beach / Brighton, UK / Something Completely Different
2007 OFFF / New York / Interactive Imagination
2007 FlashBelt / Minnesota, MN / Let’s Get Physical
2007 Flash On The Beach / Let’s Get Physical
2007 Visual & Sound / Tainan, Taiwan / Interactive Imagination
2007 Visual & Sound / Tainan, Taiwan / (H)API
2007 Cyber Arts / Toronto / Interactive Imagination
2008 FlashBelt / Minnesota, MN / Re:Discovery
2008 FlashPitt / Pittsburgh / Re:Discovery
2008 OFFF / Lisbon, Portugal / Re:Discovery
2009 FITC / Toronto / Source + Imagination
2009 Flash On The Beach / Brighton, UK / Choose Your Own Adventure
2010 FITC / Toronto / Source + Imagination
2010 Esquina Norte / Tijuana, MX / Re:Discovery
2011 Winter Music Conference / Miami, FL / Fireside with Martin Kierszenbaum
2014 Digital Media Wire / New York / Music Marketing
2016 Demand Solutions / Washington, DC / The Minecraft of the Music Industry
2020 Creative Revolutionaries / Adelaide, Australia / Future of Music
2023 _SOUTHSTART / Adelaide, Australia / Salon of the Future
2024 _SOUTHSTART / Adelaide, Australia / Culture Jam
Books / Publications
2001 XML in Flash
2002 Flash 5 for Dummies
2002 Flash MX Audio Magic (New Riders publishing)
2003 Flash Live! Flash Communication Server MX Real Time Flash Applications
2004 Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Demystified
2004 Flash MX 2004
2006 Flash 8 Essentials
2005 TASCHEN: Web Design - Best Studios
2006 TASCHEN: Music Sites
2006 TASCHEN: Flash Sites
2019 TASCHEN : The Evolution of the Digital World 1990-Today
2021 KNOWHERE : Collection of Poetry (Self-published)
Installations
Exposure (2005): Moments merged in time / A temporal video installation of time, space and memory / 2005 / Barcelona + Holland
Infinivision (2008): A temporal photo installation of time, space and memory / 2021 / Lisbon, Portugal (OFFF) + Austin, Texas (SxSW) + Toronto, Canada (Touch Gallery)
Infinite Sound @: Generative Audio piece Indeteriminate Audio Installation with Composer Kenneth Kirschner / Sweden + Online
Crowd Control (2004): Generative Art Colab w/ Greg Hermanovic (Touch Designer Founder) / 2004 / Toronto
Born On The Internet (2015) New York.
In collaboration with Scott Draves, inventor of Electric Sheep and the - This was a generative audio visual based piece that pulled UGC music from the Looplabs platform mixed with generative visuals from his distributed computing project Electric Sheep.
Events
FITC / March 2002 / Toronto @ Design Exchange
Ed Apostol / Mike Chambers / Trever Fencott / Jason Krogh / Henry Lee / John Nack / Todd Purgason / Dave Yang / Phillip Torrone / Robert Reinhardt / Matt Newman / Gord Mackenzie / Robert Labossiere / Franke James / Brendan Dawes / Pete Barr-Watson / Gregg Caines / Brian Donovan / Tony Ke / Jean-Pierre Lacroix / Colin Moock / Robert Penner / Glen Rhodes / Kevin Towes
Osmosis / 07.19.2002 / New York
Amit Pitaru / James Paterson / setPixel / Himawari / Licky / threadless
Held in the iconic Pseudo Headquarters in SoHo NYC, Osmosis was an early pioneer in the concept of unconferences. Part party, part (un)conference , Osmosis was an experiment in community and events in the burgeoning days of the interactive Web. A makeshift experience held in the iconic Pseudo Headquarters in SoHo NYC, Osmosis brought together creatives, technologists and artists for an evening of exploration. With live punk bands, Japanese electronic artists and talks, presentations and installations. Osmosis stood as a testament to the moment. A joyful human experience caught in the intersection of all things creative and technology.
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BD4D / 09.20.2002 / Toronto @ Indian Motorcycle Club
Erik Natzke / The Horus Project / Image.org / FA83 / BrainJam Studios / Half-Loaded Mutual
BD4D / 10.07.2002 / New York @ Remote Lounge
Joshua Davis (Praystation) / Ze Frank / Brendan Dawes / Patrick O’Brien (Transfatty) / Tim Nolan (Spent 2000) / Jemma Gura (Prate) / Dustin Hostetler (upso) / Evan Mathis / Charles Foreman (setPixel)
This free inspirational event was held in New York at the ground-breaking venue Remote Lounge. Fitted out with 50 CCTV cameras. 70 screens and remote controlled kiosks operating cameras the environment was an onslaught of visual candy and included the industry’s top interactive, motion and print designers.
FITC / April 2003 / Toronto @ The Guvernment Night Club
Pete Barr-Watson / Mike Chambers / Brendan Dawes / Fergus Heywood / Brian Lesser / Erik Natzke / Robert Reinhardt / Phillip Torrone / Kymberlee Weil / Veronique Brossier / John Cowie / Thomas Glyn / Phillip Kerman / Kevin Lynch / Andries Odendaal / Glen Rhodes / Mark Sylvester / Kevin Towes / Dave Yang / Gregg Caines / Joshua Davis / Branden Hall / Jason Krogh / Colin Moock / Robert Penner / Grant Skinner / Dave Sylvestre / Eric Vardon
Flux v1.0 / 04.10.2005 / Toronto, Canada
Transfatty (NYC) / Brendan Dawes (UK) / Greg Hermanovic (Touch Designer founder) / Maracatu
FLUX was created to fill the need of local creatives to get together, mix and mingle, and take their online world - offline. The goal of FLUX was to create an interactive and stimulating environment where creatives can share their work, be inspired, and get involved. A celebration of creative imagination.
Flux v3.0 / 04.10.2005 / Toronto, Canada
Jared Tarbell / Geoff Lillemon / Bradley Grosh aka GMUNK / James Paterson / Tronic Studio
In it’s third incarnation, FLUX was held at Toronto’s most technological club, Republik. Armed with rotating plasma screens, large screen projections, fiber-optic curtains, and over 200,000 watts of pure audio, this was a night to remember. It was like living inside of TRON!
Flux v4.0 / 11.18.2005 / Amsterdam @ Club 11
Casey Reas / Marius Watz / Oculart / Jared Tarbell / Lia / Michael Chang
Held at the impressive Club 11 in Amsterdam, the event, including dinner, overlooked the city as a panorama surrounded by 12 full-screen projection screens. Following the close of SPARK, Europe’s first Flash Conference, the event acted as a hub to unite digital creatives from the city and those traveling to Amsterdam for the conference. Incredible work was created and curated to be shown at the event, enabling six projection-wide pieces - including an astonishing piece by Marius Watz, which spanned all 12. We also partnered with QBN to allow creatives around the world to submit digital art as part of a digital gallery shown throughout the evening.
Top of The World / 2002 / Toronto @ CN Tower
Brendan Dawes / Pete Barr-Watson / Todd Purgason / Craig Swann
As part of launching Canada’s first-ever Flash Conference, FITC, we decided to celebrate in ultimate style, throwing a catered take-over event at the top of the CN Tower. As part of the evenings festivities we documented a one-hour conversation on the world’s highest observation deck, with Brendan Dawes (UK), Todd Purgason (US) Pete Barr-Watson (UK) an Craig Swann (CAN).
TEDxYouth Scotch College / 2019 / Adelaide, Australia @ Scotch College
Andrea Boyd (Space Engineer) / d'Arcy Lunn / Gabriel Akon (Sonic Activitst) / Jaemin Frazer (Life Coach) / Kat Dunn (Social Entrepreneur) / Macinley Butson (Inventor) / Riki Theodorakakos (Student)
“In the years I have come to know Craig, I have witnessed his intense determination to bend the future to his will. Craig is an entrepreneur filled with incredible vision, an instinct for strategy and an innate talent for growth. He's an eloquent and inspiring communicator who has proven himself to be a natural leader when it comes to the creative execution of big ideas. When it comes to our collective digital future, Craig has a keen sense of where the puck is going. I look forward to witnessing his ideas and vision become reality.” Jon Diamond Co-Founder of GRP - First record label to release CDs Founder of N2K - First company to launch digital music downloads (1995)