[2] The Immersion Composition Society was started in Oakland, California by two songwriters, Nicholas Dobson and Michael Iago Mellender.
The privacy and secrecy of a lodge are there to create a "safe" environment for musical experimentation, free of unwanted criticism and negative social pressure.
By now it had become common for Society members to personalize the 20-Song Game over time, cycling through periods with higher and lower volume goals.
Tim Rice-Oxley has said he uses the method to write songs for Keane,[7] and Jez Williams, guitarist for British band Doves, has cited the book as inspiration for their 2009 album Kingdom of Rust.
[8][9] Members of the American experimental rock band Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and many others have also reported using IMM's "songwriting games" at times to generate material for albums.