Music & Wellness: How UMPG & She Is the Music Is Elevating Female Latin Hitmakers

Drea, a Latin Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, has been in many rooms throughout her twenty year career, but a recent three-day songwriting camp in Miami was a “game changer” for her. 

Drea (real name: Andrea Lopez) — who in 2021, won her first Latin Grammy with Gloria Estefan’s album #Brazil305, as a co-writer on the song “Cuando Hay Amor,” and in 2024 inked a deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) — was one of 10 music visionaries who formed part of UMPG and She is the Music’s songwriting camp held at the Mindful Music Lab that incorporated creativity and wellness.  

“It’s been quite the experience to bring mindfulness and meditation into this space,” she tells Billboard. “I already do this on the regular, but never before a session, especially with other women who have the same intention.” 

Led by the studio’s owner, wellness and music expert Brittany Berger, the songwriting camp was designed as a safe and supportive space for female artists, songwriters and producers while also fostering collaboration and community. The day kicked off with a sound healing meditation, followed by songwriting sessions with Isadora Figueroa, Shirel, RPLK, Aris, Nicole Horbath, MJ Nebreda, Nancy Sánchez, Renee, Ella Bric, Maia and Drea. 

Below, Drea, as well as Alexandra Lioutikoff, President of US Latin and LATAM operations at UMPG and Vicky Rivas, A&R at UMPG Latin, speak to Billboard about the empowering initiative.

How did you recruit the nine female creatives for this specific three-day camp?

Rivas: Whenever I’m doing a camp, I try to put all three in a room, a producer, a songwriter and an artist. The golden number is four: one producer, two writers and the artist, but it depends on the room and we’re honestly flexible. It depends on how we’re feeling. Typically I have a plan, but the girls also come in with their own suggestions, so we shift things around to give them the session they are looking for. We’re paying for the studio time and putting all these resources in so that the songs can come together.

We started with our core roster from UMPG — such as Drea, MJ, Nancy — and then I talked to Chile and Mexico, to [ask them to] send us some of their amazing women. It’s also about finding people who are open to collaborating. We build a list and go from there to see who would be a great fit. 

Lioutikoff: And also, this area is so much smaller than male. There are very few women. It’s not like we have a lot to choose from, but I think that it works out really well, because we can develop them, we can mentor them, and provide them with the right steps. 

Why is it essential for these talented and creative women to incorporate the wellness portion to their day-to-day worklife?

Lioutikoff: It’s actually interesting. Mental wellness is such an important part in the industry. This is a perfect match. I’ve had many female songwriters complain throughout the years that when they are the only women in a session, their ideas are not taken seriously. Remember, women write from a different perspective. If you think about it, a lot of women sing songs written by men. It’s so important to have women in this particular area of songwriting, and even more in the Latin world. It’s very important for us to support these initiatives to the max. We see things with a different sensibility, especially in this part of the business. 

Rivas: It’s also that they feel supported. I feel that when we started the first day with our mindful hour, at first it was new to them, but on the third day when Britney asked them how they felt, everyone was positive and even wanted to include it before their own sessions. They felt it was a moment about them, and it actually helps their creativity. The songs keep getting better. In the creative world, you’re giving so much. Creativity keeps going and going, but to have the opportunity to be vulnerable before their session, it’s truly wonderful. 

Drea: A lot of us think it should be like this. It should have the mindfulness component when you’re creating because you need that calmness, that mindset of bringing a vision to life and you can’t do that if you’re chaotic. It’s been quite the experience to bring mindfulness and meditation into this space. I already do this on the regular, but never before a session, especially with other women who have the same intention. It really helped us a lot when we went into the room to create — it’s a game changer. 

Now that you experienced this one-of-a-kind song camp; what do you expect moving forward?

Drea: We’re going to stay connected. The beauty about this is that everyone has different styles, different languages, different tastes, and it’s fun to be in these rooms with women who have different visions. I try not to expect anything from writing camps because you have to be really open — the more open, the better the experience. With this one, precisely, I didn’t have an expectation but I’m leaving with a lot of positivity and a lot of energy. The beginning of making music is always trying to express yourself and have fun with it, but then you realize you want it to become your career and it can get a bit clouded. With this, we went back to those beginnings, those initial feelings of excitement, of wanting to create. We are able to learn from other women, and it’s the best feeling. I feel like I’ve grown in the past three days. 

Rivas: We want them to get a song out, and hopefully we offer the tools they need for their own project or someone else’s that they’re working on. On the other hand, it’s also a networking opportunity, where I want them to know that they are available to each other, and for them to also feel that they can recharge with the wellness aspect of it. We’ve given them new tools for their creativity.

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