The Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA) was established in 1978 to stimulate interest in the local recording industry and the music of Hawaiʻi. HARA became a nonprofit organization in 1981. A voluntary, 13 member-elected Board governs the Academy. Each year the academy selects nominees through member ballot, and presents the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards ("Stars of Distinction") typically in May (however, due to COVID-19 it will be held September 10, 2020 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Both the Academy and the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards trace their origins to 1978 and KCCN-AM Radio (now KCCN-FM), then the world’s only all-Hawaiian music radio station.