Close-up of an audio mixing console with colorful knobs and cables, slightly out of focus.

PROFESSIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS

Enabling creators to attend audio programs around the world.

  • Rachel
  • Emily
  • Thanya
  • Beck
  • Alejandra
  • Nevana
  • Carmel
  • XTIE
  • Zoe
  • Sophie
  • Rin
  • RiSi
  • Andrea
  • Leahnie
  • Jasni
  • A woman with curly hair wearing headphones sitting at an open piano in a recording studio, with a microphone positioned near the strings. There are wires and headphones on the background wall, and a text overlay at the bottom reads 'Gemma Abbey Road Institute, 2025'.
  • Emilia, a young woman with long wavy brown hair, working at a professional music production studio, adjusting audio equipment with a computer monitor in the background.
  • Kate
  • Black and white photo of a woman with curly hair resting her chin on her hand, looking thoughtfully into the distance. She has tattoos on her arm. There is a text overlay that reads: 'Erin, pointblank Music School, 2025'.
  • Lena
  • Abbie
  • Maria
  • Kayla
  • Rachel
  • Sarah
  • Daniela
  • A young woman with curly brown hair, wearing a sleeveless black top, smiling at the camera against a plain white background. Text overlay with her name 'Rebecca' and 'AES NY 2024'.
  • Elaine
  • Brigitte
  • Athena
  • Daniela
  • A young woman with closed eyes, sitting cross-legged on a black background, wearing a maroon T-shirt, jeans, and checkered shoes, with her hands resting on her knees. There is a text overlay that says 'Gabriela LAAMP 2024-2025'.
  • A young man with dark hair holds a bouquet of white and purple flowers, looking down at the flowers with a soft expression against a plain light background.
  • Rachel
  • A woman in a light blue shirt working at a sound mixing console with a computer monitor in a dimly lit room.
  • A woman with purple and black hair sits outdoors by a river, resting her chin on her hand and looking into the distance. She wears a black sleeveless top, with a blurred natural background of trees and water.
  • A woman with long, wavy, reddish-brown hair wearing a colorful artistic print top, standing against a plain white wall, holding a black folder, with a caption overlay reading 'Desa Deca, IO Academy 2024.'
  • Gili
  • A young woman with curly, reddish-brown hair sitting on a golden ornate chair with a white mirror behind her. She is wearing a colorful necklace, small earrings, and pink straps on her shoulders. The image includes overlay text with the name 'Natasha Norman' and the text 'LAAMP 2023–2024'.
  • A young woman with blonde hair and a white shirt, wearing a necklace, in front of a blue background, with text 'Joey Baby LAAMP 2023-2024' at the bottom.
  • A woman with brown skin, wearing a purple beret, colorful earrings, and a vibrant patterned jacket, smiling outdoors.
  • Close-up of a woman's face lying down with hands framing her face, red lipstick, blue nail polish, and a green patterned garment visible.
  • A woman sitting in a music studio surrounded by recording equipment, speakers, and a laptop, smiling while looking to the side.
  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a black shirt, sitting in a room with wooden walls, a lamp, bookshelves, and a colorful chart or poster in the background.
  • Portrait of a woman with curly red hair wearing a cream and green Fessé Fint shirt, sitting against a grey background.
  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a black turtleneck and layered necklaces, sitting at a desk with audio equipment, looking slightly to the right with a content expression, in a studio or recording environment.
  • A young woman with red hair working as a DJ in a dark club or studio, surrounded by equipment including a laptop, turntable, and audio gear, with a name tag that reads Eve and the text 'Mix With The Masters, 2022'.
  • Close-up portrait of a woman with curly hair, wearing makeup, and a serious expression, against a warm background. Text overlay reads 'Brienne, LAAMP 2022-2023'.
  • Black and white portrait of a young woman with curly hair, wearing a black tank top and a cross necklace, looking down with a contemplative expression, with a plain background.
  • A smiling woman with short twisted hair, wearing dark lipstick, colorful eye makeup, gold earrings, and a black top, holding a gold saxophone against a dark background.
  • Close-up photo of a woman with fair skin and long brown hair, looking to the side, with makeup, and a serious expression, featured on a music album cover titled 'Taina: Mix With The Masters, 2022'.
  • A young woman with orange hair and a big smile sitting in a music studio or recording space with audio mixing equipment and cables behind her.

What are Professional Scholarships?

We Are Moving The Needle’s Professional Scholarships open doors for creators to attend premier audio programs around the world. These opportunities support women, trans, and non-binary engineers and producers as they gain advanced training, expand their networks, and take meaningful steps toward building sustainable careers in audio.

Professional Partners

A black and white drawing of a man and a woman in a car, with a dog in the backseat.
Logo of Abbey Road Institute featuring stylized black vertical lines and bold text.
Logo of The Blackbird Academy with black text and a stylized blackbird silhouette forming part of the letter 'd' in 'blackbird'.
Text reading 'Mix with the Masters' in black font on a white background
Black abstract geometric logo with the word 'pointblank' in lowercase text.
Logo of iMusic Academy with stylized 'iMusic' text.
Logo of the Los Angeles Academy for Artists & Music Production with bold black letters 'LAMP' above the full name in smaller black font.

Questions about applying for a We Are Moving The Needle Professional Scholarship? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions below!

  • Due to the diversity of professional and educational scholarship opportunities we offer, eligibility for these programs varies. Please visit the page for the specific scholarship you’re interested in to review its eligibility criteria and additional details.

  • Scholarship applications are reviewed by We Are Moving The Needle’s scholarship committee, which is composed of leaders across the industry (from both the creative and business side) and mentors. Applications are evaluated using a qualitative and quantitative rubric that assess candidates’ preparation for success in their particular program, their articulation of career goals and commitment to production and engineering, and how this scholarship will meaningfully impact their stated goals. 

  • Successful applications vary program to program depending on the scholarship or grant call in question, however the following considerations might be considered to strengthen your overall application package: 

    • Thorough and thoughtful written responses. Successful candidates make the fullest use of the suggested word counts, provide clear and compelling answers, and demonstrate an overall thoughtfulness to the written components of the application as well as the portfolio and supplemental materials. 

    • Clear articulation of goals that include growing skills and leadership behind the board. We Are Moving The Needle drives equity for producers, engineers, and those working in technical roles in the recording industry. Many successful alumni are multi-faceted creators and also work as songwriters and artists, but they maintain a commitment to learning, growing, and leading behind the board as well as in front.   

    • Clear understanding of the scholarship or grant program and why you believe it will help you further your goals. Successful candidates have clearly read and researched the MicroGrant details in full and are able to share a clear understanding of why this particular opportunity is important to this phase of their creative journey. Strong candidates demonstrate a clear need for funding and how this will meaningfully shape their journey within the context of their given program or goals. 

    • A comprehensive portfolio that clearly highlights skills behind the board. Applicants are always evaluated in accordance with the skills required for the relevant program: for an engineering masterclass, successful candidates have clear strengths and skills required as an engineer at the appropriate level for that course, for a songwriting camp they must have acumen as a songwriter, etc. Entry-level programs are tiered towards entry-level applicants. A strong portfolio tells the candidate’s story as a creator: highlighting strengths, goals, and even areas of growth as they align with the program in question.

    • Successful applicants will provide a range of work samples demonstrating their experience and commitment to the technical side of music. School projects, independent work, and professional work are all acceptable. We recommend applicants provide a variety of work examples demonstrating their technical skills and experience, particularly projects they have produced or engineered, either for themselves or others. Acceptable work samples can include demo tracks, sound designs, original compositions, etc. School projects, independent work, and professional work are all acceptable.

    • Acceptable formats include:

      • Spotify, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, etc.

      • Website (must have audio samples)

      • Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

    • Applicants are required to disclose the use of generative AI in their work samples, and, if used, provide a brief explanation on the use of this tool (i.e. how it was used, why this was used artistically, etc.). Applicants with work samples that make use of generative AI are highly encouraged to include secondary work samples without the use of AI as well. Please ensure all projects in your portfolio are clearly labeled to distinguish from one another.

Further questions about applying for a We Are Moving The Needle Professional Scholarship?

Email Us

  • “Its amazing to live in a time when I and so many can be supported by engineers, especially those from women, femm, and non-binary communities.”

    Kate Brunotts, PointBlank 2025

  • “Getting to go through that process, and learn along the way, and have a community that I could go to when i had questions was the coolest thing.”

    Xan Gabriel, Blackbird Academy 2022

  • “My scholarship taught me tips and tricks I now use in my workflow, helping me streamline projects and confidently take on new responsibilities!”

    We Are Moving The Needle Scholarship Recipient

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Past Professional Scholarships:

People attending a comedy or music show in a wooden venue with a group of enthusiastic audience members, some clapping and smiling, with a person standing on stage in the background.
Abbey Road with Marta Salogni
AES
A young woman with long brown hair holds a modular synthesizer with various patch cables, sitting against a wooden door background.

AES Show 2024 NY

College Scholarships

  • We are Moving The Needle partnered with the Audio Engineering Society to offer 10 All Access passes to attend the AES Show 2024 NY, the flagship event of the Audio Engineering Society. This annual gathering united over 10,000 audio professionals, enthusiasts, and exhibitors from around the globe.

  • Scholarships for the 2025-2026 academic year were awarded at the $5,000 and $10,000 level to students pursuing degrees in music production, audio engineering, and related fields. These scholarships provide meaningful support to women, trans, and non-binary creators building a future in the recording industry. In addition to financial support, each scholarship is paired with a mentor and equipped with gear from one of our leading industry partners.

Mix With The Masters: David Wrench Masterclass

LAAMP 24/25 Program

  • We Are Moving The Needle collaborated with Mix With The Masters to offer 2 full scholarships to David Wrench’s 4-day masterclass at Rue Boyer Studios in Paris, France. Each day featured immersive workshops, listening sessions, and discussions hosted by David Wrench himself, where he delved into his creative process, uncovering the tools and techniques behind the distinctive sounds of the albums he mixed.

iOAcademy
Blackbird Academy
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iOAcademy
LAAMP
Mix With The Masters

  • For the 5th year, We Are Moving The Needle is excited to offer 3 in-person scholarships to the Los Angeles Academy for Artists & Music Production (LAAMP), to the 2025-2026 program in Santa Monica, California! LAAMP is a one-year intensive music school for early-career creators to develop skills, find their voice, and build lasting collaborations with fellow artists, songwriters, and producers.

Mix With The Masters: Catherine Marks Masterclass

LAAMP 25/26 Program

  • We Are Moving The Needle collaborated with Mix With The Masters to offer 2 full scholarships to a 4-day masterclass with Catherine Marks at Rue Boyer Studios in Paris, France. Catherine hosted a series of practical workshops and studio sessions designed to elevate students’ creative practice.

Mix With The Masters: Alissia Masterclass

  • We Are Moving The Needle is collaborating with Mix With The Masters to offer 2 full scholarships to the exclusive two-day masterclass with GRAMMY-nominated producer, Alissa, known for her work with Kaytranada, Calvin Harris, and Mary J. Blige. She’ll walk students through her creative process, share studio techniques, and give a behind-the-scenes look at how she brings records to life.

Mix With The Masters: Tchad Blake Masterclass

  • We Are Moving The Needle is collaborating with Mix With The Masters to offer 2 full scholarships to the exclusive five-day masterclass with Tchad Blake, known for his work with Peter Gabriel, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, Wallows, Sheryl Crow, and more. Tchad will break down the creative approaches that have shaped his career.

Abbey Road Institute: Marta Salogni Masterclass

Antisocial Camp

  • We Are Moving The Needle partnered with Abbey Road institute to fund two students to join GRAMMY-nominated and Mercury Prize winning engineer, producer and mixer Marta Salogni in Abbey Road Institute's four-day song production masterclass, sponsored by Sonos.

  • We Are Moving The Needle and anti social camp teamed up to present a Student Songwriting contest. 5 winners were selected to attend anti social camp, the largest songwriting camp in the world, from June 9 - 13, 2025 in New York City. Contest winners received a complimentary ticket to anti social camp and mentorship with We Are Moving The Needle’s world-class network of mentors!

LAAMP
Mix With The Masters

Blackbird Academy

io Music Academy: Claim Your Sound

  • We Are Moving The Needle partnered with Blackbird Academy to offer 4 full scholarships in the Live Sound Engineering and Studio Engineering programs. These 24-week programs focused on hands-on experience in Blackbird’s studio facilities, classrooms, rehearsal spaces, and labs.

  • Sponsored by Distrokid, We Are Moving The Needle partnered with IO Music Academy to offer 2 full scholarships to their “Claim Your Sound” 3-month advanced summer course in 2024! Break through creative blocks and conceptualize, refine, and finish a 3-song EP that showcases your unique voice as a producer.

io Music Academy: Vocal Chops

pointblank Music School

  • We Are Moving The Needle and IO Music Academy are partnering to offer 1 scholarship to IO Music Academy’s Vocal Chops course. This course is perfect for singer-songwriters and producers looking to enhance their original vocals. This course covers everything from microphone selection and placement to vocal recording and editing techniques. Learn how to track, comp, harmonize, tune, and creatively process your vocals, ensuring they stand out in any mix.