Tony Hoffer Masterclass

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.