Grants of $5,000 and $10,000 are being made available to cover university course fees, books, equipment and other costs 

A new initiative to support women, trans and non-binary university students studying audio engineering in the US has been set up in tribute to the late electronic visionary, SOPHIE.

The SOPHIE Scholarship Fund has been established through the charity We Are Moving the Needle, which works to help “all women recording industry professionals”. Grants of $5,000 and $10,000 will be made available in a bid to close the gender gap in American electronic music. Recipients can use money to cover costs including tuition fees, books, equipment and supplies. 

“SOPHIE’s legacy is a beacon of inspiration to countless creators and her innovations continue to shape the future of music,” We Are Moving the Needle said in a statement. “We are thrilled to celebrate her indelible mark as it lives on in the next generation of trailblazers.”

Posting to SOPHIE’s MSMSMSM FOREVER Instagram account, representatives emphasised how close the cause was to the Scottish artist, who tragically died in January 2021 following a fall in Athens, Greece.

“SOPHIE was passionate about the future of music, and, just like she did, we can’t wait to see many more women, trans and non-binary creators change the game,” the statement read. 

SOPHIE Scholarship Fund applications are open until Sunday 27th April, closing at 11.59PM EST. You can find out more information and apply here. 

Last year, SOPHIE’s posthumous final album was released. It was named one of DJ Mag’s favourites of 2024. 

According to a study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Dr. Stacy L. Smith, in 2024 35% of tracks in the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Charts were performed by women, representing a 12 year high. Meanwhile, just 19.5% of songwriting credits went to women artists in 2023. We Are Moving the Needle was among the organisations cited as playing a pivotal role in addressing imbalance in the States, alongside Keychange, Whether She Is The Music, and Girls Make Beats, among others. 

The same year an investigation by Fix The Mix revealed “pitifully low numbers” of women and non-binary people were working in technical music roles like audio production and engineering. A disparity between junior and senior jobs was also evident, with exclusion at its highest at more experienced levels. In 2022, the names of women and non-binary engineers only appeared on 6.7% of the top 10 most streamed tracks across the five largest digital service providers. Those numbers were even lower for TikTok and Spotify’s Best of 2022 playlists, at just 3.6 and 3.7% respectively. 

Yesterday [April 16], the UK’s Supreme Court gave a landmark ruling on gender rights by declaring the legal definition of a woman related to birth gender. Artists, venues and promoters have since hit back at the decision and raised concerns about the impact on trans and non-binary communities.