The John Snyder Grant

The John Snyder Grant will make our Recording Artist Program's Recording, Songwriting, and Music Production Track accessible at a fraction of our standard rate. Grounded in our Layer One, Layer Two, and Layer Three curricula, artists who want to write and produce their songs will build studio skills while exploring social dynamics (ages 8+), romantic relationships (ages 13+), and/or bodily autonomy (ages 18+). While applying for our roster, clients will select their preferred rate and, if accepted, gain access to Marcelland, our private online community, as Kings and Queens—allowing them to attend workshops, participate in challenges, and take courses.

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Independently funded by our LLC to ensure complete transparency, our grant structure offers three financial assistance options to meet different creators' needs without ever requiring documentation of economic difficulties. This allows clients to pay 75% of our standard rate for a vocal coaching, songwriting, and music production session with substantial one-on-one support; 50% of our standard rate for a vocal coaching, songwriting, and music production session with moderate one-on-one support; or 25% of our standard rate for a vocal coaching, songwriting, and music production session with foundational one-on-one support. After 12 months of initial development, annual guaranteed releases will be 9 per year at 75%, 6 at 50%, and 3 at 25%. Once our future 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is ready to accept donations, we will expand this structure to cover 100% of our standard rate for those with documented financial need. To learn more, please visit our Programs page and the "Our Funding" section of our About page.

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John Snyder is a five-time Grammy Award–winning music producer, artist manager, entertainment attorney, and veteran music executive whose career spans over five decades at the highest levels of the recording industry. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law and member of the New York State Bar, Snyder began his industry trajectory by booking international tours across Europe, North Africa, and Asia while still in college. He went on to hold executive positions at major labels, serving as assistant to Creed Taylor at CTI Records, director of the Horizon Jazz Series at A&M Records under Herb Alpert, director of jazz production at Atlantic Records under Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, and founder of the acclaimed independent label Artists House. Throughout his career, he has produced hundreds of recordings and reissues, garnering 32 Grammy nominations, managing icons such as Chet Baker, Ornette Coleman, Gerry Mulligan, and Jim Hall, while producing and recording legendary artists including Etta James, Dave Brubeck, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Mavis Staples, Isaac Hayes, and Bonnie Raitt.

Beyond the studio, Snyder has dedicated his career to higher education, creative entrepreneurship, and public policy. From 2004 to 2019, he served as the Hilton/Baldridge Eminent Scholar in Music Industry Studies, Professor, Department Chair, and Director of the School of Music Industry at Loyola University New Orleans, where he co-founded the artist health initiative Athletes and the Arts. In addition to his university work, he served as President of the Artists House Foundation—a nonprofit funded by Herb Alpert to help musicians and music entrepreneurs build sustainable careers. Appointed to the New Mexico Music Commission (authoring its enabling legislation) and the Louisiana Music Commission, Snyder drafted the Strategic Plan for Music for the State of Louisiana. His life’s work remains defined by the alignment of creative education, workforce development, and economic sustainability for music creators.

For Marcellé, John’s impact began long before she entered his classroom, providing sanctuary during one of the most pivotal and vulnerable transitions of her life. After interviewing Marcellé as a high school senior, John welcomed her as a visiting student to Loyola while she attended business school at Tulane University—located right next door to Loyola University New Orleans—so she could learn how to legally protect her late father’s musical legacy. When Marcellé was sexually assaulted at Tulane and faced immense trauma from the attack and its legal chaos, John stepped in to help her transfer to Loyola’s Music Industry Studies program and audition for the inaugural Popular and Commercial Music cohort. "John didn’t just give me an academic home—he gave me a haven to rebuild," Marcellé reflects. "After surviving sexual assault, he created a musical foundation where I could rebuild my strength and grow at my own pace, both personally and professionally. He made space for me as a survivor in the music industry, empowering me to transform a voice that had been weighed down by trauma, neurodivergence, and disability into something powerful and entirely my own."

Although John was an executive and scholar rather than her direct instructor, his mentorship created the exact environment where Marcellé could find, free, develop, and share her voice. Processing her experiences with gender-based violence through recording, songwriting, and music production led Marcellé to connect with former UMG Vice President of A&R Kevin Shine, who became her longtime mentor and introduced her to life-changing guides in the music industry, including celebrity vocal coach Jazmin Crumley. "John taught me that protecting an artist's voice means protecting their rights, their health, their autonomy, and their safety," Marcellé adds. "That exact foundation is the DNA of Once Upon a Voice. We are passing down the very protection, freedom, and real-world advocacy that John gave to me."

To join our roster as a recording artist, performers apply and select how much of our rate they want to pay. If accepted, they will join our roster at that rate with no questions asked—learning to write, record, release music, and perform with absolute sovereignty. Through weekly one-on-one development, studio sessions, and annual release guarantees after year one, recording artists ages 8 and up will build technical control, industry stamina, and artistic identity without financial strain, preparing them to release music sustainably.

This institutional grant honors John’s commitment to holistic artistry, creator rights, and innovative entrepreneurship. By making artist development affordable, we will ensure that performers—including those navigating trauma, neurodivergence, or disabilities—receive trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming guidance. While fiscal sponsorship supports finishing, pitching, and releasing music across our label and publishing pipelines, our institutional grants guarantee that professional studio recording and artist development remain accessible to as many artists as possible.