Keychange has today (January 28) announced that 74 artists and music industry professionals have been selected to take part in the Keychange development programme in 2020.

The participants – originating from 12 different countries – were selected by industry and export experts after an open call that received over 650 applications.

The programme – led by Reeperbahn Festival in partnership with PRS Foundation and Musikcentrum Öst – will launch with a full network meet-up in Stockholm on February 13.

An official press release stated: “It will give the 74 women and gender minority participants all the skills and opportunities they need to get to the next stage in their career.”

It is the first of three cohorts that will take part in the four year programme which was announced in Summer 2019, when Keychange was awarded €1.4m from the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

Alongside the network meet-ups and mentoring, participants will also take part in a Creative Lab at one of the 13 festivals that are partnered with Keychange, which will offer showcasing opportunities to artists, public speaking opportunities to innovators, plus workshops, seminars, studio sessions, masterclasses and more. Polish company Chimes has been recruited to oversee all training.

The number of organisations that have signed up to the gender balance pledge has now passed 300. Talent Norge (Norway), Norsk Tipping (Norway) and Musicians’ Union (UK) have joined the movement as Sponsors. Canadian partners FACTOR, SOCAN Foundation, and festivals MUTEK Montreal and BreakOut West are the first outside of Europe to commit to the talent development element of the Keychange programme.

It is vitally important to me that we continue to talk about and more importantly address existing problems and prejudices within the music industry

Shirley Manson

 

A core value of Keychange is to break down the barriers that people face because of their gender and, following the feedback from the 2018 edition of the programme, the new team put a specific budget in place to support all childcare needs. 

Keychange has pledged a percentage of their funding to the participants, specifically for childcare, in order to facilitate their participation in the programme, and ultimately aid their development.

Speaking about the programme, Christina Schäfers, Keychange lead and head of Reeperbahn Festival's programmes in arts, word and film said: “The Keychange talent development programme lies at the core of the initiative. While the pledge encourages organisations to book diverse talent, we’re helping the talent get to their stages. Following dialogue with many creators and experts during phase one, we are particularly pleased that a more inclusive approach to recruitment has resulted in a very diverse and exciting group of participants for 2020. We are proud to represent many more gender minority participants and a diverse range of ethnicities, genres and career levels.The Keychange team are busy creating a meaningful and impactful capacity building programme, and we’re looking forward to working with them all, and to seeing what they do next. We can’t wait to host this incredible cohort at the full network meet-ups in Stockholm and at Reeperbahn Festival.”

Keychange ambassador Shirley Manson added: “It is vitally important to me that we continue to talk about and more importantly address existing problems and prejudices within the music industry. I very much appreciate that the Keychange initiative is focusing energy on offering opportunities to artists that help them realise their potential in an industry rife with barriers.”

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