a movement for gender equity

Keychange is a movement dedicated to accelerating change and fostering a more inclusive music industry for current and future generations.

We are doing this via a capacity-building programme for underrepresented talent, a gender balance pledge for music organisations and a Manifesto that influences policy.

Keychange’s core actions

Leadership Programme:

Launched in 2024, this initiative empowers music industry leaders with the tools, knowledge, and networks needed to drive meaningful and lasting change within their organisations and communities. Each year, the programme promotes the careers of a total of 42 participants and runs until 2027. Check out our Leaders here.

Career Development Programme:

Our programme provides extensive development opportunities for women and gender-diverse artists and industry innovators, equipping them to succeed on prominent stages and in leadership roles. A total of 272 artists and innovators have completed this transformative initiative.

Gender Balance Pledge:

Over 700 festivals and music companies worldwide have committed to advancing gender balance by signing the Keychange Pledge, setting a benchmark for systemic equity in the music industry.

Advocacy Manifesto:

Following the success of our first manifesto in 2018, we launched a second manifesto in 2024. This updated document outlines actionable recommendations for policymakers, industry leaders, and organisations, and was presented to the European Commission to drive further systemic change.

Inspiration Award:

The Keychange Inspiration Award honours and celebrates women and gender-diverse people who have made an extraordinary and pioneering contribution to the music industry. The award winners are our role models for the next generation, and for the Keychange network of talented artists and industry professionals.

How it started

Keychange: Driving Gender Diversity and Inclusion
In 2017, Vanessa Reed, then CEO of PRS Foundation, initiated Keychange in collaboration with Musikcentrum Öst in Sweden and Reeperbahn Festival in Germany and further partners in Europe. The programme set out to challenge gender imbalances in the music industry and create a global movement for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).

Central to Keychange's impact is the Keychange Pledge, which encourages organisations to commit to greater gender balance and representation across line-ups, rosters, and workplaces. Since its launch, more than 700 organisations worldwide have joined the Pledge, making Keychange a catalyst for systemic change.

In 2018, Keychange introduced the first Keychange Manifesto, a pioneering document that captured insights and recommendations to address gender imbalances in the music industry. The manifesto laid the foundation for systemic change by identifying key challenges and proposing actionable solutions, which continue to inform Keychange’s work.
In 2020, Keychange 2.0 was launched as a three-year programme, funded by Creative Europe and led by Reeperbahn Festival. The programme aimed to build on the success of the initial Keychange initiative and recruited 74 participants each year in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, the programme was extended in 2021 to allow participants from 2020 an additional year, ensuring they had the full support and opportunities initially planned. This extension underlined Keychange’s commitment to adapting to changing circumstances and meeting the needs of its participants. The programme concluded successfully in 2023, leaving a lasting legacy of systemic change and meaningful impact.
In 2022, Believe and TuneCore committed $250,000 to Keychange – a pivotal investment that laid the groundwork for the programme’s expansion into the US. This milestone not only marked the founding of Keychange US, but also signaled a move to bring Keychange’s mission and values to a transatlantic audience, significantly extending its global reach.
February 2023 saw the launch of the Keychange Pledge Action Plan, a comprehensive guide to achieving gender equity in the music industry. Developed in consultation with over 200 signatories and informed by data from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the plan outlined actionable steps for organisations to meet their diversity goals.
Keychange ASBL is a Brussels-based non-profit organisation founded by Keychange partners in September 2023. As the European hub of the initiative, Keychange EU drives the development of programmes and projects across the continent, strengthens international collaborations, expands membership, and builds strategic partnerships and services that support structural change in the music industry. The organisation is led by Executive Director Tiffany Fukuma, alongside Advocacy and Research Manager Christina Hazboun, Research Manager Aysha Hussain, and Administration and Development Manager Amy Gottung.
In spring 2024, Keychange released its Impact Evaluation Report (2018–2023) and unveiled the updated Keychange Manifesto 2.0 during Tallinn Music Week in Estonia. This manifesto serves as a renewed call to action for the global music industry, urging policymakers and organisations to improve working conditions, prioritise intersectional representation, and create safer spaces.
In 2024, Keychange also launched a pilot programme in Canada, focusing on fostering gender-diverse leadership and addressing regional challenges in the music industry. This marked the start of further international expansion efforts.
At the Reeperbahn Festival in September 2024, Keychange published an expanded "Study on Gender Diversity in the German Music Market", building on the 2021 report. This study highlighted positive developments while addressing persistent challenges such as work-life balance for women and gender-diverse individuals.
The newly initiated EU project focuses on underrepresented talents who identify as women and gender-diverse individuals and who have to overcome professional barriers due to their identity. The program starts in November 2024 and runs until April 2027. As part of the Keychange Talent Leadership Program, 42 aspiring professionals and artists in the music industry from Europe and Canada are taking part in an intensive, six-month training program to become leaders in making the music industry more diverse, inclusive and equitable. The projects developed in this programme to promote Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) will subsequently be put into practice by the graduates.

Collaboration

Keychange is led by Reeperbahn Festival(DE), Keychange ASBL (BE), Musikcentrum Öst (SE)

Keychange works in partnership with Tallinn Music Week, Oslo World, SACEM, Different Sounds Festival, Artist in Bloom, Music Export Poland and is suppported by SOCAN Foundation, FACTOR, and PRS Foundation.

In 2019 Keychange announced a talent development programme, funded by Creative Europe. 74 participants are recruited each year in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

In shaping and delivering the project, Keychange collaborates with various brilliant individuals and organisations. .

In 2020 and 2021 we have worked with Ableton, Acne, Awesome Merchandise, Chimes, Deloitte, Johan Bergmark, LOUIS Studio, Shesaid.so and Studio Imeus. In 2018 we were grateful for the support of Tamara Gal-On, Ruth Barnes and Remi Harris.