Keychange Talent Leadership Programme 2026 Announces 44 Music Industry Leaders Driving Gender Equity and Industry Change
The Keychange Talent Leadership Programme 2026 has chosen 44 participants for its new cohort, strategically targeting ongoing representation gaps in the music industries through focused leadership development and regional inclusion.
As the world celebrates women’s history month and amid global turmoil, Keychange announces the latest cohort for their bespoke Talent Leadership Programme, following on from their Manifesto and Pledge Report analyses. The 2023-2025 Keychange Pledge report, which analyses data from hundreds of organizations, shows that about half of the signatories are meeting gender balance targets. However, notable disparities persist across regions, sectors, and identities. The report also confirms that organizations in Western Europe mainly lead in participation and reporting, with less involvement from Eastern, Central, and other underrepresented regions. Efforts toward intersectional inclusion, particularly around race, class, accessibility, and broader socioeconomic factors, are progressing slowly. Against this backdrop where structural and regional gaps persist, the Keychange Talent Leadership Programme 2026 cohort stands out as a purposeful response: a geographically diverse and intersectionally inclusive group of professionals ready to deepen inclusion, expand networks, and enhance leadership capacity across the music ecosystem.
Out of 255 eligible applications, 44 leaders were chosen for the 2026 programme, representing 25 countries across Europe and Canada, such as Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and Ukraine. This diverse regional representation amplifies the voices of areas identified as underrepresented in the Pledge report and promotes participation beyond the typical Western European and festival-centric patterns seen before.
The main focus of the programme is on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA), which was one of the determining factors in the selection process that comprised 55 assessors who helped shortlist applicants and 8 independent jury members who helped make the final selections. As a result, the Keychange Leader TLP for 2026 demonstrates a clear shift toward future leaders with substantial DEIA knowledge and leadership practice. The largest proportion of selected participants (50%) is aged 35-44, suggesting the programme is engaging leaders at a critical stage of career development and sector influence.
““With intersectional diversity in mind, our assessors, jury and selected participants reflect a multilayered and intersectional experience including women, gender-diverse people and trans people from backgrounds spanning the globe with 25% of participants coming from a global majority background. Another key element is the diversity of experiences represented which includes women and gender diverse people working in live music, events, publishing, record labels and advocacy, in addition to 15% of participants being artists, composers, producers and musicians”. ”
The 2026 cohort also shows increased representation across various identities and lived experiences. Sixty percent of chosen participants identify as LGBTQIA+, up from 47.2% of applicants and 54.7% at the shortlist stage. One in four selected leaders identify as disabled or have a long-term health condition that affects their work, with access needs supported through targeted top-up grants. These numbers demonstrate Keychange’s dedication to promoting inclusion beyond just gender balance targets, focusing on deeper intersectional practices.
The selected participants possess substantial sector experience, with each applicant having at least five years in the music industry. This aligns with Keychange’s goal to develop leaders capable of shaping systems, culture, and strategic change in their workplaces and communities.
The 2026 cohort comprises professionals involved in live music, advocacy, policy, creative production, and organizational development - areas that reflect the broader industry’s call for structural change as highlighted in the Pledge report. By reaching into regions and sectors traditionally underrepresented in formal development programs, Keychange seeks to translate research findings into tangible on-the-ground actions.
The Talent Leadership Programme (TLP) is a Creative Europe-funded training programme, facilitated by Artist in Bloom, to support underrepresented talents in leading collective actions and creating a better, more inclusive music industry for present and future generations. Among this exceptional cohort is an exciting mix of DEI&A trailblazers, Founders, artist activists and execs in senior roles at companies including Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), Case à Chocs, Mundial Montréal, The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), and Universal Music Group. The Keychange Talent Leadership Programme offers an international framework for learning, peer exchange, and ongoing leadership support, directly transforming the Pledge report’s evidence into investment in emerging and mid-career change agents. As the global music ecosystem continues to face persistent structural and regional disparities, the 2026 cohort demonstrates proactive steps toward achieving more equitable leadership representation and the activities of the programme are designed to propel collaboration and exchange further, to accelerate partnerships, experience sharing and collaboration across borders.
Selected participants are:
Iva Damjanovski (North Macedonia)
Jessica Blain-Descormiers (Canada)
Michelle Odette Iversen Badiane (Norway)
Natalia Hoffmann-Pawlak (Poland)
Tatjana Rüegsegger (Switzerland)
Notes to Editors
About Keychange
Keychange is a pioneering international initiative that transforms music's future by encouraging festivals and music organisations to include at least 50% women and gender-diverse individuals in their programming, staffing and beyond. Over 300 exceptional women and gender-diverse artists and industry professionals have been empowered through Keychange talent development programmes to date, spanning 13 countries in Europe and Canada.
The Keychange Talent Leadership Program is part of the broader Keychange movement, funded by the European Union and industry partners, and committed to building a fairer, more inclusive music industry. Running until April 2027, the programme nurtures 40+ new leaders from Europe and Canada each year, creating a ripple effect that strengthens representation and equality across the global music ecosystem.
Keychange aims to accelerate change and create a more inclusive music industry for present and future generations and encourages all music organisations to take the Keychange Pledge in order to achieve a more inclusive and equitable music industry. Join the Keychange Pledge at https://www.keychange.eu/the-keychange-pledge
Keychange Leaders partners and supporters are: Reeperbahn Festival/RBX, Shiftworks/Tallinn Music Week, Musikcentrum Öst, Keychange (ASBL), Music Export Poland, SACEM, Oslo World, /Different Sounds Festival/Workshops of Culture Lublin, Artist in Bloom, PRS Foundation, FACTOR, SOCAN Foundation, STIM, Arts Council of Sweden, GEMA, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, and Talent Norge.
For more information, visit: https://www.keychange.eu/
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Funded by the European Union. However, views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.