Keychange 2.0 was only recently granted 1.4 million euro by the EU Commission until 2023 and is celebrating its launch as part of Reeperbahn Festival. This enables the worldwide movement and initiative for gender equality in music to expand a comprehensive talent development programme with showcases, workshops, training sessions, network events and creative labs at 13 festivals throughout Europe and Canada under the direction of Reeperbahn Festival. Over the next four years, Keychange will in this way support 216 artists and music professionals from Germany, Estonia, France, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. A call-out will be launched on the Keychange website in October. Six participants per country will be selected: three artists and three industry professionals. In addition, a database will be set up for all participants so they can network and develop artistically and economically.
During the Keychange 2.0 presentation, the goal of maintaining gender-balanced programmes and structures by 2022 was outlined once again. The extended so-called 50/50 pledge was announced by Keychange in London at the end of June. As more than 180 festivals have already declared their intention of gender-balanced programming in the past two years, other companies and organizations in the music sector are now also invited to join, such as venues, streaming services, or music radio programmes.
Support from German music organisations
The national signatories of the new Keychange resolution include ByteFM, ferryhouse and c/o pop Festival & Convention. FluxFM, which has been campaigning for gender equality in the music world since its foundation in 2006, is also fresh on board.
Mona Rübsamen (managing partner of FluxFM): "My hope is that Keychange, through collective reflection and action, will change awareness and action within the music industry in the years to come. We look forward to getting involved with Keychange because FluxFM has embodied diversity and balance from day 1, in the team structure and within the programme itself. With Flux Kosmos, we offer with conviction a daily platform for artists in the daily rotation, tour presentation, live performances, album reviews and place female newcomers and role models in the focus of our music editors!“
Promote gender equality based on facts
Reeperbahn Festival will commission a comprehensive market research study to draw attention to the real problems in the music industry and the cultural sector in general, but also to substantiate the concern of Keychange 2.0 with tangible data and facts.
Alexander Schulz (CEO, Reeperbahn Festival): "With Keychange 1.0 we have addressed the need for gender equality in music since 2017. Phase 2.0 not only extends Pledge 2022 for balanced line-ups at festivals to other organisations and submarkets in music, such as venues, music radio programmes, streaming services, etc., but also our mentoring programmes and workshops as well as the European database, so that our innovators can best implement the transformative power of Keychange and carry it further out into the world.In my opinion, it is essential to have access to valid figures on the current gender ratio, yield distributions, etc. in the individual submarkets of music and on the reception behaviour in order to ensure that Keychange is precisely tailored to the needs of the future and that the desired changes and goals are reviewed. We are currently engaged in discussions on this issue with the aim of commissioning a study for Germany and the EU."
Like-minded partners throughout Europe help to implement Keychange's vision and make the future of music with cross-border collaboration and talent promotion in all areas more just, versatile and progressive. These include more than 280 festivals, labels, music organisations, cultural and conference centres such as End Of The Road, Bella Union, Winter Jazzfest NYC, The Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall.
Keychange events at Reeperbahn Festival
In addition to today's Keychange press conference, various talks and panel sessions will take place during Reeperbahn Festival, which will take a critical look at the topic of gender equality, clearly identify grievances but also point to ways for change.
On today's festival Thursday, musician Kate Nash and British choreographer and performance artist Lauren Barri will discuss the dichotomy of feminist efforts in capitalist societies. Feminism Sells - A controversial conversation about a global movement in subculture and pop-culture takes place from 03:00-04:00 pm in the Future Dome of the Festival Village, directly on the Heiligengeistfeld.
At the same time Francine Gorman (Outreach Coordinator, Keychange), Christoph Lieben-Seutter (General Director Elbphilharmonie, HamburgMusik GmbH) and Jana Schiedek (State Councillor, Department of Culture and Media, Hamburg) will talk about Gender Equality In The Music Industry - A Romantic Dream, Or Soon Reality? and the prospects and chances of Keychange for the next four years and beyond.
Tomorrow, 20 September, from 03:00 to 04:00 pm, the Future Dome on the Heiligengeistfeld will illuminate the topic Sexualized Violence in Show Business. Danny D-Bo Bokelmann (management, Wolfpack Entertainment), Helen Fares (music journalist), Jane (columnist, Lower Class Magazine / Juice Magazine), Laura Moser (artist management, A&R, truworks) and Marcus Staiger (label founder of Royal Bunker) will talk about responsibilities and changes in the industry.
Meanwhile, the film portrait Kate Nash: Underestimate The Girl - an intimate review of the turbulent career of the British artist and feminist, but also a story about the emancipation from exploitation in the industry - is shown in east Private Cinema. |
