Reeperbahn Festival

Keychange is an international network and global movement working to restructure the music industry to achieve full gender equality. Supported by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union. 

Keychange was founded at the 2017 Reeperbahn Festival as a talent development program for female artists and innovators led by the PRS Foundation. The 50:50 commitment was proposed by the original festival partners to demonstrate their commitment to gender equality. In 2019, Keychange launched a new 4-year program led by Reeperbahn Festival, funded by Creative Europe. Each year from 2020 to 2022, 74 participants were selected for the program. 

Keychange talent development program 

Helps participants advance to key stages and leading positions in the industry. In 2024, 272 artists and innovators will have completed the program. 

 

Keychange Pledge 

Is a declaration of intent for festivals, music organizations and companies to achieve gender balance. Over 650 festivals and music companies have already signed the pledge. 

 

The Manifesto  

Celebrates the achievements, ideas and proposals that have emerged from the Keychange network and calls for collective action.

Keychange is run by the Reeperbahn Festival in close partnership with the British PRS Foundation and the swedish Musikcentrum Öst.  

Keychange is a cooperation project with Tallinn Music Week, Iceland Airwaves, BIME, Oslo World, Linecheck/Music Innovation Hub, Ireland Music Week, SACEM, Liverpool Sound City, Way Out West, Spring Break, MAMA, Mutek und Breakout West.  

Here you can find out how you can join the movement.  

As a private individual, you can make a helpful contribution to the intentions of Keychange if you mainly attend festivals that fulfill a balanced gender distribution on and behind the stage 

Learn more about the Keychange Pledge and register your festival/organization here.

In 2017, women made up 26% of the lineup of major music festivals in the UK and less than 10% of headliners in a survey conducted in the US. A gender equity quota in the music industry is necessary to redress historical inequalities and create a more diverse and inclusive industry. Women are underrepresented in many areas of the music industry, whether in leadership positions, talent recognition or resource allocation. A quota could help to reduce these inequalities and give women equal opportunities to develop their skills and creativity in the music world. Ultimately, the aim of Keychange is to create a diverse music landscape that does not require a quota for gender equality. The Reeperbahn Festival has already achieved a 50:50 balance.   

Festivals and organizations are committed to achieving a gender balance that makes sense for their own line-up, programme and music genre. For example, major classical events such as BBC Proms and Aldeburgh Festivals take into account the number of female* composers they commission, popular music festivals allow for the number of women* on their stages and conferences consider the number of women* on their panels.  

At music festivals, 50:50 is measured by the number of performances with at least one self-identifying woman, transgender person or non-binary person. 

Keychange includes all transgender inter- and non-binary performers among the 50% of women for each festival. It is important that all genders are recognized and represented. The aim is to address the imbalance between those who are currently represented and those who are consistently underrepresented. 

Our aim is to increase the number of FLINTA* performing at festivals and working in the music industry at all levels, rather than creating restrictive or dismissive policies. Keychange is about celebrating the efforts of music organizations that sign up, rather than naming and shaming those that don't.  

Therefore, the data request is customized to each organization so that the goals are realistically achievable. 

Radio stations could use the promise to look at the ratings of presenters or the number of guests they invite to their shows. Editorial staff can use the Keychange Promise when commissioning writers, editors, photographers, etc. Agents, publishers and labels can look at the track record of the artists they sign. 

We firmly believe that the target must be defined and set by the festivals and organizations themselves and we will collect data annually to measure its progress. 

All signatories of the Keychange Initiative sign up to the so-called Pledge and provide Keychange with information on their status quo via regular reporting.