A new international initiative empowering women to transform the music industry

keychange.eu
prsformusicfoundation.com
 
Introducing Keychange: a collaborative European programme led by PRS Foundation which empowers women to transform the music industry. Supporting 60 participants from across Europe, who will come together to form a network of female music creators and industry innovators, Keychange features a series of showcases, discussions, collaborations and a programme of creative labs at seven international festivals.

Spanning two years and backed by an innovation fund to help test new projects and ideas, Keychange will culminate in a final event in Brussels at the European Parliament in 2019, at which Keychange partners will present a manifesto for change.

PRS Foundation will unveil the Keychange participants for this ground breaking programme at Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival on Friday 22nd September at 10.00am.

Keychange aims to accelerate change and create a better, more inclusive music industry for present and future generations. Keychange is led by PRS Foundation and is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and in partnership with Reeperbahn Festival, Iceland Airwaves, BIME, Tallinn Music Week, Way Out West, The Great Escape and Mutek.

Two Keychange launch events will take place at this year’s upcoming Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg. On Thursday 21st September at 12.30pm – 1.30pm an inaugural Keychange discussion panel will explore how to empower those who are underrepresented and how we can work together to accelerate change. On Friday 22nd September at 10.00am the highly anticipated unveiling of the 60 Keychange participants will take place at a press conference. Speakers across the two events include Chief Executive of PRS Foundation Vanessa Reed, none other than Garbage's Shirley Manson, celebrated rock artist Nadine Shah, Reeperbahn Festival director Alex Schultz, Tallinn Music Week founder Helen Sildna, Second Mayoress and Senator for Equalization Katharina Fegebank, Head of EU Creative Commission Barbara Gessler, German singer songwriter Alex Feser, and Canadian singer songwriter Emily Haines.

After successfully securing €200,000 from the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, having scored 96/100 in its bid to run a European talent development programme, this new and ambitious collaboration will promote the role of women in music. The long term goal is to ultimately transform Europe’s music industry for current and future generations by accelerating recognition of women’s artistic and economic value and empowering them to work together across European and international borders. 

Vanessa Reed, Chief Executive of PRS Foundation said: “European and international collaboration is essential to the creative and business development of all talented artists and the music industry’s future success. Keychange’s focus on enabling more women to access international networks and new markets at critical stages in their career will help them realise their potential as future leaders of an industry that is ready for and will benefit from change."

Reeperbahn Festival is the perfect home to launch Keychange and remains one of the most forward-thinking events for music fans and industry professionals alike – a festival mainstay that has forged a strong path since the festival’s inception eleven years ago.  A destination for new music discovery, Reeperbahn Festival, partnering with Verband Unabhängiger Musikunternehmen (VUT) this year, is a catalyst for developing innovative business ideas, networks and discussing the latest challenges facing the music and digital economy. 

Alexander Schulz, Founder/Director Reeperbahn Festival said, “Reeperbahn Festival is rightly proud to be the German partner in the Keychange initiative. We look forward to presenting the project’s launch and working alongside some very impressive, like-minded events with the distinct aim of making a meaningful difference and lasting improvement to the way women in our industry are involved and included in music festivals, conferences, and the business environment in general.”