KEYCHANGE

It’s international Women’s Day and we want to celebrate by announcing this years Keychange Leaders Participants. ⚡️ We are excited to welcome 44 new faces to our Keychange Leadership Programme this year! Selected by a professional jury and external advisors, the new cohort of music industry professionals and music creators will take part in Keychange's Talent Leadership Programme in 2026, which supports women and gender-diverse participants from all backgrounds and regions. The key is the ambition to create, implement, and lead in a professional and knowledgeable manner with collaborative projects that address issues of discrimination and exclusion, transforming environments from small countries to the global music ecosystem. We look forward to having you on the programme! Let's make a change! Music: Pink Kink – Munchie Magic

We’re thrilled to have so many amazing leaders participating in our program again this year! The stage is set for 🎪: Kaisa Ling @kaisalingthing | Leader of the Kaisa Ling Thing, librettist, cultural producer, and advocate working at the intersection of art and social justice Katarina Grbic @rizomes_ | Co-founder and co-director of Rizomes Festival, an independent music, visual arts, and ephemeral architecture festival held annually in the Catalan countryside Kayla Cooper @musicnwt | Executive Director of Music NWT, where she builds programs, partnerships, and opportunities that help artists from remote and Indigenous communities thrive and President of the iconic Folk On the Rocks Music Festival @folkontherocks Laura Verrecchia | Cultural project manager working at the intersection of curation, territorial development and institutional partnerships Good to have you on board!

⚡️ International Perspectives with Bint Mbareh | Implement Politics Of Care 🎧 Link in Bio! Within the fast-paced cycles of the music industry, it is inevitable to suffer from burnout, stress and other maladies and difficulties related to the often extractive and high-demand practices expected from artists and professionals. Other not-so-obvious factors include the physical, economic and psychological wellbeing tied into the global politics which are inevitably intertwined with the music industry, its fundings, governments and the oppressive systemic structures many find themselves in. As music artists and professionals navigate the international markets, the (in)direct impact of these cannot be overstated. The politics of care should therefore constitute an integral part of our work practices - from attentiveness to different abilities and needs means, to identifying other external factors in the music industry and its effects on the individual, so that we can achieve the equity we seek. Care includes a wide range of care for the mental and physical wellbeing of artists, children and people with disability, and the environment. And therefore, we welcome this timely instalment by Bint Mbareh who brings her lived experience in the many ways the politics of care presents itself in the music industry.

Let’s highlight one of our 750 Pledge Signatories from around the world! 👏 Today: Different Sounds Festival, Poland | @inne_brzmienia The festival has been a Pledge signatory since the early days of the pledge in 2018 and being based in Lublin, Poland their work aims to find, book and produce a variety of acts from across the world, including folk, rock, jazz, reggae, electro and instrumental music. The East of Culture – Different Sounds Festival is a free, all-ages, multi-genre music event usually held in July at Błonia pod Zamkiem and its inclusive ethos implements a multi-generational approach across the board, also providing free access to all, making the festival socially and economically inclusive for everyone.

Gender identity is your deeply felt, internal sense of who you are, whether that’s a man, a woman, both, neither, or somewhere else entirely. It’s about your soul, not your labels at birth. ✨   From cisgender and transgender to genderfluid and agender, the spectrum is vast and beautiful. Why does naming these identities matter? Because visibility creates inclusion and challenges the idea of a „default“ gender. A final note: These are just some of the many ways people understand and describe their gender. Identity is deeply personal, and many people use unique terms — or no label at all — to describe their experience. There is no one “right” way to be or express gender.   💬 Which of these terms were you already familiar with, and which were new to you?👇

Progress is not linear. That is the core finding of the „Seat At The Table 2026“ report by @womeninctrl . While we see gains in female representation with 45% of CEOs and 36% of Chairs across UK music trade bodies now being women the 2026 report serves as a warning: without structural protections, progress can easily be reversed. Most starkly, 0% of CEOs across these trade bodies are from a global majority background. ⚡️ This year’s edition doesn’t just track the numbers; for the first time, it analyzes the governance structures that shape and sustain progress. It’s time to move beyond representation toward permanent structural change.

After officially kicking it off in Tallinn, here are some more of this year's Keychange Leaders. 💚 🥁 Please make some noise for: · Géraldine Zanaska @compass_music @geraldinezanaska | Cultural leader and entrepreneur with 15 years’ UK and European experience across the music industry · Ilona Deuring @ilonadeuring | Project Manager of European Talent Exchange (Exchange) and EU Policy Officer at Eurosonic Noorderslag · Iva Damjanovski @ivadamjanovski @aalembik @demobilizacija @sinestetika4 @skopje.space.jam | Pianist, thereminist and poet from Skopje · Jessica Blain-Descormiers @jessou_bd @mundialmontreal | Executive Director of Mundial Montréal, North America’s global music conference

We're delighted to welcome @musicexportgeorgia to Sound City 2026! 🇬🇪 On Friday 1st May, acclaimed producer, composer, and artist @sopio_t joins us for an in-depth conversation on championing Georgian music on the global stage in Spanish Caravan from 10:50 AM 🤝 On Sunday 3rd May, Georgian artist @ninismusic will be taking the stage at Tunnel (formerly EBGBs) at 9:30 PM 💪 Supported by the @britishcouncil , @keychangeeu and @prsfoundation - we are all committed to bringing music from this region to the global market. Make sure to grab your tickets for the Festival & Conference now while you still can 👉 link in bio.

We are so glad to welcome Salomé Besse | @salomebs our new Managing Director! ⚡️ Salomé has worked between France and Canada, committed to equity, representation and organisational sustainability in the music sector. "In a moment when fundamental rights are increasingly questioned, working for diversity, representation and plurality of perspectives has never felt more urgent. Keychange is an invitation to come together — to turn shared values into concrete action, amplifying artists, innovators and professionals of underrepresented genders across the music industry. I am honoured to step into this role alongside an exceptionally skilled team and a wider community of signatories, partners, mentors and artists across Europe, Canada and beyond, whose commitment fuels intersectional change across the sector. Diversity isn't a side note — it shapes fairer economies, stronger communities, more liveable ecosystems, and a music industry that truly counts everyone in." - Salomé Besse

This was Tallinn Music Week. We had a great time connecting, inspiring and listening to each other. Big thanks to Tallinn Music Week for having us and to all the incredible Keychange Leaders this year. Let’s make it happen together! ✨ 🎶 Thank you @gloryboxtheband for letting us use the Song "Listen to Her"

It's time to WORD UP! ⚡️ Ending gender-based violence is not the work of a few—it’s a collective responsibility. We can all contribute by challenging harmful norms, believing survivors, and centring care, dignity, and equity in every space we occupy.

We are so happy we finally got to meet this year's Keychange Leaders at Tallinn Music Week last week. 💚 🥁 Please make some noise for: · Edna Martinez @ednamartinezdj | Artist, DJ, and curator whose practice reconfigures narratives from the Colombian Caribbean · Emily Meisel @emily.inggg | Cultural project manager, DJ, and music curator · Eszter Décsy @cornerart.hu @corner.art.management | Founder of NOWmagazin, focusing on the Hungarian grassroot scene · Ewa Wodzyńska | Founder and artistic director of Poznańskie Senioritki, an award-winning senior women’s choir redefining ageing, visibility, and artistic collaboration in contemporary music