02/28/2018

An Equality Push

The music industry is joining forces to take on the issue of gender equality

A significant chunk of the music industry is joining forces to take on the issue of gender equality.

This week, a coalition of 45 international music festivals, conferences, and other events announced that they would implement a plan to work toward introducing a 50/50 gender balance at the events by 2022. The initiative is the work of the International Keychange gender equality initiative, an effort put together by the United Kingdom’s PRS Foundation, which helps to fund and develop musical talent in the country.

But while the PRS Foundation has traditionally focused on the UK market, Keychange is an initiative that’s global in spirit, and the campaign has drawn support from a number of events in the U.S., Canada, and throughout Europe. Among the North American festivals taking part are Canada’s North By Northeast, Canadian Music Week, MUTEK and BreakOut West, as well as U.S.-based A2IM Indie Week and NYC Winter Jazzfest. Some of these events are focused on the industry itself; others, like the Toronto-based North By Northeast, have festival components that draw hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.