Gender-equal lineups pledged by 45 International music festivals
Gender-equal lineups are soon to take centre stage.
Lineups have been far from gender-equal, and although there have been attempts to implement the change; the cause has needed a big shift.
Well that shift is coming as 45 different music festivals across the board of genres have pledged to equalise lineups in terms of speakers and artists, 50/50 male-female, by 2022.
Responsible for this initiative is a faction of the UK’s PRS Foundation called Keychange (sounds like a spy document.)
Anyways, Keychange was founded to empower women to be part of transforming the music industry and encourage the equalisation of festivals.
Well, big things are happening, and this change may come within the next few years.
Let’s go 50/50
Mandoza had it right all along!
Let lineups go 50/50!
Some festivals joining the initiative include:
A2IM Indie Week and Winter Jazzfest in New York, Trondheim Calling (Norway), Canada’s BreakOut West, Kendal Calling, Liverpool International Music Festival, Liverpool Sound City and Manchester Jazz Festival in England.
What’s a cause without high profile ambassadors and supporters?
Shirley Manson, legendary producer Tony Visconti, Madrid’s indie rockers Hinds, and German singer-songwriter Alexa Feser- to name a few-are all supporting the initiative.
Will South Africa follow suit?
We have such diverse artistry across the board of genres and quite frankly, SA women really rock the show! I think South Africa could really succeed in this initiative to equalise the lineups of festivals in terms of genders.
As Vanessa Reed, CEO of the PRS Foundation says, “I hope that this will be the start of a more balanced industry which will result in benefits for everyone.”
It’s definitely time for gender-equal lineups to shine!
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