WMN Founder Erin Barra Receives Keychange Inspiration Award at Tallinn Music Week

We Make Noise is excited to share that founder Erin Barra has been honored with the 2026 Keychange Inspiration Award, presented on April 9th at Tallinn Music Week in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Keychange Inspiration Award recognizes women and gender-expansive individuals, collectives, and organizations driving meaningful change in the music industry, with a focus on gender equity, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability. Recipients serve as trailblazers for the next generation of artists and music industry professionals around the world.

Erin Barra: Over a Decade of Work on the International Stage

For Barra, this moment is the culmination of 13 years of showing up consistently in the service of others, regardless of recognition.

"Thirteen years is a long time to be pushing on a door that doesn't always open easily," she said in her acceptance speech. "The work we do is unglamorous, relentless, and oftentimes invisible. Nobody gets into advocacy work for the glory — we get into it because we can't imagine doing anything else.”

Since founding We Make Noise in 2013, Barra has built programs that provide women and gender-expansive people with technical training, mentorship, and real access to the music and technology industries. From songwriting and production camps to localized community workshops and an online platform for courses and certifications, WMN has become a growing infrastructure for inclusion with a global reach.

Keychange Project Lead Lea Karwoth put it plainly: "Real change in the music industry isn't built on good intentions, but on tangible action. Erin Barra is not just giving the next generation a voice, but the tools to reshape the industry from the ground up.”

Significance of the Keychange Inspiration Award

In her speech, Erin spoke about what sustains her in this work.

"I get to see the magic and power that happens when women and gender-expansive people are given real access to real resources, invited into real rooms, and made to feel like they belong. . . That's my north star.”

She also spoke with openness about the personal weight of leadership in this space.

"Leadership in this field can be profoundly isolating," she shared. "Recognition like this means more than I can articulate. It's a reminder that there are many of us working towards the same goal — that we see each other. Community is the antidote.”

Erin also honored a personal loss, dedicating part of her remarks to her late father, who passed away just a few months ago. "He told me from a very young age that my real instrument was the six inches between my ears, and that I could do anything with it," she said. "I was able to build We Make Noise and have the career that I have because my father taught me to believe in myself — that I could take up a lot of space, be in any room I wanted to, that my ideas were worth pursuing even if the door was heavy, even if the people on the other side weren't ready for me. I carry him with me into every room I walk into."

True to form, Erin was quick to share the award with the people who made it possible. "This award is the result of our collective work, not just the work of me."

About Keychange

Keychange is a global movement, supported by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, working toward full gender equality in the music industry. Keychange advocates for structural change through a capacity-building program for underrepresented talent, a gender balance pledge for music organizations, and a Manifesto that offers a better future for the music industry.

Since its founding in 2017, the organization has supported hundreds of artists and innovators through mentorship and development, while encouraging institutions worldwide to commit to gender parity.

About Tallinn Music Week

Tallinn Music Week is one of Europe's most acclaimed music and city culture festivals, held

annually in Tallinn, Estonia, since 2009. The event consists of three parts: a multi-genre music festival spanning experimental electronica to classical, a city festival that activates neighborhoods across Tallinn, and a conference focused on the impact of arts as a cultural and economic engine.

TMW is also a partner festival of Keychange, and is actively working towards gender-balanced representation throughout its programming. It was the perfect setting for this recognition, where, as Erin put it, "old world and new world are in actual conversation with each other.” Drawing over 20,000 festivalgoers and 1,000 industry professionals from across the globe, Tallinn Music Week is a key gathering point for artists, industry professionals, and policymakers shaping the future of the arts.

A Milestone for We Make Noise

This award marks a meaningful moment for Erin Barra, We Make Noise, and the community of students, collaborators, mentors, and supporters who have helped build WMN to the organization it is today.

"The fight for gender equity in music and tech is ongoing," Erin said. "It's going to take all of us, and there are going to be days when it asks everything from us. This award is a reminder to keep going."

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Written by Ini Obong