The UK has its ninth Culture Secretary in less than seven years.
Lucy Frazer has been appointed as Secretary Of State by PM Rishi Sunak.
Following a career as a barrister in commercial law, Frazer entered Parliament as Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire in 2015. She has no obvious interest or political track record in the cultural sector, having previously served as Minister of State for Transport and Minister of State for Housing and Planning.
While the Culture department has been something of a revolving door for ministers during a turbulent period in politics, a shake-up for this appointment could potentially benefit the music sector by reducing the scope of the ministry.
Downing Street has created four new departments, including the renamed Culture, Media and Sport department - now minus the responsibility for digital.
In a statement, Downing Street said that a “re-focused Department for Culture, Media and Sport will recognise the importance of these industries to our economy and build on the UK’s position as a global leader in the creative arts”.
Music industry leaders might see that as a fresh opportunity.
Former BPI boss Geoff Taylor used his Music Week interview at the end of last year to call on the government to back the music industry, suggesting that ministers could learn from the global cultural initiatives of South Korea.
“I've just got back from South Korea, where the government invests £25 million a year in supporting local companies to grow internationally,” he said. “We should be at that kind of scale.”
Last week, Ivors Academy chair Tom Gray used a Music Week opinion piece to urge the government to support a national music strategy.
The previous Culture Secretary, Michelle Donelan, is now Science and Technology Secretary, and has taken the Digital brief to her new department.
Meanwhile a combined Department for Business and Trade will “support growth by backing British businesses at home and abroad, promoting investment and championing free trade”, according to the announcement.
The BPI has worked closely with the Department for International Trade on exports initiative MEGs and trade missions.
Sacha Lord, the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, said: "I welcome the appointment of the new Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer. The sector has experienced the toughest years in its history and with this move I hope the support it is given starts to reflect its importance to economic growth.
"I encourage the new Culture Secretary to work urgently with the Chancellor ahead of his Spring Budget next month in order to deliver renewed opportunity and hope to the hundreds of thousands of hard working people our sector employs.
"I also urge the Secretary to call on the Chancellor to rethink business energy support, which will fall away substantially from next month leading to the inevitable closure of swathes of cultural and leisure venues across the UK."
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