The new Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy MP, has been welcomed by the music industry following her appointment by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Nandy will be responsible for overall strategy and policy across the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, including allocating grant-in-aid funding for the British Film Institute (BFI), and is set to oversee a review of the license fee. The Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) Mark Davyd has said in a statement that she arrives at a critical time for live music in communities, with the opportunity to secure, protect, and improve the nation’s grassroots music.
The music industry has repeatedly called for better protection of grassroots venues. Earlier this year, an MVT report showed the “disaster” facing these venues, warning that the country was losing the next generation of British talent because the industry couldn’t “get it right,” with the FAC asking: “What good is it keeping venues open if artists can’t afford to perform in them?” The FAC also recently welcomed the new Labour government with “a resounding mandate for change” and shared their hopes that the party could quickly deliver the much-anticipated reforms to music streaming alongside greater support for the live music ecosystem.
MVT’s Mark Davyd echoed those comments, concluding that he looked forward to meeting with her as soon as possible so that they could begin the work of returning British music to its rightful place as the beating heart of towns and cities. Similarly, Tom Gray, Chair of The Ivors Academy, offered Nandy congratulations from the songwriter and composer community at The Ivors Academy. He continued, stating that they could not wait to start working with a government that cares about and understands their culture, and that this was a moment for real change where they could work to ensure songwriters and composers are valued and fairly rewarded. They could build a thriving music workforce that benefits cities and regions, improves mental health, and drives growth.
Finally, Nandy has previously voiced support for struggling nightclubs and live music venues. “Every single town has lost a nightclub they feel very strongly about. In Wigan, we had northern soul and we miss all of that greatly,” she told Times Radio in 2022. “Live music venues that used to sustain bands like The Verve, who come from Wigan, now just have to travel into Manchester to do it. Those things have disappeared in the last couple of decades.”
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