Chris Price has been appointed the new head of music for 1Xtra and BBC Radio 1 – The home of popular music in the UK.

Price is now the creative and editorial lead for music policies at Radio 1 and 1Xtra and will play a crucial role in the flow of new and popular music that the stations will play. Price will start in March, taking over from George Ergatoudis who has filled the position for 10 years. Ergatoudis announced last month that he would be leaving to become head of content programming for Spotify in the UK.

As two of the BBC’s most important stations and as “the world’s most valued youth radio networks” it’s a big spot for Price to fill. Though he shouldn’t have a problem fitting in with a wealth of previous experience working with Sony, Warner, MTV, BT and the BBC before. His latest position was at Last.fm where he was also Head of Music.

Chris Price said: “Radio 1 and 1Xtra’s Head of Music is the greatest music discovery job on the planet. I’m thrilled to be joining the BBC to continue the incredible work it does breaking new music, as well as steering the networks’ music strategy into the next phase of its digital future.”

Controller of Radio 1 and 1Xtra, Ben Cooper said of Price: “Chris brings unparalleled experience across music radio, TV and digital broadcasting to BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra. His passion and knowledge is key to our future plans for young audiences to continue to discover the music they will love. I’m delighted to welcome him to the team.”