Restaurateurs have criticised plans to issue a single licence to business owners allowing them to play music on their premises. They say the development is useless if licences aren’t cheaper.

MUSIC NEWS: The Stone Roses feature in the current issue of Hot Press with one of them mentioning their Féile appearance in Cork in 1995 as one of their top two memories of life in the band.

The country’s 5,000-plus hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs may have to fork out about €3.8m a year to the music industry for providing a radio, television or CD player in guest rooms.

Chief executive of North West Radio, Paul Claffey, has said that Minister for Communications Dermot Ahern's expressed concern about the "transparency" and "fairness" of the current local radio licensing system, as operated by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, is welcome but does not go far enough.

CHAMPAGNE glasses were raised at the double for Lyric FM which was named at the weekend as the top national station and overall radio station of the year.