Considering who is behind the station, will it be just one big continuous advertisement for MCD, Village and Whelan gigs?

having been chatting to some of the people behind it recently i dont think so , in fact there seems to have been a structure put in place to fundamentally support small independant bands in gaining airplay and exposure

well you could say that about any gig guide, radio station or print outlet who take such advertisements.

although I do hope they revamp their website. It's a bit of a mess.

I wasn't referring to advertisements. The owners of Phantom are the same people who own MCD, Whelans, and Village. Doesn't fill me full of confidence of an alternative nature I must say. Will they feature bands who have deals with Aiken or POD? or rather what acts are playing village,whelans,olympia,point etc

the BCI were apparently VERY strict in the conditions that they layed out for Phantom in granting the license and given phantoms remit and history and what ive said above i'd say there's very little to worry about

BCI are useless. They're always strict but as we've seen with Radio Ireland/Today FM and Spin, they do fvck all when the conditions are breached. Here's hoping, great station, hopefully it'll survive the transition

Jeez! Every radio station will have commercial pressures to deal with but damning it as a vehicle for MCD/Whelans is a bit of a stretch? For many years Phantom were the only ray of sunshine on our airwaves, championing local acts and new music. I for one sincerely hope they can continue in the same vain. Don't get me wrong, I worry that the commercial mandate will dilute what they have done in the past but hey, lets reserve judgement until they have actually broadcast! I (and I'm sure I'm not alone here) wish all at Phantom the very best of luck.

but what if an aiken promotion is put on at the village?... maybe they'll play the first half of the song to please a shareholder (village owner) and then not play the second half to please another shareholder (mcd)... maybe it'll be a station of soundbites... really looking forward to the schedule... anyone know what time it's being announced

Best of luck with the launch Pete, hope all goes well.

Fookin hell you lot are never bloody happy, this is Ireland. We are fookin minute, which means unfortunately our communications network is run by a small number of high profile investors..thats life...Phantom is the closest thing Ireland is going to get in terms of an alternative music station. I think lambasting it as a service to MCD and the Village or whovever else deviates from (which appears to be anybody with a bank account number or of any kind of fame) your ridiculously hypocritcial socialist agenda is farce... You want an alternative station, you have one. You want it to get recognition..it comes at a cost. It has to be funded by people with money to operate competively and to get a realistic marke share...thus competing and raising the bar on other stations, thus raising the profile of the musicians profiled....and therefore giving us what we want..alternative music on the airwaves. You feel its unjust that "shareholders" have to be satisfied...bla bla...typical of this fookin generation of "affluence but we dont know here it came from"...you want the world but you dont ackowledge the cost involved. I think its a great idea. It was the station I listened to whenever it was allowed a tiny frequency space for a month here or there years ago right through to when they put it on the web..Phantom is great and I hope it kicks arse. I am prepared to accept that certain apsects of its former appearance may have to be comprised but I still believe the overall position of the station as mode for alterantive music will prevail. I am going back to work now. kudos to all at Phantom.

oh... did i forget to put a after my post? i'd edit it now and remove all subtlety if i knew how

I sense a lot of anger Roadhouse. All I'm saying is that the same people that were threatening to sue message boards for criticising Oxegen, the same people that rip off us at every opportunity at music gigs, the same people that foist awful venues upon us, the same people that only allow certain brands of alcohol to be sold at their gigs, the same people that only sell their tickets through ticketmaster, the same people whos attitude towards music in the last decade was only to use it to make money. In short, one of major shareholders in Phantom has shown over the past decade utter contempt for music fans. Why anyone should expect anything differently is ignoring how badly they've treated music fans down the years. Sure Phantom FM was fantastic, but it'll be a different beast now. And with a track record as bad as MCDs, I don't see any cause for optimism.

look... mcd gave me two tickets in the middle of row A for the sufjan stevens gig when i phoned them up and complained about the lack of pre-sale as advertised... i love mcd... ...they're my favourite company... ..but i'm a whore *neglects to put in post again*

It might still pay to give them a chance to see what happens with it. I am not a massive fan of mcd and would tend to agree with criticisms of oxygen..i think its crap. great music but EVERYTHING else about it is crap. back to the point, unfortunately Irish communications like alot of other things is controlled by a small number of big investors..fact is dermot desmond has a piece of almost anything that has made any money in the last twenty years in this country... But to be honest, the Irish music scene is and always has been a vibrant one and finally with a few bucks behind it (whatever the scource) Phantom can showcase their abilities to produce a quality alternative to the norm in radio communications, I'd have faith in them to deliver and look forward to hearing the output.

"Desmond has amassed a personal fortune in recent times. His diversification into radio, as a founding member of Radio Ireland -- later Today FM -- made him a millionaire several times over. Desmond earned €6.5 million on his eight per cent of the radio station when Scottish Radio Holdings bought the company last November. Abrakebabra is also now a permanent fixture at MCD's outdoor events: Desmond owns 50 per cent of Abrakebabra Limited, which holds the franchise and runs some of the restaurants. He paid €3.8 million for his half earlier this year after recognising "common synergies". MCD and Abrakebabra both cater for tastes of the 15-35 age group. MCD's gig guides can also be found in all of the chain's outlets. Desmond is also an investor in Santa's Kingdom, the lucrative Christmas theme centre which attracted 180,000 people to Goffs near Naas in County Kildare last year. Another investor in the project claimed last week that up to 30,000 tickets have already been sold for this Christmas. Desmond continues to expand into the British concert market. He bought half of his Scottish rival DF Concerts for €2.53 million last year. DF Concerts is behind about 65 per cent of the concerts held in Scotland, including the annual T in the Park festival in Glasgow. The Scottish firm owns the Glasgow venue, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, where Oasis were spotted by Creation Records. Desmond also owns a 20 per cent share of MKG, a British company which owns the Academy in Brixton. Last year it opened two new venues, in Bristol and Birmingham, and is planning more venues in British cities over the coming years. To round off his involvement in the music business, Desmond owns a small record label called Solid Records, which has, in the past, signed the Saw Doctors, Aslan and the Stunning. The label also recently released Louis Walsh's History of Pop." AS QOUTED FROM THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A TYPING ERROR "TEACHER", AS OPPOSED TO MISTAKEN IDENTITY; YOU SEE DENIS ACTUALLY HAS HAD A STAKE IN QUITE A FEW VENTURES THROUGH OUT THE YEARS. Both of em are loaded. the point is still valid. Its after lunch buddy, why dont you go back to school. Ye Doughnut.