If you work in a garage, one of the first things you did this morning when you came into work, might well have been to break the law and all because you just turned the radio on. Playing a radio or other music to customers and staff officially requires a licence, although it seems the vast majority of garages are unaware of this.

A similar situation exists in the UK, where to add to the woes of the motor industry, regulators of this rule are now having a crack down. Thousands of garages in Britain and Northern Ireland have been receiving letters from PRS for Music, saying they need to buy a licence that pays royalties to songwriters, composers and music publishers. It seems that while 3,000 garages have a licence, an estimated 40,000 are playing music without paying for the rights. The UK licence costs a minimum of £44 plus VAT a year.

For the record Irish businesses should actually have two licences. These are issued by the PPI and IMRO.