Pirate radio granted FM licence

Pirate radio station Rinse has been awarded an FM radio licence.

The move has been welcomed by fans of the station and people in the music industry who recognised that the service launched a number of young musicians into the UK sphere.

Since 1994 Rinse FM championed dubstep and urban artists and a number of its own DJs have won Mercury Music Prize awards and nominations.

In a similar vein to BBC 6 Music, the station has a small dedicated audience that differs from the audience that commercial pop chart radio stations attract.

'Rinse FM is uniquely placed at the hub of the capital's thriving British underground music community, demonstrating throughout 16 years of broadcasting that we provide a vital, unique and exceptionally successful, grass-roots gateway into broadcast radio and the wider music industry,' the station said.

Rapper Dizzee Rascal (pictured) claimed that the station had been 'inspirational and influential' in his career, while the Musicians Union stated that the station can help to reach communities about issues of performer rights and copyright that it would otherwise be unable to reach.