Terrestrial radio, at least in my neck of the midwest woods (or lack thereof) is for all intents and purposes dead. I have 5 stations out of maybe 20 that I deem good enough to save as a preset station. The only problem is that those stations repeat the same songs day after day often playing several songs 2, 3, and even 4, times per day. In short: It sucks. For those fortunate enough to have a smartphone from Apple, RIM, Palm, or Android have probably fallen at least a little in love with streaming radio. Commercials are short or non-existent, content is ever changing, and you never have to worry about listening to the same song in the same day. Not to mention, custom playlists and other user customizable options are quickly pushing streaming radio above terrestrial radio. Personally, I’d even say satellite radio should be looking over it’s shoulder.
Imagine going to the car dealer in 2015 and right next to the upgraded audio check boxes that populate the order menu for your new car you see a “streaming radio” option. We’re very well on our way to such a thing according to Pandora CTO Tom Conrad. Speaking at the SF Music Tech Summit, Conrad went on to highlight how estimates put around 50% of Pandora’s customers using Pandora by one method or another in their vehicles. He further added that as the internet becomes more mobile and less confined to a structure, building, or collection of humans (such as a city), we’ll start to see more web content sneak it’s way into once impossible areas.
Consumers can currently purchase cars from certain manufacturers with mobile internet on board. The wireless freedom doesn’t come cheap however as the option itself is expensive with monthly bills of $40 or more tacked on after the fact. Like all technology however, it will catch on until internet in your car is no more uncommon than having a computer in your house.
It is this, Conrad says, that will help Pandora and other streaming services make the move from computer and personal electronics to evolving into a full fledged service. Just think how cool it would be to get in your car and bypass the junk (commercials) that pollute terrestrial radio, hop on over satellite radio (and the uncustomizable content) and settle on your new streaming radio. Connected to the web and powered by intelligent software means you now have access to millions of songs, free to pick and choose your road tunes to the fullest extent.
Hopeful as I may be, the hurdles and red tape Pandora faces to bring such a dream into reality are fairly extensive, though I remain hopeful. While streaming radio in your car for the masses is still some years away, streaming content in other areas of our life will only increase. For that, Conrad says, we’ll have to tune in this January to CES where at least Pandora will outline current, upcoming, and future plans. Stay tuned…
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Slashgear
- February 17, 2009 8:56 am
Sirius XM satellite radio lovers will be pleased to know that you can go on listening to your mostly commerical free extraterrestrial tunes. Sirius XM has borrowed a rather considerable chunk of money to the tune of $530 million from Liberty Media in order to stay afloat in the days of dwindling subscribers and fleeting cash piles. It doesn’t come without a few stipulations however as when all is said and done, Liberty will own a whopping 40% of the satilite radio company. The load will come in the form of two bulk payments, the first is a $280 million that will allow Sirius to pay their current $172 million that they currently owe (ouch) while the second load will be a $150 million loan to XM. On top of that Liberty has already commited to buying up $100 million in XM’s debt…that’s mighty generous of them. After all of the cold hard cash is done exchanging hands and the two loan phases are completed, Sirius will give Liberty an aggregate 12.5 million shares of their preferred stock which will be able to be converted into the 40% stake in the company that was promised to them. All of this doesn’t come with the often mentioned “attached strings” as SiriusXM will have to deal with a pretty hefty 15% interest rate. The final stipulation will also include Liberty’s John Malone joining Sirius XM’s board. So satellite listeners, you can breather a sigh of relief for now and keep rockin’ out for a little while longer.
Source: Alley Insider, Digital Journal *pic*
- February 10, 2009 7:55 pm
Satellite radio is something that just hasn’t quite caught on. At the beginning of the whole ordeal several years ago were two companies vying for your satellite radio money: XM and Sirius. Since the birth of satellite radio uptake hasn’t been exactly fast. I mean, even though you get much better sound quality, choices, and convenience, few people want to pay for a service that they can get for free. Terrestrial radio while being the opposite of the mentioned satellite features still is by far the winner when it comes to radio listener numbers. Satellite radio providers were hoping that their benefits would justify the cost and customers would flock to them in herds. Well the herds never game and by the summer of 2007, both companies were bleeding money. A solution was needed. How did they fix the bleeding of money? In order to stop the massive cash losses, Sirius and XM decided to merge. They started the merging in ’07, however, the FCC took their sweet time approving the merger. Finally in July of 2008, the FCC finally approved the merger. Although, because of the massive delay, the cash loss had apparently already damaged both companies to the brink of almost closing them. According to the New York Times, Sirius XM is preparing bankruptcy plans in case they do need to file for chapter 7 protection. Note exactly a good thing. What happens to the troubled satellite provider if they do in fact file for Chapter 7? Well, for starters all of S/XM’s equity would be wiped clean. They would get a breath of fresh air as expensive contracts can be renegotiated or even killed completely including hot deals such as ESPN and Howard Stern just to name a couple. Clearly it wasn’t “one” factor that is brining down satellite radio but a culmination of events that combined are creating an unstoppable force that is literally crushing them. Who knows, maybe this time next year when you someone mention the words “satellite radio”, you will think of a time when terrestrial radio wasn’t alone.
Source: Alley Insider, AFP
Are you a satellite radio user and have an iPhone? Good news, a SiriusXM app, called StarPlayer is said to be close to completion. According to everythingicafe, the parties involved, Nice Mac,Geeks ToolBox, and Millard Software are putting the finishing touches on the satellite radio app and will soon be sent to Apple for approval by the end of January. Click through for a run down of the app’s features as well as more screenshots!
