hypebot

Facebook $100 Billion IPO "Likely" In Early 2012

Facebook is likely to go public by the first quarter of 2012 at a valuation of $100 billion or more, according to reports surfacing today. The IPO is likely being triggered by a section of the 1934 Securities and Exchange Act known as “the 500 rule”. This rule mandates that once a private company has more than 500 investors, they must provide the SEC with quarterly financial reports like publicly traded companies do.

XM Settles, Agrees To Pay Independent Labels $3.6M

(UPDATED) Independent music agency Merlin and other members of the indie music community have agreed to a settlement of $3.6 million in a long-running dispute with XM Satellite Radio over the Pioneer Inno recordable radio receiver.  Out of court settlements had been reached with the four major record labels between 2007 and 2008. 

Who Says Satellite Radio Is Dying?

Sirius XM Adds 257,000 4th Quarter Subscribers

(UPDATED) A poor economy and competition from free internet radio did not stop Sirius XM Radio from adding 257,000 net subscribers in the 4th quarter of 2009. The service. ended 2009 with 18.8 million radio subscribers. The company also reported that it had $100 million in free cash flow last year after negative free cash flow of $552 million in 2008.

"Improvements in automotive sales, conversion rates and better than anticipated self-pay churn suggest that the outlook for the auto sector and the effects of the economy on our business are beginning to improve," said CEO Mel Karmazin. The conversion rate to paid subscriptions from trials included in car sales was 46.4% up from 44.2% in 4Q 2008.

Internet Broadcasting Grows As Radio Stumbles

A new Bridge Ratings survey asked, "With all the devices at their disposal, which is their primary mobile medium, the one they use the most each day?"

click on image to enlarge

Their AM or FM radio stations are still the primary daily device of 30% of the sample. That's a 9% drop in primary preference. Internet radio and cell phones with the increasing penetration of smartphones. Study sample information:

Interview: Mojo Nixon Sets His Music Free

On His New Album Plus Advice For Musicians

For three weeks starting October 7th, Mojo Nixon is giving away not just his new album, but his entire catalog free on Amazon.  This shouldn't really come as a surprise from someone who once declared his support for file sharing because he's "not an asshole like Metallica."

With songs like "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child" (the video which starred Winona Ryder was banned from MTV) and "Elvis Is Everywhere" (Mojo once declared that his personal holy trinity consisted of Elvis, Foghorn Leghorn and Mayberry town drunk Otis Campbell), as well as his outrageous live shows, Nixon carved out a place somewhere between cult status and rock icon before his 2004 retirement from music.

Now Mojo Nixon is releasing a new album of 17 unreleased songs; and it and all of his catalog will be available free only on Amazon. The new songs were recorded between 1985 and 2005 and include the theme song for the Olympic luge team,  another written for a documentary about Asparagus, lost tracks, outtakes and demos. Some are solo and others are with a band, but all came from a box of cassettes found in Mojo's house. 

More recently, Mojo has concentrated on his daily Outlaw Country and weekly political talk and NASCAR show on Sirius XM.  To mark the new release, he agreed to answer a few questions via email.

"I'm a cult artist.  Make the cult happy."

HYPEBOT: Why did you chose to go the free route?  Getting people to pay attention has never been your problem.

MOJO: the doomed the damned and the demented need a little help in these tough times

rather hear about wall st fat cats robbing us blind or hear some free mojo nixon ???

jumpstart the economy - spread the psychotic love and create a little chaos

HYPEBOT: Is this free forever or just free for a little while?

MOJO:  i'm crazy not stupid

Liberty Helps Sirius XM Avoid Bankrputcy

Shares of Sirius XM Satellite Radio doubled Tuesday morning to a mere 20 cents on news that Liberty Media (DirectTV) will invest $530 million in the the beleaguered satelite radio company. The move rebuffs suitor Echostar (Dish Network) that allows allows Sirius XM to avoid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. More:

• Marketwatch
  
• New York Times
• Washington Post

3 Reasons Sirius XM Will Fail

I hope I'm wrong. I love creative broadcasting, but with its stock sitting around 12 cents a share...

1. "...Sirius XM does have a serious flaw in its capital structure. Its costs, which include servicing its pile of debt, appear to be too high to make the business viable.” - The New York Times
2. There is no built in mechanism for knowing how many subscribers are listening to a particular channel at any given time. Programming decisions are made based on guesswork.
3. Internet radio + ubiquitous wireless = unlimited competition.

I hope I'm wrong. I love creative broadcasting, but...

Shareholders Sue To "Save Sirius"

Already battered by the economy and a sub-$1 stock price, Sirius XM faces a new challenge from a group calling itself Save Sirius. 500 incensed Sirius XM shareholders have banned together and accused  management of "unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of shareholders"  A lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court in Southern California.

This suit seeks to prevent management from "further damaging its shareholders with massive amounts of additional dilution (8 billion shares in the fully diluted float) and as much as a 1 for 50 reverse stock split." "We are working to gain control of our company by seeking to remove current members of the board as well as top executive Mel Karmazin," said Michael Hartleib on behalf of Save Sirius and its members.

XM Sirius Merge. Does it Matter?

COMMENTARY:  Is it possible to be angry and not really care at the same time?  That's how I feel about the XM and Sirius merger.

It is finally official. The FCC has approved the merger of XM and Sirius. This despite that fact that the approval create a monopoly in US satellite radio.  Supporters counter that they needed it to survive. There may be truth to that, but I suspect the new combined company needs to do more than merge to fend of a rising plethora of competition. 

XM Adds 300K Subscribers & $400M Debt

XM Satellite Radio added 322,000 new net subscribers in the second quarter of '08 for a total of 9,653,000. This mark a 17% increase since the end of the second quarter of '07.

The company also announced an offering of $400 million senior notes. It's part of a series of transactions to refinance debt prior to the pending merger with SIRIUS. The offering will be structured in a manner that "will permit it to be unwound if the merger is not consummated".

EMI Settles With XM Over Inno

ALL FOUR MAJORS HAVE WITHDRAWN LAWSUIT

XM Satellite Radio and EMI Music today announced that they have resolved the lawsuit  brought in May of 2006 by EMI and the other three major labels against XM over its Pioneer Inno, a portable satellite radio with advanced recording features. The companies did not disclose terms of the agreement.

Similar agreements were announced in December 2007 between XM and both Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group and February 2008 between XM and SONY BMG. XM must still settle with several smaller labels and publishers.

Call For No Satellite Merger, $250M Fines

Ars says this may be an effort by a rival corporation, but whoever it is, give The Consumer Coalition For Competition In Satellite Radio credit for taking a strong stand on a controversial issue - should XM and Sirius merge? They're not just demanding hearings; they want the execs involved fired and fined $250 million.

"To counter the potentially dim prospects facing subscribers of satellite radio under a monopoly provider, a group of concerned Sirius and XM subscribers have formed the Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio ("C3SR")...(we are) committed to opposing  the creation of a monopoly in satellite radio..."   - VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP

Top 10 Stations On Sirius And XM

Based on weekly cume via RAIN

At Sirius:
   1. Howard Stern’s “Howard 100”: 1,200,000
   2. “Hits 1” (CHR): 584,800
   3. “Howard 101” (description here): 501,100
   4. “New Country”: 468,300
   5. “Big 80s”: 417,900
   6. “Octane” (hard rock): 383,700
   7. “Classic Vinyl” (early classic rock): 347,100
   8. “Classic Rewind” (later classic rock): 335,500
   9. “The Pulse” (90s and contemporary hits): 330,000
  10. “Totally 70s”: 309,400

At XM:
   1. “Top 20 on 20” (CHR): 1,049,200
   2. “Flight 26” (modern AC): 741,600
   3. “80s on 8”: 698,300
   4. “70s on 7”: 687,400
   5. “60s on 6”: 581,300
   6. “Highway 16” (new country): 579,500
   7. “Top Tracks” (classic rock): 534,900
   8. “The Blend” (Lite pop hits): 532,400
   9. “The Heart” (love songs): 493,400
  10. “Fox News” (news/talk): 464,800

WMG Settles With XM Over Inno

XM Satellite Radio and Warner Music Group today announced that they have resolved the lawsuit brought by WMG over XM's Pioneer Inno, a portable satellite radio with  recording features. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.

A similar agreement between XM and Universal was announced on December 17. Both agreements are multi-year deals that cover current and future XM radios. Sony BMG and EMI remain parties in the original lawsuit against XM.

COMMENTARY: This deal happened just in time to show up on WMG's balance sheet this quarter. But Wall Street didn't seem to care; pushing the stock down another 3.54% to $6.00 in mid-afternoon trading. Thats a 5% drop from the 52 week high of $24. (Track the up to the minute stock price here.)
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Doug's Universal Toll Booth Collects From XM

Universal Music Group has settled a lawsuit against XM over a player that records XM programming by extracting a per unit fee from the satellite radio service similar to the per unit charge it gets from every Zune sold.

DEALS WITH DOUG -

Never one to be daunted by falling sales, Universal's Doug Morris seems determined to shore up  his eroding bottom line with payments from others who profit from their association with music.

Internet radio and satellite broadcasters are being asked to pay more by all the labels. Devices manufacturers from Microsoft to Nokia are cutting special revenue sharing deals with Universal as are services like YouTube. Then there's Morris's broader initiative to have all device manufacturers pay Universal and the other major labels for a "Total Music" subscription built into each player sold.  Sounds interesting, but the devil is usually in the details and thus far Morris has not provided any.

EXTRA CREDIT: "Universal Bans Song Streams, Cuts Nokia Free Music Deal. WILL THE REAL DOUG MORRIS PLEASE STAND UP?"

XM Plans 27 Hours Of Global Live Earth Coverage

XM will broadcast "Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis," the 24-hour, seven-continent concert series on July 7, 2007. XM's coverage will include 27-hours of continuous, live coverage from all nine concerts featuring more than 100 music artists.

The Live Earth concert series will begin in Sydney, Australia and continue across all seven continents to Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; London, United Kingdom; Hamburg, Germany; Istanbul, Turkey; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before concluding at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Each city's concert will be broadcast live in its entirety beginning live at 9 p.m. ET on July 6, on XM's main Live Earth channel, "Live Earth All Access".   The channel will feature around-the-clock coverage with highlights of performances, backstage interviews and more, throughout the day.

Read the full schedule and complete press release after the jump.

Who Needs Broadcast Radio? Microsoft To Unveil Sync

Both General Motors and Ford will unveil a deal with Microsoft in the coming months that will put the software company's technology into some automobiles, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The system, known as Sync, is designed to allow hands-free mobile phone communication and other wireless information transfers in the car, including email and music streaming and downloads sources told the WSJ.

With free unlimited streaming via the internet; who needs broadcast or satellite radio?

FCC Chair Says No To XM & Sirius Merger

Shares of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio plunged Wednesday after the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission send that FCC rules prevent a merger. The FCC rules that allowed the creation of the satellite business specifically forbid a merger between the two broadcsters

Investors took the comments to mean that Martin and the FCC won't agree to change the rules.  XM's shares dropped 9.9% to close at $15.43 on nearly triple its average trading volume and Sirius fell 7% to $3.86. (more @ BusinessWeek)

XM Adds 442,000 Subsribers in 4thQ

XM today announced that they added more than 1,695,000 new subscribers in 2006, ending the year with more than 7,625,000n. Based on preliminary results, XM achieved positive cash flow during the fourth quarter of. XM added more than 442,000 new net subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2006 alone. This compares with Sirius who ended 2006 with 6,024,000 subscribers, an 82% increase over 3,316,560 at the end of 2005.

"XM completed another year of significant subscriber growth, despite retail softness, and did so with continued cost controls, achieving positive cash flow from operations during the fourth quarter," said CEO Hugh Panero

Watch Out Sirius & XM! Internet For The Car Is Here.

Seamless wireless internet service is coming for your car. This year for only $49 a month. It won't matter if you're a Verizon, Cingular or Sprint customer. This one taps into them all via 3G and WiFi. Avis has already signed up. (WiFi Planet)

Watch out XM and Sirius satellite radio. Who needs you when there are thousands of channels to choose from?