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.
Audio streaming over our cell networks is gaining traction. Free
Pandora for the iPhone was logging an application download every two
seconds a few days after launch and other similar apps in the works.
But ubiquitous WiFi and WiMax are the real satellite-killers. Why pay
when you can grab Radio Paradise or Soma free on any internet enabled
device?
So congratulations XM and Sirius. You got one over on the FCC. Enjoy it now while you can
The good news about this merger is “normal” radio will have to localize to stand out. This means local musicians may have a better shot at getting their music on the radio (assuming the station isn’t owned by Clear Channel which realize this until its way too late).
Dave Jackson
http://www.musicianscooler.com
I’m not too clear on why you’re upset with this merger. In the same paragraph you said the merge “creates a monopoly”, and later you say there is a “rising plethora of competition”. Isn’t a monopoly created by the lack of competition for a particular service?
Satteilite Radio is just one peice of the content distribution universe. I personally feel it’s an increasingly irrelevant peice, and the merger may be one of the last nails in the coffin of sattelite radio, but I don’t see anything wrong with the merger itself. It’s not limiting the other avenues people can use to listen to music (or talk), and it certainly isn’t forcing people to pay to subscribe in order to listen to music. There are so many other options out there.
I agree – why should anyone be upset by this? If you’ve followed the XM or Sirius share price, combined with their quarter over quarter P&L’s, it was ABUNDANTLY CLEAR a merger was necessary. There is no monopoly as that assumes they’re suppressing competition. It’s too expensive to compete at all!
My prediction – the combined entity becomes the “network” and ends up licensing all their channels to other networks and entities to provide content. Just like cable TV, only 1 company own’s the infrastructure.
As reported through the Daily Swarm and Wall Street Journal, the now approved XM-Sirius Satellite Radio merger will likely lead to “a number of programming changes as the companies get rid of redundant programming.” It remains to be seen whether such changes will benefit consumers, but recording artists will almost certainly lose royalty revenue from the decreased number of channels offered by a single, combined service.
Unlike terrestrial broadcasters, satellite radio pays recording artists and labels a “public performance royalty” each time a track is broadcast digitally. Less channels means less plays, and less money in the artists’ royalty pool.
From my blog at http://www.soundies.com
Kevin Parks