Enough Doom and Gloom: It's time to make a difference

I cancelled 3 radios about 2 months ago because of horrible programming changes. Mel and Jon need to get there heads out of wherever they are at. I would gladly re-subscribe if they brought back XM 12 Cross Country or something extremely close to it. I would like to see XM go back to what it was before the merger.

I'm with you, I love the service. Don't want to think what I would do without it.

Ryan, I love the idea. BUT!!! For four years I was the biggest mouth around about how wonderful XM was. Then the merger happened and a few things changed. Prices went up. "Premium" online listening is half the bandwidth I used to have. My radio got cancelled randomly causing me to lose all of my recorded content on my Inno. The content I'm paying for is still very good, but the bottom line is the company's management has taken a serious downturn. The customer has been put on the backburner and things are not communicated to anyone. Those of us that read Orbitcast knew about the channel lineup change, but if you're a casual listener, you had no clue until it happened. It's hard to get behind a company that routinely positions itself behind you for entirely different reasons. I for one, need a confidence boost from the company before I can get back on the bandwagon and tell everyone I know how great this is.

I'll try to be positive on this post... :)
if you have any connections to the inside, I would tell them that a majority of complaints is the lack of musical variety with a heavy music rotation and repetition too similar to FM. and they also need to bring back channels that have been dropped and cut back on single-artist channels.

Ryan:

Great article if there's anything i can do to help let me know i've been a fan of this company since the day they came out and don't wanna lose it!

Sirius XM needs to take the lead on this one. Starting treating customers like they actually want them to stay subscribed and maybe those customers will start talking up the service again.

ok.. here it goes.

I used to swear by XM until the merger (Sirius takeover) took place. I cancelled my three radios.

For the most part, XM subs got the shaft. most XM subs don't give a crap about Howard, it was all about the amazing music selection and the great sound quality. After November, it all went down hill.

I know numbers are important, but the new company needs to consider the consumers a bit more, the ones that actually produce these numbers. Fix your sound Sirius XM, improve your playlists, get rid of the 24/7 single artist channels. Most importantly, fix the sound!

What I am hearing from a lot of you Xm fans, is basically cryiing. You guys want to hear songs that you want to hear and anything else is not good enough. Although I think you just need to grow-up, I see/understand where your coming from. However, you guys must realize Xm was going out of business before Sirius, if the 2 companies didn't merge, we'd be listening to terrestrial radio again. Just be glad we don't have to deal with commercials.

Your comment is part of the problem:
But what I told USA Today back in November remains true today: "There is still no other audio service that provides the breadth of entertainment ***IN YOUR CAR*** at this time."

The view of Sirius as "car" entertainment is a shame. In this economy, not many are putting a lot of importance on spending their money on car accessories.

When I got Sirius as a Christmas present years ago, I told my dad that he wasted his money. I also saw it as a car radio. Why the heck would I want sirius? I commute 20 minutes to work.

Had sirius been properly marketed to me, I would have had it years before I did. I had no idea that I could get a portable device and load it with tons of music. I had no idea I could record Howard every night and listen at work without the need for an antenna or streaming on work's resources. I had no idea that I would love having the music at home, and having it on nearly 24 hours a day, while working around the house, or excercising, or as some dinner music, and party music when guests are over, etc...

Sirius marketing has failed miserably. The world still sees it as car audio.

Just last week a guy at work was complaining about FM radio. I know this guy is a huge fan of STP and similar music. I handed him my stilletto and had him flip through a 6 hour block of Lithium song titles. He was impressed. He asked me how it "knew the playlists". I told him that wasn't just the playlist, but music that I recorded at no extra charge, and I could delete it and refresh it, and listen anywhere etc.. He had no idea. It made the ipod on his desk look useless.

Of course ipods have outsold stilettos a gazillion to one.

Marketing.

Come out with a new Stiletto... Let it do video too. Have a touch screen, etc.. And actually market it.

"Best radio on radio" is stupid. Noone listens to radio.

During the merger, slacker and ipods were listed as competition. THEN COMPETE ALREADY!!! This service is so great, but noone knows it. Make in-home use easier. Put FM transmitters in home docks that broadcast throughout the whole house. The Ccrane transmitter I use is FCC approved, why can't sirius make a strong one for in-home use only?

Portability, gadgetry, wifi, streaming, iphone apps.. There's your future. Car audio is dead. Put out devices and apps, and do it right... not just a rush to market of a device/app without much functionality. And market it... Market the heck out of the technology and market less about the # channels you get.

Look, radio sucks. Take out commercials, and it still sucks. And sirius is still viewed as commerical-less FM radio for your car. Sirius needs to change public perception, big time.

How much would it cost you to legally fill your ipod with with 100 hours of music downloads?

Doesn't cost Sirius owners a penny above their $13/month.

I love satrad. I think I have been one of the people who have consistently praised this service. I just bought my fourth radio (XMP3). I have two innos and an express ez. If this company were ever to go under, I would suffer withdrawal symptoms and trauma - it is that much a part of my life. It's been years since I fell asleep without the help of SPA playing in the background of my bedroom, lulling me to sleep. I can't imagine heading out of the house in the morning without first checking the local weather and traffic channel. I can't imagine having to drive any distance without satrad to entertain me. Terrestial radio? It's so awful. Twenty minutes of commercials on average - NO risk taking with the music being broadcasted.
I canceled all tv service five years ago and haven't ever missed it. I only use my tv for a rented movie once in a while. The first thing I do when I go home is to turn on the radio and it is the last thing I turn off when I go to work.
I love it. I am happy to pay for it. And I hope it will be around for a long, long time.

Ryan, I hear what you are saying; but I think "Rich" and "Jayc" summed up in their previous two posts on how I feel towards SiriusXM right now. Speaking as a LONG time dual-subscriber, I need someone in upper-management to prove to me that this company is committed to their customers, and getting the content back to where it once was, and then I'll get all patriotic about SATRAD again.

Someone commented on fixing the sound? I have Sirius and XM in two different vehicles with zero problems. Maybe it's the installation on the owner's car????

XM through my Bose system in a Chevy Tahoe (vehicle installation) sounds awesome. Just did a 5 hour trip to Maine (snowmobiling) and couldn't live without the service.

My Sirius portable S50 sounds just as good in my other vehicle. Have a direct connection into the back of the radio.

Love the service, negative about the stock, but still NEED the service. I might drive into a telephone pole if i had to listen to terrestrial.

Just to let others know (slightly negative), i did just drop two subscriptions because of the price increase......and i can't get a deal having
tthe two different subscriptions (1 XM 1 Sirius) from different services. I had to sign up as a new subscriber with XM for 12.95.

"Give it a shot. Take one week and listen to terrestrial radio again during your commute. It's terrible"

I have been getting by on Terrestrial Radio in my vehicle this past month since I cancelled one of my two radios. Between a couple local stations and sports talk, I am good when I am in my car.

I praised satellite radio when I first got it in 2004. I felt that when i was driving around, i was part of an exclusive club that everybody else around me was no part of. I would tell my friends, neighbors, anybody that would listen about satellite radio, and had an XM sticker in my car window.

As we started to see more and more single artist channels replacing other channels, and the playlists being cut down from what they were a few years ago i have found myself listening less and less. You can argue all you want about the size of playlists, but i remember getting a CD, and can go through the tracklist and see over half of the songs that I have heard on XM. That just doesn't happen now. For the stations I listen to, i have more depth and less repitition on my ipod.

I don't drive a lot in my car (15 minutes to work with traffic). I used to grab my myfi on every trip no matter how far i was driving, now i can usually get by on terrestrial radio. my listening has dropped drastically and with a myfi that worked only half of the time, it just was not worth the price increase for an additional sub to keep it around.

My wife and I like it enough to keep a radio in her car as we use her vehicle when we go any longer trips, and I can download O&A from torrent sites and put them on my ipod.

And while you will do whatever it takes to help improve the company, I can no longer honestly promote this company like I did a few years ago as long as XM has become siriusized. There was a reason I chose XM over Sirius, and those reasons were/are slowly being washed away.

Thanks, Ryan, I'm with you. The haters have made their feelings known, and it's time for them to move on if they don't like the current product. What some people don't seem to get is for satrad to become a mainstream product they must appeal to the mainstream, which means popular music and name-brand personalities. You have a great suggestion, to spend a week with terrestrial and then come back and say with a straight face that SiriusXM is the same thing.

well said, Ryan.

I'd be lost without the service.

However, let me repeat my drumbeat: the cost of the units is too high. There is a significant economic barrier to entry to the service unless you buy a new fatcory install. SIRI should be selling units at or below cost and amortizing the subsidized acquisition cost over the life of a subscriber's contract.

For example, why sell an XMP3 for $280 and hopew that the person buys a monthly subscription. Instead sell the unit for $50, plus a three year subscription and trala, you have a new subscriber and have paid for the unit.

15 minute stern commercial breaks for products most people would never use, replay of bubba, Mojo nixon running his trap on the country stations. I brought my S2 in the car with me today for the first time in months and I will probably stream slacker on the way home.

To all the XM people Sirius also changed at the merger. I was happy for the merger. Stern and the XM music channels was a win in my opinion but something happened and it was not good!

I have Slacker and I listen in my car. I have a computer and an Mp3 player, anything worth listening to on SatRad is availible on the internet a few hours later and i throw it on my Mp3 player to listen later(with all the comercials edited out) Why pay for SatRad when they could give a rat's ass what their costumers think anyway? Join the real revolution ! Pirate everything !

I too signed up for the music specifically the variety . I listen to a whole bunch of genres, metal, country,some old school dance, it was this variety that first got me to sign up. when the boneyard returned from its hiatus, I was dissapointed to say the least not only was it totally different ,it was not even close to what it was. and hair nation has the same "fm" repitition I wanted to get away from. the programming has become what we all wanted to get away from,"fm" style ,same artists, same songs,over and over. The medium has such a huge potential, the ability to really blow fm away yet it falls back in line with it and fails the end consumer miserably. we need siriusxm to step up and take it to the next level not fall backwards. only time will tell if they really are concerned with the customer . hopefuly they are listening and that some of our concerns are addressed.

I love how from March 11 to March 18, SIRI climbed more than 180 percent, but no mention of the stock climb in this article, and no mention or special post on Orbitcast.

THAT is something positive, yet gets no mention.

From 14 to 33 cents, now holding relatively steady at 33 cents.

And no mention.

If the company doesn't want doom and gloom, how about they start SERIOUSLY listening to the customers? And I'm not just talking about programming. Every aspect of this company has gotten worse. From the FM-consulted (Sabo Consulting programs all the channels you hear on Sirius XM, thought thats what I was paying to get AWAY from) channels, to the poor customer service, to the lack of communications, to the "we are all knowing and you should support us because we make the best decisions" stance that the company has taken needs to change.

I was a fan in the company, because the company created a reason to be a fan. They communicated upcoming changes, they were there to answer the phones and questions, had knowledgeable customer service, etc. Now, everything they do is either communicated after the fact, or buried in a press release. This company is very much run like ter radio in mentality. And when was the last time you talked to a regular person, and they asked you "hey, did you hear ..... on the radio this morning?" The terrestrial model isn't working, and needs to be completely retooled. This was something XM knew, and something Sirius has forgotten.

Is it better than FM or other choices out there? Sure, but barely. Are piss poor customer service, lack of communication from the company, and getting snubbed enough to make me not want to recommend this company? ABSOLUTELY. I now recommend people stay AWAY from this company, whereas before I couldn't shut up about how much I loved it.

It IS time to make a difference. But it's going to require the support and initiative of the company to do it. No "blogger" is going to make the difference, as you are already talking to the people who have decided to love it or hate it.

Mr. Sagir, this was a great article. I am tired of all the negativity. Most have some ax to grind. It is not perfect, but nothing else can come close if you listen to music, news, weather, sports and more. For me and others that I know it replaces television to some extent, because of content and lack of commercials, and the fact that you can use it while doing other things. But there is no doubt that a lot of media interests would like to see it disappear. Could one ever trust a used car salesman to compare the benefits of a new car vs. a used one?

Ryan,

I applaud you for your comments.

I am one of the biggest complainers here on Orbitcast against
SiriusFM Radio. However, you need to understand why there
are many people like myself who have resorted to bashing the
service as often as we can....

SiriusFM has not put their subscribers first. They are very much
aware that subscribers are not only unhappy with the channel
lineup changes, but the constant amount of repetition and DJ
babble that has made their service no better than FM radio.

XM had it all together in their heyday. They would never have
pulled any of the bullshit that Sirius has been doing to their music
programming.

And to address the comment that XM would have gone under if
not for the merge --- well, the same thing could have been said
about SIRIUS. Both companies were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Truth be told, SIRIUS never was able to bring in as many subscribers
as XM prior to the merge and the ONLY reason they brought in as
many as they did was because of Howard Stern.

Sirius has done everything they could to clone FM radio. They
listen to the same music consultants who ruined that medium and
right now there is a guy name Jon Zellner who REFUSES to acknowledge
that subscribers are pissed off over the lackluster music programming.
I know for a fact he has fielded phone calls from angry subscribers who
told him flat out that SiriusFM has gone down the shitter ever since he
came to the company.

After the merger SIRIUS further diminished the quality of their
service by putting morning zoo talk shows on their music channels.
Imagine your favorite music being interrupted by college interns talking
up toilet humor and forcibly laughing at each other's jokes.

This is not what satellite radio should be.

I just hope you understand, Ryan, that it is very difficult for many of
us to remain positive here when we have spent moths and years trying
to convince the powers that be at Sirius that they need to stop dumbing
down their music programming. The company won't even even
acknowledge the amount of complaints they have received.

Want solutions? Have many.

* Widen the playlists. A decades channel should play ALL the hits of
that era not the top 500 over and over again.

* DJ banter should be cut down substantially or better yet, eliminated.
The days of hokey DJs trying to do their own shows and making themselves the focal point instead of the music went out with FM radio.

* No talk shows on the music channels.

* Increase the bitrate so that people can listen to music that resembles that of CD audio instead of soup cans with strings.

I think many here have already expressed similar views. There is a problem in which SIRIUS refuses to acknowledge and fix. As long as they continue their policy of "the customer is always wrong" we will continue to bash the company in an effort to educate those that are thinking of becoming a subscriber.

Thanks for the opportunity for us to post our opinions freely here.

"Give it a shot. Take one week and listen to terrestrial radio again during your commute. It's terrible."

The fact that terrestrial radio sucks does not make it okay for satellite radio to suck somewhat less. That's like going to a fancy expensive restaurant, getting a terrible meal, and saying "This is delicious! It's SO MUCH better than Alpo!!"

I really don't care how it compares to FM, MP3 players, etc-- the problem is that XM today is far worse than XM was before the channel merger.

I don't see why any company should be praised for lowering their quality (while raising prices, no less!). They deserve the bad publicity. If SiriusXM wants people to continue happily paying for a premium service, they need to PROVIDE a premium service. End of story.

"The reality is that we still love this service. You just can't get this level of entertainment anywhere else.

Give it a shot. Take one week and listen to terrestrial radio again during your commute. It's terrible. And while Slacker's great it doesn't have the news, talk and entertainment that satellite radio has, plus it's hard to connect in your car. I love the iPhone and the iPod, but it suffers from similar problems that Slacker does. They're all viable competitors, but for someone who's been listening to satellite radio for years, they just don't live up."

The potential for an unmatched level of entertainment is certainly there and has been for some time, however in light of the content changes post-merger I'd have to say that aside from the sports and even talk shows, the entertainment that SXM offers is more on par with terrestrial, sans commercials. I listen to Hair Nation and I hear the same Dokken tracks almost daily, Boneyard seems to go a little deeper but then I'll hear the same Scorpions tracks every day. There used to be a time when my tuneselect would go off several times an hour, now I'm lucky it goes off once an hour.

If SXM wants to retain people and get new subs they'll need to offer up what people want. Noone wants to pay $16 - $20 a month to hear the same tired tracks they can for free or that they can avoid by plugging in their ipod to their car's AUX jack. Sure, Stern O&A and R&F are fun but for $20?

I'm still a sub and I do enjoy it but not anywhere near as much as I used to - the only reason I'm still here is because they cut my sub cost in half for a 1 year commitment, and I'm hoping they'll realize their music programming mitakes and correct them within the year - otherwise I might just be out. I refused to pay the $3 for streaming when it used to (and should be) free, especially since Slacker is free and I can use it on my PC's and blackberry - again, for free.

Regarding slacker and iphone usage in the car, it's really not that hard - most in-dash receivers have compatibility where you can control it from the unit and worst case you just connect it to the AUX jack. I've done this with my Blackberry and Slacker app running and it works fine - sounds fantastic as well.

I'm all for positivity, as subs we are invested in the company but if the company refuses to address the content then why should we stick around? Does anyone really want DJs's hitting the post for $15 a month??

Perhaps the doom and gloom is justified. Post-Merger programming is a disaster. I would almost rather listen to constant Terrestrial advertisements than the Sirius/XM current crap.

For the most part I have stayed away from being negative. I use my XM everyday but have been entertained by my mobile phone of late. I decided to stay a sub for one more year. I have been a sub since 04. I will wait till Jan. 2010. For what you ask? Just to see the prices not go up. To see if MLB stays on and to see how the service evolves. Many agree that the merger was a mess but it need time to settle in. I support Sat. radio even though alot has changed. Now I'm looking forward to some more good times. I'm hoping.....

I steal the howard stern show 5 scratch that 4 days a week and i get my music else where. To the tard that said try terrestrial radio for a week- why would i put myself thru that when there are so many other options Slacker, pandora ,Ipod hell even cd's ! SatRad is for fuckTards that don't know any better ! ALL DJ'S Must Die !

My positive feedback on the service .... I am a big fan with 5 radios and love the service.
Many times I have said "hearing that one (new, surprise,cool) song paid for the radio this month"

My positive suggestion for XM/Sirius is this ....
Add a solid method to get customer feedback on your webpage. Testimonials/Suggestions/Forums etc.
New customers have NO idea how much we love these radios - plain & simple.
FANs will give you new ideas on how to sell more radios & get retail going again etc. etc.

Slacker has a link for Suggestions/Comments.
Slacker has a Forum discussion on what people love/hate.

A company that doesn't get feedback from their customers is in trouble.

I had five subscriptions to XM. The programming deteriorated badly and it was no longer worth paying for. I agree with Ryan. No other platform can bring this depth of programming to a car or home. Sirius XM is simply poorly managed. They are not creating an incentive by providing great programming like we have seen them do in the past. I am one listener who was quite cognizant of the quality of the former programmers at XM. Their talents could be heard on every channel. They are now experimenting to see how little they can get away with. Sirius XM telephone customer service is infuriating. Spend 20 minutes with one rep. and then can transferred to another after they have decided what to do with you. Do you know how hard it is to cancel a Sirius XM account? Many phone calls later and I'm still trying to wrap it up. It breaks my heart that Sirius XM has fallen into disrepair. From a technical standpoint, it is miraculous and exciting. Someday, I hope the programming will return to the way it was. What a great day that will be.

The experience I used to get on satellite radio before I cancelled two years ago (geez, it's been that long?) I now get on the iPod/iPhone. Slacker iPhone app has 100 stations, and the slacker programmers listen to the listeners. There was a request on the slacker foums for a 'Beyond Jazz' type channel, and lo and behold they now have 'Modern Jazz' on the service that is a dead ringer for the old Beyond Jazz, minus the DJs of course.

Slacker handles the music side nicely, when I want talk I have Public Radio, Wunderradio, AOL Radio, Flycast, and a few others that more than take the place of what I listened to on satellite radio. Including the national ESPN Radio feed available on Wunderradio. Then I have about 8GB of my own collection on my 16GB iPhone which does fine when I'm not in cellular range. That and podcasts, and oh yeah, a phone, email, web access, messaging and a lot more in the way of non-music apps. Also emergency fire, ems and police scanners, plus weather radio, which is way more timely than XM Traffic/Weather and Emergency Alert.

Whether satellite radio lives or dies based on their own mistakes is no longer my cross to bear. With everything available I have now, satellite radio is irrelevant.

Problem with the company is they stopped looking to add and attract new subscribers and spent their time devising ways(Tier pricing and extra fees for internet listening) to nickel and dime their current subscribers.

Too funny. Ryan you are nothing but a sellout yourself with the TSS crap. Give me a break.

The only reason you are concerned is because this is your meal ticket. Satrad dies and you have to get a real job like the rest of these idiots. But you deserve it for going into such a narrowly-focused genre.

Sirius XM can fail for all I care. Something new, something better will then come around and that company won't make the same mistakes.

Ron & Fez, noon to 3

I still love XM, but it's mostly for O&A/Ron and Fez these days. My disappointment comes with the fact that Mel seems to want to do away with everything that made satellite unique in the first place. Just get rid of the DJs on the music channels and axe the top 40 stuff and bring back the deep playlists that XM had, and this company would go a long, long way towards improving its image and satisfying many complaints from the customers.

I'm not going to cancel my service. As long as Ron and Fez are on, I'm keeping my radio. But there used be a time when I was passionate about so much more than just XM 202. If Mel would return the music stations to what they were on XM, it would be a huge improvement and would make the service even more valuable again. It would also show that Mel is listening to his customers, which would in turn grow confidence in the company again.

I also think that if Mel finds a way to turn things around, customers will come back. People aren't buying new cars right now, but they could easily buy an Inno or something and hook it into their car. People are just afraid to invest a few hundred dollars into something that they think might not be around in another year. Once Sirius-XM finds a way to start substantially paying down its debt (thus making bankruptcy less of a possibility) and changing up its marketing strategy to focus on inexpensive ways to add the service to your car/listen online, confidence will start to grow in the company again.

But first and foremost, bring back the deeper and more unique XM playlists and tell the DJs to shut the hell up. And stop it with the artist exclusive channels already.

"....and there are some FM stations that are better programmed than comparable Sirius XM channels right now."

Thank You. This is the root of the problem and as you can see, more people are bringing this to light.

Sirius needs to move away from the FM radio mentality and start thinking of itself as being a serious music delivery service that offers wider playlists of music you would not ordinarily hear on FM.

Right now, they actually offer less variety of radio playlists than some FM stations.

I'm sorry but I need to see some sign from management first.

Up until last October I was a big supporter of SATRAD. I had a sticker on my car, I talked people into trying the service, my whole family sang along with the top of the hour jingle on chan. 6, & I even was stupid enough to buy some stock. In an amazingly short time it has almost all been destroyed. The final slap was during the last cc when Mel said that the customers love the product.....he isn't paying attention.

I can no longer recommend these services to my friends.

I'm willing and eager to get back to the 'good old days' of satellite radio but management needs to make the first move. Almost anything will do....everyone here knows the issues, dumb voicetracked DJs, SQ, 31kbps streaming, narrow playlists, etc. Please just show us some progress on something, anything & I'll go out and praise the service again.

What you have here is not about whether Sirius XM
is good or bad. No dout it is a great product and service. But what you have here is a bunch of losers, who either shorted, sold out when the stock dropped, or competition betting against the company.

Let me be blunt and to the point:

Merge many of the music channels in the same genre. Get rid of the artist vanity channels. Stop the DJ b.s.. Make the talk channels at least sound like AM radio. Give me at least 96 kbps on music channels. Not too hard to do.

Sirius XM is garbage musically. There is no positive spin that could be placed on it without lying. It sucks. My MP3 player has much more variety as opposed to the same tracks and same artists Sirius XM plays on a loop. I’m not interested in constantly listening to hit music. Album singles get old really fast and are rarely the best song on an album in my opinion. I cannot bear to hear Seether – Breakdown or Slipknot – Dead Memories so many times. Sirius XM has played these songs as well as many others into the ground. Go deeper and play some different tracks instead of shoving hit after hit down listeners throats. Expose people to new artists and tracks. Playing only what is popular in a select genre is the worst possible way to program a music channel. That is the format of terrestrial radio. I’m not comparing it to terrestrial radio because nothing is worse then that but Sirius XM has nothing to brag about musically. It’s the same programming over and over again. The annoying disk jockeys and their incoherent babble only adds to the unsatisfactory music channels.

Live365 provides a superior music listening experience. Fans who are passionate about the music of the artists program each station. People who live for the music and actually put some thought into programming a music station. Not some programming executive who just appeals to the mainstream and only does it for the paycheck and could really give a shit about the music.

Personally if it wasn’t for Sirius Patriot, XM America Right, and XM 165 Talk Radio for political talk or for league orientated sports talk like MLB Home Plate (though I agree with a previous poster who mentioned the host changes on Home Plate aren’t great) and NFL Radio, My two subscriptions would be history. I could never subscribe exclusively for music. It would be a major rip off. I’m confident that applies to many others as well. A portion of those who subscribe for Howard Stern or Opie & Anthony would ditch Sirius XM if those respective shows weren’t part of it.

There are far better alternatives for people just interested in music. To be a respectable music provider Sirius XM needs major improvements. Until Sirius XM fixes its faults it deserves the negative sentiment weighing against it. I hope new quarterly subscriber numbers continue to plunge until fixes are made. (Hint: Fire John Zellner for a start). That is the only Sirius XM will learn. Subscribers should continue to pound away, cancel subscriptions, and rip the company on its faults; otherwise we will continue to be fed the musical horseshit Sirius XM is offering.

But for talk, sports, and news all in one place I can’t complain or criticize Sirius XM. It is the best you can get in that respect. Fix the music programming!

SiriusXM can not make the playlists but so deep because a FEW of you diehards would like them to (although they have, and also keep in mind there are almost 20 million subscribers). They need to and are trying to sell to a mass audience, and mass audiences do not request obscure and unknown music and artists. Why do you think some songs NEVER become popular? Bc they're no good! You buy the product for no commercials, coast to coast use, the ease of use, EXCLUSIVE talk and entertainment and non-censorship. You're still introduced to new music and songs THAT ARE GOOD you would not have known or heard in a while. Judging by the steady low churn rate, there are only a handful who are upset with the merger, mostly from the bitter XM side.
On a sidenote, I don't believe anyone (on a satellite radio blog) who says they don't find much difference or prefer terrestrial to satellite, get a clue.

Ryan,

Do you have ties with Sirius? I know they read this blog because one of their employees actually tried to chime in and post something negative about something I had posted.

What are your relations with Sirius management?

You claim that you want to do everything in your power to improve the outlook upon satellite radio. However, if it doesn't start with Sirius management and some sort of indication from them that they are willing to listen to their subscribers, then I am afraid your efforts are going to be fruitless.

The problem here is that you want us to improve our attitude when the attitude of Sirius management itself has essentially remained the same.

I am afraid that if you want us to be more positive here on Orbitcast the change is going to have to come from Sirius first because quite frankly, as it stands, there is nothing for us to be positive about right now.

Some of you folks are delusional about the sound quality. Keep in mind that every time a new channel is added, the other channels (pie slices if you will, the pie doesn’t get any bigger) bit rates gets smaller. It is now around 34kbps (average) for a music channel (even less for talk radio – 16kbps). In case you’re not aware: a minimum usable MP3 bit rate would be 96kbps and an acceptable bit rate would be 128kbps (equal to the new online stream). A complete (pre merger, numbers are now even lower) list is posted on this blog under the Odyssey entry.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/car-audio/107758-there-reason-my-xm-sounds-like-poop.html

Sorry - too late for me. Went to Slacker a few months ago. Could not take it anymore.

I came to XM because of the music, and left XM because of the music.

Maybe someday they will get it figured out. I hope so, I really do.

Jerry

I'll be brief. I used to be the biggest Sirius/XM cheerleader ever. Loved the early version of both services, ended up going with Sirius because of Stern. Was a 4 year sub, and it went steadily downhill from day 1. Slowly and surely, they have morphed it from a unique product and superior listening experience to the same old FM cheese. And it is unforgivable the audio quality hasn't improved in YEARS.
Note to mgmt: if you hire the same people who
f**ked up regular radio, they will f**k up satellite. And they did. I cancelled January, and I get all my music from Slacker now. The only thing I miss is Stern. But he alone, ain't worth it.

Personally I have gone back to mostly listening to terrestrial radio. The playlists may not be as good but I am getting where I cannot stand the current bitrate on the Sirius XM music channels. My personal reccomendation is limit the "artist only" channels and a few other niche channels to the Internet service where (hopefully) bandwidth is not a problem and get the remaining music channels back to something reasonable.

I'm not sure what the problem is, but Sirius and XM are awesome services there only problem has been lack of marketing and new more innovative hardware on the Sirius side of things.

Want positive comments and for us to start recomending sat rad again?

Unflip the frigging switch that merged/axed channels.

Ohhhhhh, you fired over 100 XM Music people that actualy GOT "IT".....or AFDI,,,. Damn it's going to cost a bundle to hire the right people to straighten this phuckup out.

Ryan I have enjoyed O'cast but its reminding me of that protest site, Siruisly Screwed that sold out.

FYI...Doom and gloom may be working for some people who live in a world of negativity..but I recently paid for a lifetime subscription after having a subscription for the past 5 years...my brother paid for the yearly subscription and is going to get a lifetime subscription for his wife's truck at Easter time...so if you want to continue to focus on the negative aspects of the company feel free, but I enjoy the listening and yes I am an investor with over 10,000 shares!!!

DECADES CHANNELS SHOULD HAVE LARGER PLAY LISTS!!

I hope the list of haters, their IP addresses, and messages are being forwarded to the SEC.

This case is just getting started and I hope someone goes to jail. The article points out that these creeps - just won't leave - which makes it VERY interesting.

The question is why? Why won't they leave if there are better options available? Why are they on the boards? ALL DAY?

Someone has an agenda, and it's time for the public to know who they are, and why they spend their entire day bashing.

What I find funny is, that the stock is rising, the company is doing MUCH better and these guys just want to point out that they hate the company.

They are sticking out like a sore thumb now and it should be raising some serious eye brows at the SEC.

My bet is they are working the case from many angles and asking Yahoo, Google, Orbitcast, etc... to hand over some information, because it could help in finding the J E R K that made the death threat on Cramer, way back when, as well.

You shorts, bashers, etc. are toast! Get lost.

If you like another Radio service, great. But, you can drop the daily hate, because if you don't, you may just get caught up in a major investigation.

Got the XMP3, it is the best thing that I have ever bought.

Slacker sucks.

Hip hop nation DJ's rule!

Hip Hop Nation 10pm-12am, and 12am-2am EVERY NIGHT IS WORTH THE PRICE OF A SUB!!!! Yet I can also listen to baseball games across the country....or Playboy or Martha...Oprah...Howard...anyone who bashes this company is a Phuktard and should not be paid any attention.

Love SXM DJ's.

SIRIUS XM RULES!

"Over the next few months, I'm dedicating every resource I have available to helping improve this company. To spreading the word about what makes satellite radio different. To pointing out opportunities, and offering solutions. To enabling this community of ours - that means you - into becoming a force for improvement, rather than a force for negativity."

WHY? Please tell me why you are going to make it your issue to help this company when this company refuses to help themselves? Are you their new marketing team? How well will you be paid for this? I just don't see any good reason why should would try so hard when they have proven that they wont try equally as hard.

F XM. They killed SP from NM and that App along would have saved them.

Those two letters of the alphabet can rot in hell. Fuck Em

Thanks Ryan, I agree with your new approach. There are 19M subscribers who agree that SAT radio is worth the subscription. As the credit market is repaired and auto sales spike... and they will with the deductible tax from the stimulus package (one of the few worthwhile initiatives), SiriusXM will build subs quickly. Give it another 6 months to get back in shape. It will happen and SiriusXM will be ready with the OEM's and the iPhone app and other co-marketing opportunities with Liberty. SiriusXM is destined to become a huge cash-cow and I for one will be there to take advantage of it. Thanks again for the new focus as I am sick of all the doom-and-gloom too.

There is no reason to limit satrad as a niche product that will never appeal to the mainstream. It was just 25 years ago or so people said anyone who paid for TV was nuts, there are people who still feel that way today. SiriusXM is still very much in its infancy and finding its way. I think the point of Ryan's post was the constant string of posts from those who repeat the same inaccuracies...such as everyone is displeased with Sirius...then Orbitcast, as the top source of satrad info, is helping to destroy it when its purpose is to promote it. And questioning Ryan's "ties to Sirius management" is beyond childish. The person who posted that should be ashamed. Is it so terrible that someone actually supports Sirius that you have to question their integrity? The posts about you being a bitter failed applicant for an air shift must be true.

I think there are many reasonable complaints listed here, but I can't stand hearing people bitch and moan constantly. Cancel your subscription and go away or offer constructive feedback...

This is the most pathetic bunch of posting broke jokes. You guys need to take some happy pills and get a life. How could you hate a product so much? I don't like SatRAD but i check orbitcast and post negative blogs. You guys all work for the NAB and regular radio. I have 7 subscriptions and enjoy the shit out of my radios. You corny losers that take time out of your day who are not even subscribers ( probably work for slacker or pandora or regular turd herbie free shitty radio) are straight suckers. I miss my favorite channel wahhhh. Get a job and life losers.

I don't like to have to purchase individual music. Somedays i feel like rap and some days techno. I also have saved incredible mixes with BIggie smallz behind a techno beat. Sometimes I am in the mood for 80's or even sirius 1 music. I don't mind someone talking every once in a while to break up the music and tell us something about the music which is really cool. My Stiletto has 470 songs that I know I like and I bought a lifetime script on all radios. I have had my S50 for five years and made my money 10 times with all the parties I turned out with endless music to nights that never ended.

I got sick of it cause i invested heavily and lost a fortune. But I got over my loses and started to focus on my life and career and realized that I believed in a great idea and product. I was robbed by Goldman Sachs, NAB, FCC and Kramer. My investment was terrorized by all of the above. The economy is in the shitter as well.

Everyone posting negative blogs and still checking out orbitcast (screaming loser) is your traditional sore loser that nobody likes!
Point fingers and pop shit but lehman and bear are out of business. My sirius shares are on the rise and I bought 100,000 share for .14 cents and I am close to making my comeback. Liberty would not of invested in a company that they didn't believe could make it.

All you haters could eat a Dick with a capital D! Get over it. Don't blame Satrad cause you lost your money. Imagine you invested in bear sterrns. That is something that is hard to understand.

I think it'll be an uphill batttle judging from some of the comments here, but I think it's definitely doable...You're right; as satellite radio's biggest fans, we are also its biggest critics.

On one hand, as paying customers, I think we have as much right, maybe morre right, as the shareholder to complain. At the same time, if you've listened to terrestrial radio lately, you've got to admit that what we have in Sirius-XM is still 10X better than what AM/FM has to offer. Just look at O&A; the showw is a thousand times better now that it's back to being exclusively on satellite. I admit, I think my programming was better when I had XM-only and Sirius wasn't "helping" to run some music channels. At the same time, I'd still recommend satellite radio to any friend or family member without hesitation.

If I can be a shameless post-whore, I'd invite everyonee to check out This post that I wrote from the subscriber perspective on the state of satellite radio back on January 30, just barely a couple months after the channels were merged. Also, read the linked post that I wrote a couple days earlier about the return of the Boneyard and how it can be fixed. In some ways, it'll look like I'm complaining a bit, but I think in the end you'll see that I'd rather have my XM than an AM/FM-only system. I warn you, my stuff's not as good as Ryan's, but check it out, and I hope you'll agree that some satellite is better than no satellite.

It is amazing that in an article that ask people to be positive, so many cry babies just bitch. If you don't like satrad as it now exists cancel your subscription, stop bitching and get off of this website. Go to a terr radio site and sing the praises of top 40, and outlaw country.

Mel the un-well hasn't (and never will) change he is still pushing the new car angle.

And now is coming out with money making schemes that bilk folks on all levels (pay more to have good xmro kbps).

Un do all changes bring channels back to directv that where done away with (virus)

While your at it smit-can Mel & John then and ONLY then will any real change come to xmsirius.

"Over the next few months, I'm dedicating every resource I have available to helping improve this company."

I fear this may be the end of impartial coverage, and mark the beginnings of a P.R. blog.

We shall see.

I can't relate to all of these negative comments. My whole family is on this service from my 17 year old nephew to my 72 year old mother and we all love it. I don't have time to explore everything that is on my radio except on long vacations. Good lord, we even get French pop, BBC 1 (which consistently plays cutting edge material), and a movie soundtrack station. How much more diverse do you want? Someone here complained that they didn't play deep cuts from the Scorpions. Gawd, who else besides you would want to hear deep cuts from the Scorpions? I'm all for diversity. But grade Z quality songs from grade D bands? No way! Here's an idea: buy their albums if you are such a big fan. You have eccentric tastes and the rest of us should not be held hostage to them. This is consumer driven media; the stations have to attract enough customers to justify their costs. I can remember a station that played nothing but computer generated trance music. It bombed. As far as sound quality goes, I have one of my radios hooked up to a first class sound system and the sound blows me away, No way is this 56 bit. CD quality sound? Sure. Then we'll only have room for 15 stations. We don't need cd quality sound for old mono records on the decades stations and hip hop music recorded on someone's laptop in the bedroom of their apartment.
If all of these haters would leave the service, Sirius-XM could concentrate on the people who love it. We sure don't need another station dedicated to the tastes of a few hundred people. They can always get that online.

"You guys all work for the NAB and regular radio."
so if you don't like the direction Sirius/xm is at then you work for the NAB and regular radio...I guess since you think everythings fine, enjoying "the shit" out of your 7 subscriptions, you must work for Sirus/XM?

"It is amazing that in an article that ask people to be positive, so many cry babies just bitch"

not really much to be positive over...hey i will pull up lithium online at work today and see if it has gotten any better than it was a month or so ago.

looks like the "quit whining" people are starting to rise up. If you wanted a fan page, i would suggest XMfan.com. you people will fit in quite nicely over there. otherwise don't complain that others may have a differing viewpoints.

Are those that don't like the complainers Sirius subs who are used to the hits programming that we are now "enjoying" on our radios? I guess if you are happy listening to whatever is on, no matter what it is then good for you.

I find it hard to believe that the single artist channels have more listeners than the channels they replaced that offered different varieties of music.

I also think it is a sad state that as long as satrad doesn't have commercials, there will be many people that will be happy because it is "better than FM" no matter what comes out of the speakers. I subscribed to xm over sirius for a reason (it took only a one day listening to an online trial of sirius to know that I was getting bored with the repitition), and did not like the idea of the merger, and now that we have the merger, it looks like the product has changed for the worse. back in the day, there were channels on xm for just the hits, and also for those who liked something more than they could hear on FM radio. now we just get the same overplayed hits with polished terrestrial like sweepers. do they still do this one: "Lithium---Welcome to Paradiiiisse"

And no, not an NAB shill...and will not go away as long as I am a paying customer--and i can tell you my wife listens a lot more than I do...so if it was my choice to make, i probably would have cancelled both of the subs rather than just mine.

PS, i think DJ's are fine to a point..it gives it the radio feel. Also, i am not an audiophile by any means, and the quality seems fine when we are in my wifes vehicle on a road trip. so there is my positivity.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I have been stunned by the media's reporting on the company, and by many blog and forum postings I have read. The "in thing" to do has been to trash this company, and this is largely unfounded. We all have our beefs. I've expressed mine to Mr. Zellner. But I have also taken the time to tell him that I love the new lineup. As Ryan says, what would we be listening to without this amazing service?

There's a rumor going around that if you're a subber who extended your sub to keep your online streaming for free and/or you're a lifetime subber, you'll only be getting the low-quality feed of the online stream (31k) and if you want the high quality stream you need to pay the increase - I haven't seen anything confirmed but if this is true then it's another reason why it's hard for people to "keep positive" about SXM. Any chance you can look into this Ryan? I mean it sounds like a classic move from the Karmazin playbook but if it's true then why would they crap on the subbers this way?

Ryan,

The complainers like myself are here to stay and I hope God you
don't make this great blog partial towards positive comments.

As long as Sirius continues to give away its service to those of
us that have tried to cancel -- then why cancel? They don't want
to lose subscribers and are more than happy to provide their service
at huge savings to those that hate it. For that reason, I'll stay on
for Opie and Anthony.

It's a shame you have no relationship with Sirius management. That
doesn't help your cause that you will do everything in YOUR power to
make the service better. We can only HOPE that Sirius management that
does read this blog (and they do) take it upon themselves to improve
things.

I laugh at the finger pointing that there is some attempt here to manipulate stock or otherwise and that we will be under investigation. Please feel free to contact me to be the first in this big investigation.

I also want to comment on the individual a few posts back who scoffed at our comments about sound quality and that each additional channel takes a bit at the bandwidth pie. This is true, but don't forget that Sirius now has DOUBLE the bandwidth it once had through the XM merger and
should be finding ways to deliver near-CD quality sound instead of audio that breaks up in the higher tonal levels.

One last thing. There are more haters on this board than people who actually enjoy SiriusFM. We are not tossing those of you who love the
service aside, so stop trying to toss us aside. I sit here and read every
positive comment with appreciation. This is a blog that offers free speech and all of us should realize that the only way to change things
that are visibly wrong is to bring as much media attention to the problem
as possible.

I really feel that there are too many people who have not had XM since
day one and don't know what they missed during those years. What Sirius is offering to all of you is pure garbage.

What the comments from this post have shown me is that there are fairly legitimate concerns over the quality and direction of the company. And it's not one or two "haters"...there's alot of people that are not excited and are quite dissatisfied with the company.

And count me as one of them. Mel Karmazin laid it all out on the line in front of Congress when he said "We are absolutely convinced this merger will be in the best interest of consumers...This merger will give consumers more choice at a lower price and more importantly, less confusion." Less confusion? Notice how SiriusXM has these important programming press releases prepared well in advance from their dates, like the lead up to Bruce Springsteen's appearance at the Super Bowl...yet when it came down to a major channel overhaul in November...they didn't report it until...what was it...the day of the change? Now that's confusing. I think we were all led to believe also that we would have "more choices at a lower price" as Mel haphazardly said. I think it's also confusing when the CEO has pulled a fast one on the consumer (and government) by saying the standard service monthly fee will not change. Well...it has, since alot of subscribers would consider online listening as part of the standard service.

I get annoyed whenever I record a song on my Inno and senseless banter from a DJ at the beginning and/or end of the song.

Bottom line...maybe the naysayers and haters have a point. But I wish you the best of luck though in trying to prop up this service. There are plenty of benefits to satrad today...but there were a lot more benefits back in 2005 than there are now and with current state of the economy, people are far more critical about their expenses.

To add to the comment on strengths and weaknesses, here are mine:
1. The Roadhouse -- Very deep classic country station with little repetition and no gaps.
2. Willie's Place: Good honky tonk station, though too much chatter now with Bill Mac.
3. NHL and MLB -- People who watch these games alone on TV pay more than $200 per season. We get the games in radio plus 70 music channels for a bargain.
Also agree on Loft, Spectrum, Bluegrass Junction, and news/talk. A lot to be enjoyed here.

Weakness:
Only one glaring one for me: Decades. There is nothing left of them. The 80's has Boys of Summer, the 90's has Summer Girls. Maybe this is some kind of sick season joke, but these jewels of the XM lineup have been demolished until further notice. To sum up, few songs repeated, most other songs deleted.

Good blog & I heavily rely on it for SatRad goings on.

That said.........

As a long term multi-year XM subscriber I'm just plain disappointed since the merger and just can't get over certain actions.

1. Positive: "Bluesville" Thank God for that channel Still basically the same.

2. Kinda Positive: "Watercolors" Music still great but last Sunday my wife & I were sitting down to dinner and had "Watercolors" on stereo via DirecTV (as we usually do while grilling out on Sundays)and some jackassed DJ starts talking aobut golf and the golf channel.
TOTALLY A MOOD KILLER!!

3. WHY-OH-WHY: Firing of great DJ's on Willie's Place,piss poor substitutes "Soul Town", and "Area" for SUPERIOR XM channels.

4. Totally inexcusible: "Raw Dog" & "Foxhole" Trying to listen to those channels while driving is an assault to my ears.

5. "Why don't they have on P.O.T.U.S."?: "Morning Joe"(live){I love that morning news show},Chris Matthews,Rachael Maddow,& Keith Olberman previous nights shows?

I'm sorry, untill they fire those idiots who made those decisions or bring back QUALITY channels I cannot totally recommend subscribing to SatRad at present.

SiriusXM's new slogan: "We ain't as good as a pair as when we were single"

I used to think that I could not make it a day without SatRad. Sadly that ain't the case anymore.

There's a reason for the negativity. They're not really trying to appeal to an audience anymore, at least with the bastardized music channels.

My take: Sirius XM is making up for the shortfall in subscriber growth by leasing its bandwidth to special interests, as this is in essence is what the single-artist channels represent. I wouldn't be surprised if in a similar vein the composition of the playlists on the other music channels were influenced by deals with labels. This is a company strapped for cash: why wouldn't they do those deals?

So, a service that's pushing others' interests instead of trying to satisfy listeners', with fees. Not much of a future in that.

Positives:
1. The Loft
2. Spectrum
3. MLB

I miss Beyond Jazz, XCountry, Fine Tuning.

Subscribed to XM for the baseball; fell in love with the music. Would have been happy to have it remain like it was - but this is what we're stuck with and I still love it.

I listened to Springsteen, Buffett, etc., for awhile after the merge but it got old in a few weeks.

My recommendation would be the same as many of you - get rid of single artists, except for perhaps a single artist channel that alternates month-to-month between a variety of artists. Bring back the old XM channels in their place. Vox, the old channel 2, etc.

Go Sirius XM! We're pulling for you.

Ever since the channel merge The programming has been horrible! Every channel I tune into plays all the shit music from the decade the channel claims to be from. XM is killing the free spirit Sirius once had. I know everyone claims XM has such a huge track list, Who cares, its all added shit, shit that should have dissapeared with the era. I no longer listen to the music channels for 2 reasons.
1. repetative playlists on every channel
2. genre specific channels playing music that doesnt belong to the mentioned genre.
Get rid of the useless non radio celebrities. No one gives a shit what Tom Petty or Bob Dylan have to say, quite frankly, I dont care what they listen to either, and I love thier music!
Stop with the stupid bumpers between songs! Lithium and 80's on 8 are the 2 worst channels for this bullshit. If this is what fred, ethel and lucy sounded like, You can shitcan these channels too.
Why are they replaying american top 40 countdowns?? This is the shit that drove me away from fm radio. Will Casey Kasem die already!!
Am I the only listener under the age of 50?? Clearly the programmers are all washed up fm radio flunky's. Why hire old talent on a new service?? The only person that can pull this off is Howard Stern, keep it at that.
If o&a and r&f cant survive on fm radio, why are they employed here?? Isnt this supposed to be a step up from fm radio?? How can a company recruit new paying subscribers when they are offering old fm rejects?? I am in no way trying to offend fans of o&a or r&f, I just think they and their listeners can fuck off. This is supposed to be the future of broadcasting, instead they employ the used up shit people stopped listening to years ago.
If this company is going to move forward with its image, it needs to move forward with its programming. XM is clearly about replaying the old, groomed shit everyone and their grandmothers are used to. Sirius was always about trying new things, having a little more of an edge in everything they did. Now we have XM. So sad, such a bright future this idea had, now the idiots who ran fm radio into the ground are programming siriusxm. How lame.

If Mel really thinks the Doom and Gloom is having a tremendous impact on the consumer buying the product, then why in the hell doesn't HE do something that would have an even bigger impact on the consumer.....listen to the Goddamn consumer!!! They ignore the subscribers, they lie to the subscribers, they promise not to raise prices... but do anyway. They have stripped the programming of it's unique and exclusive qualities, raising the ire of of everybody who bought into the promise of getting "The Best Radio On Radio." If Mel & Co. are looking for the reason for the pessimism, all they need to do is look in the mirror. They have done nothing to create enthusiasm for the service, they don't advertise, the customer service is a nightmare, and they keep offering less for more; all the while maintaining their smug arrogance and defiant disregard for the millions of people who wait month after month for this company to show them just the tiniest sliver of respect.

To say that we rarely offer solutions, or offer advice to solve the problems is preposterous! I am on this and other sites all the time, and for many months have done nothing but read constuctive, common sense advice on a daily basis. The problem is that the COMPANY DOESN'T LISTEN. Not even a little bit. Gloom and Doom should surprise no one - the biggest surprise is that the subscribers aren't rioting in the streets and protesting outside of Sirius/XM's headquarters. Based on the mistreatment and betrayal from these mamagement clowns, we have every right to.

Ryan - your mission statement proclaiming your commitment to do everything in your power to improve the company is commendable. However, it is the companies obligation to the subscribers to dedicate every resource available to improve the company - much more so than it is yours. We aren't paying you - we are paying THEM! Don't confuse advice and constuctive criticism for negativity. Or bashing. Many times it is posted because the person cares about satellite radio and wants it to be something other than pay FM. If the company had the same vision for satellite radio as the critics do, then the service would be phenominal and the criticicm would dissipate.The subscribers are worn out from being neglected. It's very simple; if they want the doom and gloom to go away, all they have to do is pay attention to the subscribers, and make a real commitment to their happiness.

Until this company changes its attitude towards the subscribers, and the quality of the programming, then they can expect more gloom and doom for the foreseeable future. You get back what you give - give nothing = get nothing in return. It's simple human nature, and this company, as far as common sense is involved, is absolutely CLUELESS!

Simply put........

SteveO is right.

I had a conversation with my wife about a year ago in which she questioned me as to why I didn't like being around any of her friends and usually made a beeline for the basement or my den whenever they came over. I told her that I loved her and that she was fun to be around with but that her friends were typical women who like to ruminate endlessly about their problems without ever either 1) taking some active steps to solve their problems (ex.: dump the loser boyfriend who has a drug problem, tell the interfering mother-in-law to "F" off, get some exercise instead of obsessing to everyone about how fat you are), 2) Accepting that they can't or won't solve the problem and move on and suck it up. She told me that women like to bitch and that it is entertaining for them - they enjoy this sort of thing. And I replied that that was why I made an escape whenever they came over. I didn't want to listen to it.
My point here is that this is going to be my last post here (I know, "Hooray!" "Get lost" "Good riddance") because too many posters here are like my wife's friends: stuck on bitchin and moanin about the loss of something that is never coming back (What XM and Sirius was 5-7 years ago - the way things used to be, "If only..." attitudes, "How could they?" etc.), ruminating endlessly about something they have no control over or can't change, a refusal to accept what they can't change, and being stuck there for an eternity. Too many people here are like that damned coffee club my wife insists on having over - complaint city, moan, ache, and groan, "how awful!" and they can't move on. If I saw anyone except Ryan doing anything positive, it would be different. I'm headed to my den and to the basement to get away from your bitching. You can't change things so you bitch. You won't change things (by canceling yoru satrads and moving on with your life) so you are no better than the wacko woman who sticks with her coked up boyfriend month after month, does nothing to get rid of him, and then races to my wife's kitchen to complain about the way he is treating her. DUMP HIM! OR SHUT THE F UP! If this(XM SIRIUS) is hurting you, you are choosing to let it hurt you by keeping up your subscriptions going. You are as big a loser as these crazy bitches. I know, "YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Yes, I do! You love the pain. You love the drama. You love complaining. And you're living in the past!
As for me, I love my XM. Big time. And so does my whole family. Apparently, 19 million subscriptions say that a hell of a lot of people like it - that's a lot more than the few dozen who post here. There's only a few people moaning and groaning - the anons here. Certainly not the 19 million who keep paying month after month and keep buying radios for their home and car.
Enjoy stewing in your juices. I think you like it.
I'm gone and that's not one less subscriber - just one less person to listen to all of your Oprah style moaning and groaning.

People are entitled to their opinions of course, but if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. If there are things you don't like let the management know. If there are things you do like, let then know that too.

I loved Sirius as a stand alone service and feel equally as positive after the merge. I had bought 1000 shares of Sirius and 100 shares of XM back in 2006, I stil have it, and I have faith that the stock will rise again, not to 40 and 50 but to the high single and low double digit dollars. Not tomorrow but in a few years. The service is too unique and too good for it not to;if the funding can be found and if management continues to innovate.
Right now there is not another service where I can drive practically anywhere in this country and "keep the same station on" if I want or change the genre at will.

I can listen to PBS, Talk Radio, Stern or CNN. I can listen to any sports I choose to, and this week I can, and will, listen to any of the March Madness bball games in their entirety.

So count me in as a member of the pro 19M!

Actually those who doubt we can make a difference with
bitching and moaning are WRONG.

This is a growing grass roots effort. You can see the increasing
amount of unhappy subscribers who post to this blog and other
sites on a daily basis.

It's no longer the vocal minority complaining.

Sooner or later someone at Sirius is going to take notice.
The complaints are going to be too numerous to the point that
it will deter potential subscribers who read these sites prior to
making their subscription commitments.

Sooner or later there is going to be a management shakeup
over there and hopefully someone who is truly aware of what
is being broadcast on the Internet is going to make the necessary
changes.

NJRonbo,

These people who complain about the complainers are total hypocrites who evidently settle for any mediocre shit that comes their way, deluding themselves into believing that everything is wonderful. They just don't get it; if not held to a higher standard, this company will try to appeal to the lowest common denominator - and then we really will have pay FM on our hands. Or worse. I am not willing to settle for anything less than the "Best Radio On Radio." That's what they promised, and that's what we are paying for. Anything less is unacceptable. Satellite radio will never reach its potential if people praise this company for being ordinary.

Your comment sums things up in a nutshell, and I agree wholeheartedly!

I had a total of 4 Sirius/XM radios for several years...when Sirius made the change, I cancelled and found out I was paying for one radio that I didn't even have for a period of a couple of years....coming out of my American Express. Then
Sirius started calling me to get me back. I tried to get a credit for the radio that I didn't have and could never really talk to any one that could help me....only the sales people.
They gave me an 800 number to call but I spent
too much time trying to get to a "real" person.
I won't be back. I miss many of the XM shows too much and they owe me.

People would also be a little happier if new technology would surface. A new kind of radio, some kind of new gadget? Something. And to be a little biased, why are O&A treated like step children? Give them a little respect.

Happy that someone brought up the way O&A are being treated
by this service. Not only are they being treated like unwanted
stepchildren, but Sirius has been editing the replay show's
content. So much for a service that touts themselves as being
"uncensored."

Furthermore, this past Monday, O&A talked about Sirius' lackluster
music programming and the problem with DJs that blabber all over
the music. Opie commented that XM knew how to use DJs sparingly,
but Sirius has a different philosophy where they want their talent to
talk as much as possible. Jim Norton commented that he is sick of
Sirius' attempt to sound like FM radio.

Further discussion regarding O&A and SIRIUS.

To show the kind of narrow-minded twits that are management
at Sirius....

O&A are being moved from a huge studio in about a week or two
to what is being called "closet space" over at Sirius.

Furthermore, they will not be allowed an in-studio audience
and PalTalk is being taken away from them as well because management
sees it as a threat to people receiving free service feed.

You can see the difference between the creative and free-thinking
minds that once ran XM and the nerdly suits that run Sirius.

This is why their music service is complete shit and will continue
to be until the day new open-minded and creative management steps in.

"Mel had told the subscribers his plans when this all started, but everyone got offended. The company will be adding more stations that play deeper music"

Where did you hear this?

Sirius will not go deeper on their playlists as long as Jon Zellner
and the current programming mentality remains in place.

Sirius has been FM Radio since its inception. They have always
had the same mindset when it comes to playing FM quality radio.

All Mel did was hand over XM to these goons to tear apart all
the originality and appeal that former service was known for.

Well, it's been almost a month now. Can you update us with your progress?