Sirius XM Radio has chosen the executives who will lead the newly merged company's programming divisions, according to a report by All Access.According to All Access, the executive programming team will be:
- Jon Zellner (from XM) will be SVP/Music Programming
- Jeremy Coleman (from Sirius) will be SVP/Talk and Entertainment Programming
- Steve Cohen (from Sirius) will be SVP/Sports Programming
- Paul Turcotte (from Sirius) will be SVP/Advertising Sales
"Please join me in congratulating these people and all who have helped build the foundation of Sirius XM Radio," wrote Greenstein in a note to everyone at Sirius XM. Please welcome them as we continue the exciting though challenging work of being the nation's best provider of audio entertainment."
Sirius SVP/Music Programming Steve Blatter will reportedly remain with the company.
[All Access]
Jon Zellner is the worst thing that ever happened to XM--He s an FM kool-aid drinker who has turned everything he has touched into FM.
Lee Abrams' vision is slowly dying--such a a shame.
Well Zellner will feel right at home with his Sirius(FM) co-hearts. SatRad has gone to hell in a handbasket, thanks to Parsons and Karmizin. If only Nate had had some brass jewels and backed out of this buyout, XM wouldn't be gutted today by Melvin and Co. And down the road comes the sale of SiriXM to CC. As for you stockholders, I have no pity on your stupity for buying into Melvin's BS.
An era of the greatest radio is gone forever.
"Jon Zellner (from XM) will be SVP/Music Programming"
That's the only line I needed to see.
Goodbye good music channels!
Please, give me XM's music channels over Sirius any day . XM has deeper playlists , than what Sirius does .
Why was I not surprised?
Zellner is a Karmazin tool, or at least they think alike. XM listeners, be prepared for the dumbing down and gutting of your commercial-free music channels...
...subscribers will abandon the business in droves if Zellner works his dark magic on them.
It's Mel's "Dream Team"
I DONT CARE IF SATAN IS RUNNING THIS COMPANY IF I CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A MARGINALLY STABLE STOCK PRICE......IF CLEAR CHANNEL BUYS US OUT.....WILL IT BE IN BANKRUPTCY....TAKE A LOOK AT THE STOCK PRICE.....INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS ARE KILLING THIS COMPANY....WE ARE TRULY AT A FLASH POINT....THERE BETTER BE A BIG UP DAY SOON..OR ALL RETAIL INVESTORS ARE GOING TO BAIL
I DONT CARE IF SATAN IS RUNNING THIS COMPANY IF I CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A MARGINALLY STABLE STOCK PRICE......IF CLEAR CHANNEL BUYS US OUT.....WILL IT BE IN BANKRUPTCY....TAKE A LOOK AT THE STOCK PRICE.....INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS ARE KILLING THIS COMPANY....WE ARE TRULY AT A FLASH POINT....THERE BETTER BE A BIG UP DAY SOON..OR ALL RETAIL INVESTORS ARE GOING TO BAIL
I DONT CARE IF SATAN IS RUNNING THIS COMPANY IF I CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A MARGINALLY STABLE STOCK PRICE......IF CLEAR CHANNEL BUYS US OUT.....WILL IT BE IN BANKRUPTCY....TAKE A LOOK AT THE STOCK PRICE.....INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS ARE KILLING THIS COMPANY....WE ARE TRULY AT A FLASH POINT....THERE BETTER BE A BIG UP DAY SOON..OR ALL RETAIL INVESTORS ARE GOING TO BAIL
PATRICK RODGERS is a textbook tool ain't he? A cliche. The CAPS, the multiple posts, the pleas for attention "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!". Oh my...
What a goose.
"An era of the greatest radio is gone forever."
The sky is falling!!! The sky is falling!!!
Geezz... does it make you feel better to be so negative. The merger may be a complete failure, in fact may be the worst decision ever.. but how do you know? Even if their history leads you to think they will ruin it.
Do you just want to be cool and say " i told you so" later on?
Bunch of Debbie Downers here... at least wait until they announce some changes before you start whining so much.
PATRICK WHAT WAS THAT?
Ooof, Coleman dealing with "Talk", as in O&A.
That can't be good.
Jon Zellner is the worst thing that ever happened to XM--He s an FM kool-aid drinker who has turned everything he has touched into FM.
Lee Abrams' vision is slowly dying--such a a shame.
Posted by: ultraviolet353 | August 7, 2008 7:24 PM
You got that right. He ruined two of XM's greatest channels.
This guy's got FM written all over him.
Just curious but If all the comments from those that have XM and don't like Zellner in the 1st place why do you still subscribe to XM?
Just curious but If all the comments from those that have XM and don't like Zellner in the 1st place why do you still subscribe to XM?
Posted by: rich | August 7, 2008 8:33 PM
That's easy. It's because he hasn't been there long enough to infest all the music channels yet. Only 3 of them have been ruined so far.
Now that he's Mel's man, expect most of them to be ruined in the future.
O&A are out
O&A are out
How has he ruined the channels?
What's the feedback from before to after he took over?
How long has he been the PD at XM?
Thnx
Rich,
Your listening to bashers and Nab assholes
Rude, crude, AC,
No he's not, the people posting are educated satradio subscribers. Why is the truth and reality always so desperately brushed aside?
Scott Greenstein,
Thanks for the introductions, now please excuse me while I call and cancel my subscriptions.
ch ch ch CHURN
How sad. There go the deep playlists, limited DJ blather and the non-FM experience. Anyone want to co-author a book with me? I already have the title "The Day the Music Died -- How Mel Kamarzin Ruined Satellite Radio"
I wonder if these guys will be Sirius about their talk programming jobs? Because somebody mostly left XM in the fukin' bathroom!
Something that was overlooked in today's CC.
Mel talked about cutting 400M and that being 15% of the 2.4 that SIXM spends... but they don't. They spend 2.4 and lose 900K for a total "spend" of 3.3 B.
The 400M that he speaks of is such a sandbag. He will come in at 650M and SIXM will go black 3 or (or most probably) 4Q 2009 baring anything unforeseen today. Mel is cheap and SIXM's problems have been overspending and shitty OEM contracts, competitive talent contracts, NOT revenue per se.
SIXM will triple in the next 15 months.
Something that was overlooked in today's CC.
Mel talked about cutting 400M and that being 15% of the 2.4 that SIXM spends... but they don't. They spend 2.4 and lose 900K for a total "spend" of 3.3 B.
The 400M that he speaks of is such a sandbag. He will come in at 650M and SIXM will go black 3 or (or most probably) 4Q 2009 baring anything unforeseen today. Mel is cheap and SIXM's problems have been overspending and shitty OEM contracts, competitive talent contracts, NOT revenue per se.
SIXM will triple in the next 15 months.
What's the word for the hordes of people who disparage people in a position of authority while they Monday-morning quarter-back their general personal anger on people/executives they don't even know? Narcassist? I don't know, call it what you will, I've heard Mel Karmazin called every-thing derogatory in the book!...not to mention executives from both companies and teams....
Sure, I was attracted in Sirius in 2003 b/c of the "Sirius Manifesto"...anybody remember that? Well, I think there were 50,000 subs back then, and a lot of hope for big days ahead that proved utterly false! At any rate, I've had my "anger" with changes taking place within the SDAR field; But I've resigned my anger to the leadership of Mel Karmazin; In fact, so did the whole board-of-directors at XM, including its chairman Gary Parsons!
First, every-one said the merger would be impossible; Now they are saying the combined company will never "make it"; Yet, look at Karmazin's history; This is the Infinity story all over again, with some pretty major differences nonetheless!
There will be a lot of changes taking place during the integration of this merger; Many people will be hurt and disappointed; Yet I believe the SDAR now has a real chance to be everything it first promised to be....
Now I would like an a la carte or somewhat interoperable radio so I can hear CSPAN on Sirius-XM Radio Inc., since they dumped it on my Sirius radio last year; This all may take some time, but I pine for the day for "one fully integrated radio" picking-up broadcast from a fully integrated fleet of new sats, broadcasting and doing a lot more than beaming an "audio" signal; That might be years and years out....
GLTA! eom!
Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance?
Thank God! Ilike Sirius' music because it's stuff I know and love. Unlike XM which plays 1 good song per day and millions of b-sides and garbage. There's a reason they are B-sides, folks.
With Sirius I can usually find something I like, with XM it's constant channel surfing.
I think maybe its time for Ryan to do another editorial-style release. He's done it when critiquing the opposition (NAB, etc.), but I'd like to see him make a statement on what Sirius XM should do now post-merger. What types of changes would turn us off, etc.
Thank God! Ilike Sirius' music because it's stuff I know and love. Unlike XM which plays 1 good song per day and millions of b-sides and garbage. There's a reason they are B-sides, folks.
With Sirius I can usually find something I like, with XM it's constant channel surfing.
Are you kidding me.? Anyone with a tiny bit of musical knowledge would prefer XM to Sirius. Before I signed up for XM I had trial subscriptions with both services for 3 weeks. Initially Sirius won hands down, it seemed XM played songs I never heard of. As time went bye I quickly realized XM's playlist beat Sirius hands down. It was nice to hear deeper cuts of my favorite bands instead of just the hits. The "Oh Wow" factor with Xm kills what Sirius has to offer.
If the programming becomes like Sirius I will drop my 4 subscriptions in a heartbeat. I can get the same music Sirius plays on my local FM station.
XM 202 or not my subscription is done once its up.
I can download the show very easily. You can snag Stern too.
I will not stand for dumbdown playlists. If i wanted that i would buy an iPod.
Plowboy,
So desperate over your failed investment in satradio now you are disputing what Mel says....
The only direction satradio is going is DOWN.
Scott's got it right-- you tools that are complaining about the depth and occasional obscurity of XM's playlists need to sell your Sirius receivers and get with the 20th century already and buy a frickin' iPod. I get tired when I hear the same song twice in a day. That's why I don't listen to FM, I listen where I know I'm getting some depth and variety. Once again this shows how the whole 'best of both worlds' line is a joke, since everything's gonna get screwed first.
Head of music? How dumb is that? Looks like i may have to give up radio if the Sirius i like changes.
Hi my name is plowboy. I like to have anal sex with priests... Would you please suck my cock?
and they say I am strange plowboy, you got me beat
my true dream is to have one wearable device:
apple i-phone with siri-xm. anyone else?
If they even touch the programming of XMU or The Verge like they did with Ethel then I am out. Those two stations and the decades channels are pretty much all I listen to now music wise. Still worth the money though for my car.
Nice how the merger of equals Sirius management.
I have so much confidence in the merger. Can you say Daimler Chrysler?
This is going to be a fun ride down to delisting and bankruptcy.
with the apple i-phone there is no need for siri-xm. Which is another reason why cancelling subscriptions to siri-xm are going to become everyones favorite sport this fall.
Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin and all his bitches were so desperate to get the "merge" MONOPOLY scheme approved and now no one wants to deal with a MONOPOLY, and the truth comes out that Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin and his management team have not done any planning in 500 days, and now it's obvious (to everyone but the bitches) that a "merge" MONOPOLY scheme has nothing to offer subscribers, who were better off with what we had, direct competition in the satradio industry.
"This is going to be a fun ride down to delisting and bankruptcy." DAMN RIGHT!
u2fan1983 said:
"Thank God! Ilike Sirius' music because it's stuff I know and love. Unlike XM which plays 1 good song per day and millions of b-sides and garbage. There's a reason they are B-sides, folks.
With Sirius I can usually find something I like, with XM it's constant channel surfing.
Are you kidding me.? Anyone with a tiny bit of musical knowledge would prefer XM to Sirius. Before I signed up for XM I had trial subscriptions with both services for 3 weeks. Initially Sirius won hands down, it seemed XM played songs I never heard of. As time went bye I quickly realized XM's playlist beat Sirius hands down. It was nice to hear deeper cuts of my favorite bands instead of just the hits. The "Oh Wow" factor with Xm kills what Sirius has to offer.
If the programming becomes like Sirius I will drop my 4 subscriptions in a heartbeat. I can get the same music Sirius plays on my local FM station."
Very well said!
XM is not B-sides, it's deeper cuts from the artists you already know and love.
Also, obscure music doesn't mean it's B-side. Don't let the fact that men in suits and focus groups telling you what is a "hit" fool you into believing that that's the only good music around.
"Hit" or "top 40" music does NOT automatically mean good music. There's a difference. Open your ears, and your mind.
Keeping Jon Zellner was going to happen....no one else was left. Lee Abrams was gone...and he had been ignored for the last few years. Eric Logan was gone......if they could have gotten the merge done before he found a new gig, he probably would have stayed and been a good choice, but that's done.
Sadly Zellner has no backbone to stand up for any of the programming XM is doing. He'll be a yes man.
The choices of retaining XM Execs have been disapointing. Some of the ones at the top, particularly in marketing had to go, but this total wipe out is sad. Gary Parsons, stick up for at least some of your people. Dara Altman will be a good administrator. She'll oversee HR and maybe the back office, but 1 out of 6 ? In the company that brought in the most subscribers to the merged operation, that's all they could find ?
I'm still going to wait and see, but we may have to look back on the first 7 years of XM with the longing we now reserve for terrrestrial radio of the 60's to the 80's.
Cheers
Puuhleeaze.....
Those "deeper cuts" are the filler garbage on the artist's albums. Plain and simple. And there's a reason I don't buy many albums any more and prefer to go iTunes 99% of the time.
And yes, I have both - a 3-more month cancelled XM inno and a Sirus Stratus in the car....
When I listen in the car (which is where I do most of my listening), I want songs I know, songs I can jam to, etc. Not the B-sides from the bands I know. There's a reason those songs never got much play - for the most part they SUCK! That what XM is and has been - I had been with them since 03 and it was the first thing most said to me "Wow, they play some odd stuff". And it was true. It's been getting better but still is not good. According to you guys SIRIXM should go back to that. If they do, I'll just cancel all and just go to Pandora or AOL or Slacker on my iPhone.....
Sorry, I can listen all day to:
Hair Nation vs Bone Yard
Classic Rewind vs Top or Big Tracks
Sirius 90's vs XM 90's
Sirius hits 1 vs 20 on 20 (which should be renamed R&B hits)
Octane vs ????
Buzzsaw vs ????
The 80's stations are all about the same on both.
Heck, even my wife (who has the XM sub) only listens to 20/20 and a bunch of the CM stations....
This is a good thing - SATRAD has to appeal to the masses and the masses want things they know vs things they don't.
HD radio is looking alot better right about now...
I like the Sirius music stations, but after 24 hours you have heard everything they are ever going to play. I have XM and Zellner did have an "FM" influence on the channels. The "personalities" on Sirius music channels (excpet Long Paul) are horrendeous. My future with Sirius XM Radio lie with where their music channels, continuation of the Boneyard and Eddie Trunk and if O&A sign a new contract with them. Frankly with the latter, I beleive they are going to play hardball with contract terms.
I just Mel dumps most of XM's useless VP's. Seems like there is a 100 of them. Most of them just taking up space and collecting big paychecks.
To me, it has nothing to do with B-sides....we can talk hits if a person wants to. I have both services, and I can honestly tell you no matter the genre (Top 40, Country, etc.) you can take just about any artist that's had 25 to 30 top 10 hits, and Sirius is skimming about 5 to 10 of those songs off and playing them, and leaving the other 15 or so from that artist unplayed. Whereas, XM at one time would have at least 20 of those 25 to 30 top 10 hits from an artist in rotation. That's what I'm talking about when a person mentions deeper playlists.
HD digital radio gives you an unprecedented range of new channels and formats plus your favorite local stations in crystal-clear digital sound. HD Digital Radio means FM that sounds like a CD, AM that sounds like FM and farewell to snap, crackle and pop. Because digital signals can carry more information, the digital radio revolution also means a wide variety of new programming and new formats on HD2 multicast channels. And since its radio, it’s still local and free.
HD Digital Radio • IT’S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com
If you had been at XM's HQ when Zellner's new position was made official you would have felt the floor of morale drop out in the programming department.
As if morale since his arrival in 2005 already wasn't lower than a pygmy limbo contest.
With Lee Abrams and many solid PDs and MDs gone in the wake of the JZ era the lunatics are now firmly in control of the asylum. Sad.
im not surprised by Jon Zellner
being in charge of the music
this will be just awful for the
subscribers however
sirius FM WITHOUT COMMERICIALS
xm FM WITHOUT COMMERICIALS
: however
: sirius FM WITHOUT COMMERICIALS
: xm FM WITHOUT COMMERICIALS
Commercials are the least concern of subs since there aren't any. Regardless, crap without commercials is hardly better than crap with commercials. More to the point, if you think SXM music will remain ad-free, you're fooling yourself. Subs will eventually find themselves getting a rate hike and SXM injecting ads onto music channels that mimic FM. Oh joy!
"This is the best car stereo I have owned. The sound is fantastic and even without an additional subwoofer you really feel the bass. HD radio quality is great--no static and extremely clear separation of all the notes."
HD Digital Radio • IT’S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/
AC: "Puuhleeaze.....
Those "deeper cuts" are the filler garbage on the artist's albums. Plain and simple. And there's a reason I don't buy many albums any more and prefer to go iTunes 99% of the time.
And yes, I have both - a 3-more month cancelled XM inno and a Sirus Stratus in the car...."
**
Then why do you even have Satellite? Satellite is all about music discovery and DIVERSITY. You are entitled to your opinion, but most people I know with satellite doesn't consider it filler garbage.
If you want the same hits over and over, why not just buy an iPod, load it up with stuff you know and call it a day?
--------------------------------------------------
AC: "When I listen in the car (which is where I do most of my listening), I want songs I know, songs I can jam to, etc. Not the B-sides from the bands I know. There's a reason those songs never got much play - for the most part they SUCK! That what XM is and has been - I had been with them since 03 and it was the first thing most said to me "Wow, they play some odd stuff". And it was true. It's been getting better but still is not good. According to you guys SIRIXM should go back to that. If they do, I'll just cancel all and just go to Pandora or AOL or Slacker on my iPhone....."
**
Again, if you want to only listen to stuff you know, why have Satellite? Why not fill up that iPhone? It seems rather silly to me to pay something per month for music you hear anywhere, when you can pay once and own it. Then you can hear stuff you know anytime you want.
Or better yet, why have a pay service that plays only music you know when you get that for free....on terrestrial? It seems rather odd to me. I want diversity, I want discovery, I want music you can't get anywhere else. Yes, I want music I know as well, but I want other stuff thrown in there to broaden my horizons. This is why regular radio is dead and MP3 players bore me.
--------------------------------
AC "Heck, even my wife (who has the XM sub) only listens to 20/20 and a bunch of the CM stations....
This is a good thing - SATRAD has to appeal to the masses and the masses want things they know vs things they don't."
**
So, in your opinion, Satellite should dumb itself down to the lowest common denominator then? Is that what the "masses" want? The same tired 'ol music over and over?
We ALREADY have that, it's called terrestrial radio! It's called Muzak, elevator music, doctor/dentist house music, mall music....pretty much everywhere you go music!
You're not tired of that?
FM (and MTV and the like) killed diversity, it killed people thinking for themselves. It killed opening the mind and broadening music tastes. And now the "masses" want that on Satellite?
What a sad state SDARS will become then. Just another service of "the same 'ol same 'ol".
So SatRad should be for the elite? That happened with SACD and DVD-A and look where those are....
I got Sat for commercial free music wherever I was and some formats that I can't get where I am. Music I like, wanted to hear and for the variety. Sorry, I don't want to "discover new music" most of the time - not filler, new garbage etc. There are virtually no oldies stations any more, there are few hard rock, jazz, etc. That's why I got Satellite, not to discover new music or listen to b-sides.
MTV didn't kill anything - if nothing else they hardly play videos any more - they were just another outlet and the music industry pretty much killed MTV.
I've got an iPod and and an iPhone - the iPod was cool until I realized I got tired of ripping, organizing and arranging my music collection. I still like it for the gym and places you can't get sat reception but for the car, I'll take satellite.
Sorry I don't agree about the purpose of satellite radio - I'd hate to have XM's programming as the only option on Sirius - I got away from XM because I wanted better music and I get that (as well as a tad better sound quality) with Sirius.
The music selection for XM and Sirius are quite bad to be honest. I do prefer XM to Sirius in music but neither is anything special. None of them have deep play lists. Pretty much I hear the same song every time I turn on my XM or Sirius. Except with Sirius some jackass is talking over that same song. I do personally prefer Slacker or Internet Radio (easily the best, only if it was portable) to satellite radio for music but satellite has its up side in talk and sports programming. Nothing is going to beat satellite for that but If you are looking for deep play lists and a wide variety of artists from each genre satellite radio is not for you. I originally thought when I bought satellite radio I would discover new artists and hear stuff I wouldn’t hear on terrestrial but damn was I wrong. The reality is most people want to hear the same stuff over and over again and that is what we all get.
So this is the person responsible for doing away with excellent programming of XM for the blah blah bland programming of Sirius. He is apparently not a music lover, nor is his programming staff intersted in doing whats right for the consumer. It is my opinion that this person would rather have us pay for regular FM radio that enjoy programming that we like. I am so dissatisfied with the new programming and the lack of attention of the customer service organization that I could just spit!