Tiesto taking over Sirius XM's BPM channel next week

Agreed. This is quality programming, it's different, and it's not available elsewhere. If this isn't an excellent example of the effective use of the capabilities of satellite radio, what is? As we all know, there are scores of Sirius XM channels that don't play anything but worn out "hits," so if you don't like this, there are certainly enough other places to go.

Steve-o and Xcountry have officially lost their minds!!! Neither of you could make it through two minutes of Tiestos music, I say two minutes because every song starts off with a one minute dramatic, bassless intro that leads into a 13 minute mile bpm, monotonous, soulless eight minute borefest, or in other words, trance. You will be greatful to hear Eminem. Play some Tiesto next time you and friends are playing cards, next time your at work, or maybe you could drop some E and dance your ass off!

Apparently u havent got it...this is trance so is supposed to be like this and is the way all the songs that not only from tiesto but any other dj of the genere are supposed to be otherwise it would be something else dont u think plus if u dont feel the music n pay some attention it will never make sence to u, you shouldnt be saying those things about any genere cuz im pretty sure that not everyone likes the type of music u like and who knows...maybe i have heard the type of music u like and can talk bad about it...for the record just look at the pic above and tell me how manny ppl are overthere...that's the kind of concerts tiesto do

Well, it's 12:40 now and I've been listening since it came on. I don't think it's what everyone was expecting... I know I'm certainly enjoying the channel ;-)

Jen

Don't know ya but I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE!!!!

I've tried to listen to BPM and that watered down piece of crap channel "Area" and all's I can say is: "The System" they're NOT!!

Admittedly "Area" does feature a smattering of "Zoltar" 1 hour every damn week around midnight but that is a pittance. Luckily I can access Zoltar's podcast (I've got Mel & Co. to thank for that, their piss poor programming motivated me to go to broadband to get some real hard core Techno since SiriusFM has watered down programming for the most part).

Now believe it or not I'm a 56 year old caucasian male who if you saw me in person you would NEVER take me for a "Techno" fan but you see, THAT WAS THE WONDER OF XM!!! I found "The System" and listened to it each day. Granted not all day(I don't think my body could take it LOL!!)but when I needed a jolt,"The System" did the trick. I have tried so many damn times to listen to "Area" but it just pisses me off so damn much that I switch to something else in about 5 minutes.

Again, thanks Mel, you and your stellar staff F**ked up everything that was worth a damn.

No wonder the stock's flatlining...........

What is it, a few more weeks till it gets delisted??

Serves. Mel & company right....

Almost a year since the "channel merger," the channel lineup continues to be a train wreck. There's a reason why this keeps coming up.

It's very simple - they just don't give a damn about the subscribers. The louder we proclaim our desires and suggestions, the more they ignore us. This is some crew running this outfit! So,so sad, considering all the potential satellite radio has. I think I'm gonna puke.

It's very simple - they just don't give a damn about the subscribers. The louder we proclaim our desires and suggestions, the more they ignore us. This is some crew running this outfit! So,so sad, considering all the potential satellite radio has. I think I'm gonna puke.

Yes -- and no appreciation of the commitment that many of us had to satellite radio. Many terrestrial radio stations show far more respect for their listeners than Sirius XM does. The era of top-down, programmed-for-the-masses media is over, but Sirius XM, which should be an innovator, operates the way radio stations did 25 years ago when listeners had few choices and had to take whatever was offered.

As usual, you make perfect sense - a concept (sense) that is totally alien to the management over at Sirius/XM. I want to make one other point, one I tried to make on "Satwaves" last week.... but evidently Brandon the boy wonder on that shill site got bent out of shape because I was, in his words "crucifying" Sirius/XM. Suffice to say I will no longer post anything on Don't Make Wav..... uh... that is, Satwaves. My contention was that of all the factors that influence, and in some cases out and out manipulate Sirius/XM's stock, it is Sirius/XM themselves who have the biggest affect on the stock price, and it is Sirius/XM who just may be the biggest manipulators of them all. Sound too radical? I don't think so! This company has kept the stock price down by practicing its all too familiar "business as usual" policies: aloofness, ignoring its own subscribers, piss poor communication at all times, virtually zero advertising and marketing of the technology/product/service, and an almost palpable resentment and repulsion for its loyal, paying customers - the very people who make possible the big fat bloated salaries and bonuses that these underachieving fat cats get for fucking up satellite radio. People are not just mad about the situation - thet are OUTRAGED! This outrage is voiced on a daily basis all over the internet, via letters and e-mail, and every other social network that I am not cool enough to know about, nor would I ever join unless a gun was held to my head. Mel and his cronies continue on the same path, blinders on and ear plugs inserted as tight as possible. What it amounts to, basically, is a big FUCK YOU to all the subscribers (and investers), and it is because of this behavior that I am calling them out as the biggest manipulators of Sirius/XM's stock. They could just as easily manipulate the stock price up, and in a hurry, by treating the subs with respect, lowering the prices like they promised they would, improving the programming AND bringing back the channels that many of the most die hard fans loved - channels that were indiscriminately butchered from the line up without ever requesting the listeners opinion. You talk about arrogance and nerve. Just unbelievably insensitive! Throw in some actual, compassionate customer service, a little marketing and advertising of the service so that America knows that satellite radio does, in fact, actually exist - and get rid of the nickle and dime-ing price/packaging schemes which have the sole purpose of seperating as much money from the subscriber as is humanly possible! You get what you give; they aren't getting what they want(subscribers), because they ain't giving us what we want. What we need. What we deserve for loving satellite radio way more than they do. What we have here are many, many passionate radio listeners who absolutely love the mediums unique benefits and qualities. We left terrestrial because the Clearchannels of the world have all but destroyed most, but granted not all, of the quality programming that used to exist on traditional airwaves. Not having to listen to endless commercials is worth at least a good percetage of satellite radios price of admission, I would surmise. So yes, this company absolutely has the ability, and the opportunity to manipulate the stock price up; why they elect not to is a complete mystery. Satellite radio is an amazing technology, with vast potential. Why isn't this company exploiting that potential to its fullest? Why aren't they doing the simple, obvious, common sense things that would enable satellite radio to achieve the promise that so many of us know it is capable of? What the hell is wrong with the people who run this company, and when the hell are they going to get their shit together? At the rate they are going, we will all be in nursing homes, wearing Depends and attached to iron lungs by the time they decide to do something. Jesus Christ, Mel, will you get the lead out so I can listen to Sirius/XM while I still have my hearing... and enough strength to push the "on" button on the radio!

Sirius/XM has many detractors, dozens of competitors, and the ever present opponent that has been attempting to destoy them for years now; the criminal orchestration - and collusion - of our government, the media, the NAB and competing technologies that feel threatened by satellite radio. Big, bad Sirius/XM, with their 4% of the entire radio market, is such a threat to so many people. It makes you wonder why? I think we all know the answer to that question; this technology has the potential, as yet unrealized due in part to horrble management, to completely bury terrestrial radio. If Sirius/XM would just grab the bull by the horns, and get off their ass and start making the necessary moves to fulfill that potential, it will be a lot more than terrestrial radio who is shaking in there boots - why do you think there is so much opposition to satellite radio? Sirius/XM needs to stop playing the poor, pitiful victim - they can, and must embrace the subscribers, and they need to replace their smug, complacent and arrogant ways with genuine compassion. You get what you give. This company and their service will never have mass appeal until they overhaul their attitude about satellite radio, and the people who support it. Instead of scheming and coniving up ways to make more money, they should make sucscriber satisfaction their number one objective; this philosophy would generate revenue streams that would blow their minds. I predict there would be 30 million subs in no time, and very likely many more than that in the years ahead.

We, the people, are paying you, Sirius/XM, our hard earned money. We want to listen to what we like - not what you like. If you showed us half the loyalty that most of us have shown your company, we would not only be in shock, but we would also have the pleasure of seeing Sirius/XM become the viable, solid, legitimate and dominant entertainment and communications force that has been envisioned by so many, for so long. The ball is in your court, Sirius/XM. You might want to pick up a nice big racquet and take a swing at the opportunity that you are squandering. You just might hit an ACE!

You said it best!

I used to have 3 XM Subs, I absolutely loved XM until November of last year when Sirius crapped all over it.

I gave it a chance, and after hearing the same songs over and over, deteriorating sound quality and DJ babble I canceled all three and went to Slacker.

It's a shame what was done to the XM playlists, I subscribed for music, nothing less nothing more. XM used to carry The Move, which I listened to so much that it inspired me to start DJing again.

That channel is long gone and so are the people that made Fred, Lucy and Ethel the great stations they were. F U Mel!!!

leavenfish - Maybe if more people would "whine" - including people like you who are willing to settle for all the bullshit that Sirius/XM is offering us - then perhaps this company would start to satisfy their subscribers, and posts like mine and the thousands of other disenchanted and thoroughly frustrated people that have been shit on would not be necessary anymore. As long as they continue to run this company the same way - no vision, no marketing, watered down programming and treating subscribers as a mere afterthought - there will be dissenters on every single sat rad site "whinning" their asses off. Get used to it, because it isn't going to stop anytime soon.

As far as this guy Testicle... uh... Tiesto is concerned, if you bothered to look above you would realize that I already recanted my prior statement. I guess I got in step after all. That is exactly what Sirius/XM wants all of their little chicks to do; get in step, pay the monthly bill, don't make waves, follow the mother hen around like robots, and accept the brainwashing they are giving us... and believe that everything is peachy keen. The fact is that everything isn't wonderful, and all of us need to keep the pressure on them. If anybody is out of step, it is Sirius/XM management. They are also out to lunch, out of the loop, and I am starting to believe they are out of their minds. Don't worry, man - I will chill.... when Hell freezes over!

Not growing up near a major radio market, my first experiences with big market stations were the clear channel AM stations from places like Chicago, New York, Boston and Atlanta, which, as a kid, I'd sit up and listen to at night on a transistor radio. Those stations used to have local personalities, and each one had the flavor of the city it served. While a few good stations still exist, the majority of the clear channel stations now have programming lineups littered with the likes of Dr. Laura and Rush Limbaugh, and other canned programming. The only local flavor comes from the commercials. The result: Radio is a dying medium, with most major broadcasting companies swimming in red ink.

In a similar way, Sirius XM has squandered an opportunity to create an audio service that could have created unique channel identities by filling some of the gaping holes in the audio programming marketplace -- holes left by terrestrial stations that, as you explained, have been given "mass appeal" programming that really appears to appeal to fewer and fewer people. But, no, Sirius XM is following the same path that has killed the rest of the medium, so the result is, predictably, the same: Red ink, subscribers canceling in droves.

So, my question to you, someone who has experience in this business, is, how can this medium be rescued? Is it impossible for executives to see that, if what they're doing isn't working, the answer is not to do more of it?

Dear dipshit, I am a big fan of many genres of music, my least favorite being trance/progressive. I realize there are many fans of this music, based on previous posts, Steve-o and Xcountry are not. I realize Tiesto is world famous and I do own some of his stuff, I feel trance music has a soft, monotonous, repetitive beat, I'm more of a electro/breakbeat kind of person. I personally feel sirixm has a weak electro channel lineup, paying tiesto one cent is a complete waste when you look at the energy put into the electro lineup, I highly doubt fans of electronic music are signing up in droves to hear four poorly programmed electro channels. This company already employs many talented electro dj's whose talents are being wasted while we type. Shit, last week on BPM, I heard a mix version of a hillary duff song!! How lame. Your comment about the people in the crowd, big fucking deal, have you seen how well the new kids on the block are doing??

xcountry, your upbringing was much like my own. I lived in a rural area, and I was a good distance from any city of note. I too listened to the blowtorch AM's as a kid, and I did a little DXing as well, trying to pick up faraway stations when the skywaves were just right.

I am honestly not sure how the medium is going to be rescued, if it can be. For satellite and terrestrial it sadly comes down to a bottom line, money.

Sirius/XM is still dealing a crushing debt, and while there's time, I don't know if Mel K. and the gang have enough time to turn things around. They are still trying to fight the radio war with an outdated order of battle.

They are in a unique spot; they could try to promote and market it much better, like cable TV. Remember how cable would splash how many channels they had at you in ads? They should do the same, show the diversity, and that there is truly something for everyone.

Now, those of us who remember XM's channels, and what's been done to them--yeah, it might never be good enough for some of us. But then, in the big picture if the medium can stay alive, the old fogies who have wrecked it will be dead and gone, and a new generation (hopefully) will learn the lessons of the past.

As for terrestrial--again, money is the problem. There is an old saying that owning a station equalled a license to print money. Back before cable TV, the internet and so on, you pretty much could. But now the advertising dollars have so many more places to go--it's harder and harder for any station to compete for it, and that translates to less of an incentive to do local programming.

It's easy to slap Rush, Ryan Seacrest and all the canned programming onto your station, because it's cheap, and you don't have to pay the talent.

What this has done for the terrestrial medium is this: left it wide open for a new set of predators to come in and snap up stations for little money. I'm thinking so-called "religious" broadcasters who buy up station after station and put the same programming on all of them. Instead of Clear Channel, it's now especially the Catholic Church.

So the problem remains--there are alternatives, however. Station owners can divest themselves down to what is manageable, then concentrate on providing the best programming they can with a slant to the local side of things. They can maintain a good community profile, and show the residents that they do give a damn about their community, and are there for the reasons they're supposed to be there. Remember that holding an FCC license is supposed to be a contract of sorts with the public, something that's been lost on broadcasters and especially the dustball suckers at the FCC over the years.

Another possibility? Take your station (even if it's on the commercial band) and go non-profit. Take donations, perhaps do some underwriting; it's working right now in some parts of the country.

As far as this old guy is concerned, the game has passed me by. I don't see myself coming out of retirement, ever. But I listen, and I hate to see a good thing get destroyed. So let's keep the pressure up on Mel and his minions; even if he and the other suits don't listen, that's their loss. Someone will.

Xcountry, I had replied a few days ago, but for some reason my response did not get on here.

The short answer is: I am not sure if the terrestrial medium can be saved.

Before cable TV, the internet and all these new methods of getting instant information and entertainment, your local radio and TV stations were the only way to find out what was going on, from the weather forecast to breaking news (which really was breaking in those days). I lived in a rural area, and we listened to blowtorch AM radio from big city stations, plus the two or three local TV signals we could get.

There was an old saying back then, that owning a station was a license to print money. It may well have been true, because the advertising dollars had few places to go. That's all changed.

Most local stations are running canned, syndicated programming because it's cheap, and the less staff you have to pay, the better. The thing is, most station operators were mindful that the FCC license they held was an obligation to the listening public; something that is now completely lost on all of them.

The only way for radio to remain viable is to do what your audience needs and wants for your area. You need to promote it right, keep a good profile in the community, and be willing to take a loss for a couple of years or more until the good will you generate comes back in the form of ad revenue.

Most are not interested in that; most owners as I've mentioned knew nothing of radio, music, etc.; they were in it to make money and to make themselves look good in the community. Another short cut is to do brokered time; charge so much per hour and then let whomever's got the money to come on and do what they want. Those shows, however tend to be geared toward a specific ethnic community, and 99% of the time, not in English. That's good for those specific communities, but often the station itself is seen as a money whore, especially if its regular format is dramatically different.

One other thing: the allowing of unlimited ownership and the littering of "translators" across the landscape has become almost a racket. Who is buying up stations, left and right...? So called "religious broadcasters," especially of late the Catholic Church. You can't go across the dial anywhere in America anymore without getting what I refer to as "Lightfoot Christian" radio, or Catholic radio...what I mean by that term is...religion in name, not in practice.

There's been a shift toward "community radio" in some areas; one way that has worked is...go non-profit, even if you're on the commercial band.

You do it like NPR; you don't do commercials. You do a pledge drive, once you've figured out how much you need to pay your bills and your staff for the year, and then stop the drive for the year.

That's one way...but really? I think we're gonna see a lot of little bug-light AM stations (and even some FMs eventually) go dark. It's too bad, for I feel in coming years we're going to have to have a major revamping of the public airwaves to keep this from happening.

My health is just fine, and my blood pressure is within the normal parameters. Even though I'm as healthy as a horse, I still feel a bit queasy lately - probably because Sirius/XM keeps dicking people around by dumbing down the programming, all the while making themselves about as available to the subscribers as Osama bin laden. I'm glad that you and your fellow satellite radio glee club members are so enamored with the service; all I am asking is that Mel remain true to his vow to give all of us "the best radio on radio." I am not convinced that he has delivered on that promise. I'm not even convinced that being the best is on this companies "to do" list. If you are willing to pay for, and accept mediocre, then more power to you. I want great, I'm paying for great, and if Sirius/XM never achieves that lofty status, then they sure as hell owe it to their loyal subscribers to AT LEAST MAKE AN EFFORT to pursue excellence - obviously an objective that you and your "satisfied" group of pushovers consider to be an overly ambitious goal.

Very interesting post - thank you.

I mourn the loss of what I see as the "traditional media" because there's nothing good waiting in the wings to replace it. YouTube is fun, but other than personal "vlogs" and the like, much of the content is recycled from traditional media sources. Where is this going to come from when no one can afford to produce it? Similarly, online news sites do not generally do a lot of original reporting: The legwork of news-gathering is left to the traditional media sources, most of which are losing money, while the internet news sites are heavy on comment and analysis -- the types of things one guy sitting at a keyboard can churn out with nothing but his own brain for a source. I read recently that soon the internet will capture 25 percent of all advertising expenditures. Interesting, considering that filtering programs that will cut all ads off of a site are very easy to come by, and quite effective.

Your analysis of the current state of radio is right on target. Drive into a town and go up and down the dial. There'll be one at least one canned all-sports format such as ESPN radio, an all-talk format with syndicated mostly right-wing talk, satellite-programmed music stations with painfully boring formats such as "light hits," and a few voice-tracked "local" stations that are unmanned a good part of the day, so are worthless as a source of local news.

I believe radio, local and satellite, is selling itself short. Every car has a radio, and there are billions of portable radios in existence. In the case of satellite radio, millions have paid specifically to get it. This medium is not going away. People on this and other sites talk about stuff like Slacker and 3G iPhones, but the infrastructure is not there to support tens of millions of listeners through those media. Radio is already in place, and everyone has the equipment. Stations just need to re-focus on providing innovative programming to specific communities and segments of the audience, and satellite radio also must innovate and stop programming like the terrestrial stations that are losing more revenue every year.