Comments on: Sirius/XM Stock Heading To Channel Zero

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:54:07 +0000

I am a sirius guy. The only reason I got it was Stern. XM had way better music. I even complained when the merger happened. 1st we both lost a pure punk channel. THere are like 5 metal channels and like 5 rap channels but no pure punk channel. What really pisses me off is that there is a Led Zepplin channel. Why? they only have 9 records and they are played 17 hours a day un regular radio and a bunch on the other channels on sirius.

By: so1omon

so1omon — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:06:26 +0000

I heard a DJ on XMU the other day introduce a "brand new band" called Love Is All. Yup... Love Is All is "brand new" apparently.

Even more funny is that the first time I ever heard Love Is All was on the old XMU.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:00:28 +0000

@LiquidHeaven: I agree, I only listened to Howard and LOC before. I got sick of hearing Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" for the 100th time on Classic Vinyl.

I canceled, but only cause I sold my car. Can't say I miss either.

By: LiquidHeaven

LiquidHeaven — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:42:04 +0000

It's been amusing that both sides of the subscribership have said the content is worse now. I too felt I missed LOC at first but the programming on Sirius XM has gotten significantly better over the past week it feels like.

I'm enjoying the channel and have no complaints. Sure backspin was dropped but I'm really only paying for Howard and the indie station.

I'm still happy.

By: Captain Wrong

Captain Wrong — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:52:38 +0000

One of my most listened to stations (Backspin) disappeared entirely. Considering there is nothing on that channel now, I find it kind of surprising and frustrating.

As a Sirus guy (that's what came with the car) I was hoping some of the good of XM would rub off. Yeah, right. When behemoths merge, does the good of both side ever merge?

Sorry for you XM people who now know the joy of the Sirus Clear Channel-esque playlists. Sigh.

By: SAShepherd

SAShepherd — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:13:03 +0000

6 months in advance? I renewed (automatically) my XM for another year, like, literally a day after the merger went live.

I should note here that unless the biz goes belly up, I'm actually going to be on the Kids Place Live channel as a reporter of some sort (no, I don't have one of those My Old Kentucky Blog deals going), so take these comments with the appropriate grain of salt.

I do think there's some amplification of the general dissatisfaction because if you were OK with 8 of the 10 stations but you lost two of your favorites, you're not going to take to the web to shout from the rooftops to say, "Hey! I still like 80% of my stations!"

Which isn't to say that 2 of my 3 most-listened-to stations (XMU and POTUS) didn't get makeovers of some sort. And although the third -- Kids Stuff Live (sorry, semi-professional obligation -- was the old XM channel rebranded, you should hear the complaints of the parents. Hell hath no fury like a 4-year-old's parent spurned...

What it suggests is that people signed up for particular stations -- not a range of stations. If you're getting rid of, say, 30% of those stations (or revamping them unrecognizably), then perhaps it's not unsurprising that they'll get hammered by cancellations.

Oh, and, yeah, given that they posted the channel lineup in a full-page USA Today ad the week prior to the switch, they could've at least sent it to their subscribers, too.

By: Audif Jackson Winters III

Audif Jackson Winters III — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:56:02 +0000

I’ve always liked First Wave (particularly the Saturday Night Safety Dance mix show) and LOC. I dunno, maybe I’m “bland.”

By: DocStrange

DocStrange — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:43:15 +0000

@Dead Air ummm Dead Air: Oh, I cancelled my XM subscription after they dismantled XMU (my local alternative station and various college stations blend old and new indie rock better than Sirius XMU does) and turned Fred into First Wave (which is where I first heard bands like Hunters & Collectors, Altered Images and The Church). I mean, Music Choice's Retroactive station has essentially turned into what Fred was.

The one good thing I was looking forward to from Sirius, the freeform Sirius Disorder, was replaced by something that was not Sirius Disorder, but an AAA station.

So now i'm just stuck with my local radio stations and the Music Choice programming my cable company has. And it's actually alot better than what I previously had (except that the Music Choice Alternative station tends to play alot of Tokio Hotel).

By: Dead Air ummm Dead Air

Dead Air ummm Dead Air — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:24:43 +0000

As an XM sub. since 2001 I have to say...the content is worse. I never quite understood how the weaker company essentially took over the merger, but it happened. All I know is that I'm getting more content that I don't care about (if I wanted Margaritaville and E Street radio I'd have been a Sirius subscriber), but the PD at the stations I do listen to suddenly got blander. I'm not sure what the new station names are, but XMU used to actually play some stuff from bands I never heard of, and now the new one classifies Kings of Leon, old Stills, and Arcade Fire as "indie." Sure, they are a staple of college rock and should be on the channel, but I'm yet to hear anything new on the SirusXM College station, which is a problem.

The 80's newwave/alternative staion used to play deep cuts from popular bands and obscure bands alike. Now it's just Blondie and Clash hits.

I don't want to be that "if it's popular it sucks guy." Those songs acts are successful because they are good. But when I'm paying for a service, they should cater with more specific content that I won't find in any East Village bar.

And don't even get me started on how poor the PAD data is.