Sirius XM Radio

Posted on October 5, 2014 by areeves

by Allie Reeves

[1] SiriusXM Logo

The Sirius Story:

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is a satellite radio service that offers commercial-free streaming on over 175 channels in the United States and Canada. These channels are comprised of every type of radio – music, news, sports, talk, and more [2]. It is currently the largest radio broadcaster and caters to about 26.7 million subscribers [3].

[30] SiriusXM Programming

Currently, the most popular way for subscribers to enjoy SiriusXM Radio is in the comfort of their cars. SiriusXM has arrangements with over forty automakers for installation of their services directly into the vehicle [3]. However, as of recent, SiriusXM has become available to stream directly online in your home or office, as well as an app that can be accessed on Smartphones and Tablets.

SiriusXM currently offers three different packages: Sirius Select, Sirius All Access, and Sirius Mostly Music. The packages can be bought on a monthly or annual basis and range in price from $9.99 to $199 [4].

[4] Most Popular Packages for SiriusXM Customers

The Sirius Team:

[6] Scott Greenstein, President & Chief Content Officer

[5] James E. Meyer, CEO

[7] Patrick L. Donnelly, Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Finances:

[31] SiriusXM finances as of December 1, 2014

SiriusXM recently released their 2014 Third Quarter Results, which revealed a 10% increase in revenue since this time last year, putting the company at a record high of $1.1 billion. This is higher than analysts originally anticipated for the company, as they put the company’s assumed revenue at $1.04 billion. The company also increased its subscriber count by 1.2 million [8].

Interest in shares of SiriusXM increased rapidly during the month of November. As of November 14^th, there has been an increase of 2.8% since October 31^st up to 247, 283,696. The company is now up to a $3.75 price on their stock [32].

Competitors:

[11] Apple Inc. Logo

SiriusXM’s current competitors are Apple and iHeartMedia, as well as regular terrestrial radio. Pandora and Spotify have also been named as competitors, but in a recent interview with James Meyer, CEO of SiriusXM, the two services were ruled out.

[12] iHeartMedia Logo

Meyer explained these companies are streaming services, which he doesn’t view as competition, but as its own distinct technology. Meyer also stated that out of them all, terrestrial radio is their primary competition, with 220 million people that use it everyday [9].

However, with Apple’s new CarPlay, that might not be the case for much longer. CarPlay gives drivers access to all of their music, podcasts, and audiobooks with the touch of a button, and major auto companies like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Ferrari are already on board. The venture is still in its early stages, but since SiriusXM is primarily used by vehicle subscribers, CarPlay could end up being a serious competitor [10].

[13] Apple CarPlay

The Sirius Edge:

What sets SiriusXM apart from its competitors at Apple, and iHeartMedia is the company’s original content that can only be accessed through subscriptions to SiriusXM.

[15] The Howard Stern Show, one of the most popular talk shows on SiriusXM

Some of the most popular original content shows include The Howard Stern Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and NFL Radio, although many more are available [3]. This original content helps keep subscribers tuning in, and keeps SiriusXM’s churn rate at an impressive 1.9%. It also helps the company keep their acquisition costs low, which has recently become problematic for companies like Pandora [14].

[17] SiriusXM Town Hall Event in the Fishbowl

SiriusXM is also known for their “Town Hall” Series. These intimate gatherings take place in the SiriusXM fishbowl, a private listening studio, where entertainers sit down with a live studio audience comprised of about 30 SiriusXM subscribers who have won an invitation to the event [16].

[19] Taylor Swift at a Town Hall Event for SiriusXM

Recently, SiriusXM was able to snag Taylor Swift for a Town Hall Event. Subscribers had the chance to ask her questions and listen to songs off of her newest album, 1989. This event comes after Swift’s recent decision to pull her music off of Spotify, giving even more leverage to SiriusXM [18].

The Today Show for SiriusXM:

This past year, SiriusXM announced a major deal with NBC, in which simulcasts of the hit NBC show, The Today Show, would be broadcasted on the satellite radio service. The format of bringing a morning show to radio has been done before, unsuccessfully. However, what makes this different is that SiriusXM will not be airing segments of the popular morning show, they will be airing the program identically as it airs on television [20].

[24] The Today Show

This move was a strategic boost for both companies. The show airs during popular morning drive time, when radio listening is at its highest. The deal will allow NBC to access SiriusXM’s 26 million listeners, and SiriusXM hopes to draw in more subscribers that are already fans of the show.

[21]

Suing Sirius:

SiriusXM has come under fire in the past year over use of music recorded before 1972. More recently, individual bands have started going after the company, claiming that they deserve compensation. Although songs recorded before February 15^th, 1972 are not covered by federal copyright law, some artists and labels have been seeking protection under individual state laws – and the courts have been agreeing. As of November 17^th, the 1960s rock band, The Turtles, has had two victories against the satellite radio company [22].

[25] Rock Band The Turtles in the 1960s

The court ruled that music recorded before 1972 still has a public performance right and that digital services cannot use it without permission or compensation. SiriusXM has requested to dismiss the lawsuit, but it has been rejected. The judge ruled that SiriusXM has until December 5^th to show any factual issues that would be cause for a trial. If none are found, she will rule in favor of the band, and “assess damages” [23].

What’s Next:

[28] Joel Osteen

SiriusXM recently announced that Golf Hall of Fame member Sir Nick Faldo will receive his own show, where he will talk golf and get to know golf enthusiasts, while they get a chance to know him [26]. SiriusXM also launched a new pop channel, Venus, as well as adding some of their popular internet only channels like Y2Kountry and Utopia to their satellite lineup. Joel Osteen Radio will also be coming to SiriusXM, a station rooted in the power of “positive thinking with messages of inspiration” [27].

[33] Holiday music channels at SiriusXM

SiriusXM is currently celebrating the sounds of the holiday season with the addition of two new Holiday Music channels, Holly and Holiday Traditions. They plan to release more within the upcoming month [33].

Also effective January 2015, there will be an increase of 1.4 percentage points in the U.S. Music Royalty Fee applied to most SiriusXM audio packages, in order to fund royalty payments to the music industry [29].

Sources

1. SiriusXM’s Logo 2014, Fbnstatic.com, RT: 11/20/2014

2. What is SiriusXM?, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

3. Corporate Overview, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

4. Our Most Popular Packages, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

5. Chief Executive Officer, SiriusXM, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

6. President & Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

7. Executive Vice President and General Counsel, SiriusXM, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

8. “SiriusXM Reports Third Quarter 2014 Results”, Investor.siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

9. “Sirius XM CEO: I Don’t See Spotify As A Direct Competitor”, Benzinga.com, RT: 11/22/2014

10. “Is Apple’s New Toy a Sirius XM or Pandora Killer?”, Fool.com, RT: 11/22/2014

11. Apple Inc. Logo, Worldofdtcmarketing.com, RT: 11/22/2014

12. iHeartMedia Logo, Billboard, RT: 11/24/2014

13. Apple Car Play, Uncrate.com, RT: 11/24/2014

14. “Sirius XM’s Main Edge Over Competitors”, Fool.com, RT: 11/28/2014

15. The Howard Stern Show, Tuaw.com, RT: 11/22/2014

16. SiriusXM Town Hall, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

17. SiriusXM Fishbowl Event, Howstuffworks.com, RT: 11/28/2014

18. “Taylor Swift’s Exclusive 1989 “Town Hall” to Air Live on SiriusXM”, Investor.siriusxm.com, RT: 11/24/2014

19. Taylor Swift for SiriusXM, SiriusXM Blog, RT: 11/22/2014

20. “Starting in June, ‘Today’ Will Simulcast on SiriusXM”, New York Times, RT: 11/28/2014

21. Today Show Radio on SiriusXM, YouTube, RT: 11/28/2014

22. “Rock band wins again in copyright battle against Sirius XM”, The Times of India, RT: 11/28/2014

23. “New York Court Delivers Third Strike Against Sirius XM on Pre-1972 Sound Recordings”, Sound Exchange, RT: 11/28/2014

24. Today Show Logo, Momsdemandaction.org, RT: 11/28/2014

25. The Turtles, Allmusic.com, RT: 11/28/2014

26. “Sir Nick Faldo to Host SiriusXM Show”, Techsonian.com, RT: 11/28/2014

27. New Channels and Lineup Changes, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

28. Joel Osteen, Lightsource.com, RT: 11/28/2014

29. “U.S. Music Royalty Fee Effective January 5, 2015”, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/28/2014

30. SiriusXM Programming, Siriusxm.com, RT: 11/20/2014

31. SiriusXM Financials, Google, RT: 12/1/2014

32. SiriusXM Stock Information, Watchlistnews.com, RT: 12/1/2014

33. Holiday Music at SiriusXM, Siriusxm.com, RT: 12/1/2014

Spotify

Posted on October 5, 2014 by cklytle

by Caitlin Lytle

[1] Brand name and Logo

OVERVIEW:

Spotify is one of the top streaming services on the market and is all about finding the right song for the right moment. There are over 30 million songs to choose to stream from, with over 50 million active users in 58 markets across the globe [2]. While Spotify is relatively new in American, launching in 2011, it was founded in 2008 in Sweden.

The Spotify interface users see [3].

Users can create profiles, and on there create playlists, they can follow other users playlists, and share songs on social media by connecting through Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter. In addition to following their friend’s accounts they can also follow celebrity accounts and see what their followers are listening to on a side bar. The service also serves as a great music discovery tool, with Spotify’s own curated playlists, and radio feature similar to that of Pandora. With free and paid accounts there is a little bit of something for everyone with platforms on a user’s computer, mobile, tablet, and most recently home entertainment systems.

Subscriptions are broken up into two types, free and “premium” accounts in which users pay $9.99 a month to experience add free listening as well as more access to mobile listening and off line listening with data. The ratio to active paying subscribers to free listeners is over 20% [4].

COMPETITORS:

Infographic aligning Spotify with their top competitor streaming services [5].

With the legacy of CDs and era of illegal downloading slowly dying out in the music business, people are looking more and more to streaming as a way to consume music. Because of this and the gap in the market for streaming services, in the last two years there has been a large emergence of streaming services that serve as competitors to Spotify. Last year Beats headphones launched Beats Music, and Amazon Prime Music launched recently as well, amongst already existent competitors like Rhapsody and Google Play.

DEEZER COMES TO UNITED STATES:

Deezer logo [6].

On September 14, 2014 Deezer came to America, which could potentially prove it self to be Spotify’s biggest competitor. Deezer is one of the world’s biggest names in streaming with its services available in 180 countries [5]. Due to licensing rights, they were not able to expand into the U.S. for quite some time, but now have the market of paying subscribers to go from 5 million users to rival Spotify’s 10 million international users [5]. However Spotify is at a slight advantage, because while Deezer is usually formatted with a similar interface to Spotify, Deezer in America is launching on a new platform. Deezer is only launching for US users through pricy Sonos sound systems and only those with speakers and the app can subscribe to the Deezer Elite service, with a steep price tag of $19.99 a month which is double that rate to Spotify’s for premium [7].

TAYLOR SWIFT AND THE STREAMING STRUGGLE:

Celebrity Sightings In New York City - October 30, 2014

Taylor Swift pulls catalog from Spotify [8].

In addition to Deezer coming to America this fall, Spotify also recently suffered another large loss. Pop- country princess, Taylor Swift, just pulled her entire catalog from the streaming service. With such a large artist, obviously Swift has caused a large impact on what consumers are streaming, especially with the recent release of an album. This is all apart of a larger argument right now not only with Spotify, but all streaming services that artists are being paid too little for the amount of plays they are receiving [9]. However, Taylor’s case is different. Management released a statement that she believes art and music are important and should be fully purchased and that albums and means of listening to that music should not be free [8]. Because of this all of her music was pulled from streaming services with free accounts, but not those services where you are required to pay in order to have a profile. There is large debate as to whether or not her music will return, but for the time being fans are expected to buy albums, and how the relationship between Taylor Swift and Spotify will develop is one to track.

SPOTIFY GROWTH:

While this fall has given Spotify some tough situations, this has not stopped them from expanding.

SPOTIFY FAMILY

Spotify Family, is the newest development in the programs interface. Similar to Netflix family accounts, Spotify Family now allows large families to have one billing account but different profiles for different family members, so Dad’s Rolling Stones playlists don’t get mixed in with Daughter’s Disney Princess playlist [10]. There are separate profiles and therefore different recommendations and profiles can be listened to at the same time, unlike before when one account could only be streamed in one place at a time [10]. In addition there is also a premium upgrade discount for families wanting to upgrade to this added service [10].

SPOTIFY + UBER

Spotify collaborates with popular car service, Uber [11].

Spotify is know for its unique brand collaborations, which continue as they offer music lovers cool experiences. This November on the 21^st they collaborated with Uber to give Spotify and Uber the ride of a lifetime [11]. When users had both apps on the 21^st, they could not only request a special car and get a vehicle with the new Spotify- enabled Uber cars, but they also had the chance to either get in a car that took them to a secret show in an undisclosed location, or get the chance to be picked up and driven around by some of their favorite artists [11]. This venture really shows the creative side of Spotify and how they connect with their users beyond a screen.

Artists and Shows available during the Uber promotion [11].

SPOTIFY + CARPLAY

Besides the Spotify- enabled Uber cars, Spotify is now reaching our vehicles this fall with CarPlay support in the latest iOS update [12]. The ioS app adds Apple CarPlay integration with that allows users to access the app through dash receivers and makes it easier for people to use the service in their vehicles [12]. Audi, Ferrari, Ford, and Hundai all plan on making the application available in their upcoming models for the next year [12].

WHAT’S NEXT?

With all of these great strides Spotify is taking to make them selves more user friendly and connect with their users, they will continue to be one of the top streaming services into 2015.

We can look to see Spotify as a brand present at future music festivals next spring as the festival season is fast approaching, as well as other unique music experiences brought to users with live music interaction, beyond the screen.

sources:

1. Spotify’s Logo 2014, Spotifypress.com, RT: 12/01/14

2. Spotify Press Fast Facts, Press.Spotify.com, RT: 12/01/14

3. Spotify User Profile Screen Shot, Open.spotify.com/artists, RT: 12/01/14

4. Spotify Press Information, Press.Spotify.com, RT: 12/01/14

5. Which Music Streaming Service Is the Biggest Worldwide?, Billboard.com, RT: 12/01/14

6. Deezer Logo 2014, Deezer.com, RT: 12/01/14

7. Deezer enters US market with Elite lossless service, Cnet.com, RT: 12/01/14

8. Taylor Swift Explains Why She Pulled Her Music From Spotify, Huffingtonpost.com, RT: 12/01/14

9. How is Spotify Contributing to the Music Business?, Spotifyartists.com, RT: 12/01/14

10. Introducing Spotify Family – one account for the whole band., News.spotify.com, RT: 12/01/14

11. 10 cities. 10 artists. Take a ride or see an exclusive live session., News.spotify.com, RT: 12/01/14