XM US Royalty Fee

Got home today (07/18/2009) and found a letter from XM Satellite Radio. Seems a US Music Royalty Fee (TAX) of $1.98 goes into effect 07/29/2009. I'm throwing my own tea party and XM can shove it. I cancelled my subscription just to make a point. Taxes on corporations always get passed down to the consumer. I intend to cancel every nickel and dime tax that comes my way! :taunt:

I can understand you being upset, and certainly XM should have figured out their business model to include the royalty fees paid to the artists who created, and continue to create, the music and programming you like to listen to... but, this is not a tax... ---------------------------- tax |taks| noun a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions. • [in sing. ] figurative a strain or heavy demand : a heavy tax on the reader's attention. ------------------------------ This is basically XM raising their rates to cover a normal cost of doing business. brad

My local terrestrial radio stations are running promos about this as well. Not that I EVER listen to terrestrial radio, but we were in the wife's SUV last night and she does not have XM. I feel your pain, but as annoying as it is, I would not give up XM over a couple bucks. In my town, free OTA radio is nothing but an endless stream of commercials, occasionally interrupted by music, and populated with "personalities" that never fail to grate on my nerves. I am not a talk radio guy, and listen to hear music, not some jerkweed telling me about his weekend. The day I got XM was the last day I tuned to a terrestrial station in my car. Sirius/XM was on pretty shaky financial ground not too long ago. I hope they remain a going concern. Others prefer to play their iPods in the car. No problem with that if you want to just hear the music you already own. I like hearing on XM music that I might like that I do not already own. Stations like Little Steven's Underground Garage have been a revelation to me. I sure hope XM stays around so I can keep hearing it. On an unrelated note, type997, LOVE the avatar! Brian

+1 Brian, NM radio will make you give up radio period. Music, NPR and ESPN are required for long distance driving unless it is my preferred "nothing". Anything beyond nothing needs Sirius/XM here.

I cancelled my XM subscription some time back because they started with commercials on several of the channels. The lack of commercials was a big reason why I used their service. Beez, I don't know that I'd mind paying an extra $1.98 if it actually went to the artist, but I have a feeling that they wouldn't see .10 of it.

I'm about to give up my subscription. We pay annually, but the SiriusXM service tier structure has changed enough for me to be disinterested. Separate pricing for internet service, +sound qty. internet, and XM crossover chanels. In all 3 vehicles I can install iPod adapters (or I have them already). With the money saved we can get plenty of new, commercial free music programming. Its sad that such a great service had to use expensive talent to lure listeners. I think the big ticket contracts with Stern, Oprah, and alike have taken the bottom out of any potential profit and growth the company could have made with a more methodical approach to the service. I too will miss the service during my drives out to New Mexico, but the radio in 90% of Arizona is bad too. Hopefully the ipod compensates.

Might I suggest you listen to Rides That Rock instead, it's FREE!

Well, now that you can get the Sirius/XM iPhone application (for the premium subscription price), now you can stream it through an iPhone connection...... The only reason for the XM-on-Sirius (or vice versa) to me is to get the sports which the other service carries (ie, baseball and hockey on XM, football and NBA on Sirius). I almost never listen to Oprah or Howard Stern or Opie/Anthony, and all the other channels are now carried on both services (including both E Street and Little Steven's UG).

I read recently where the umbrella royalty contracts with ASCAP and BMI were renegotiated, which probably is the reason for this rate change - ad rates on commercial radio have risen because of this as well. But, my guess is XM is probably charging more then they would have to, in order to just cover the new royalty structure. Why everyone thought a merger between Sirius and XM was a good thing, is beyond me... seems no one learned a thing from giving the cable TV companies monopolies allowing them to charge whatever they want. brad

Wow, I considered including a disclaimer in my original post but thought it unnecessary. Wrong, so here it is. My protest and cancelation of XM is not over two bucks. It is the principle of the fee. It makes me feel better telling XM to shove it. Some say it is not a tax but I feel certain the money is trickling down into government hands somewhere. While I’m complaining, XM and Sirius merged right? Well, I own one car with XM and one with Sirius. I’m not going to pay two basic subscriptions. I should be able to pay one basic subscription and then add radios regardless of the branding.

The additional royalty fee (not holding my breath that it makes it to the musicians) is not that big a deal. What I don't like is the idea of having to buy a completely SEPARATE contract, on top of a separate satellite receiver, to listen to XM in the house. Considering the abysmal state of commercial broadcast radio in Houston, I went with XM-prep in the new car. Do like it, good for cross-country; nice change from the 1200+ CD's in my library. But why can't Sirius/XM understand that when I'm home, I'm obviously not using the receiver in the car??

I have XM subs for my Ridgeline and my wife's Jetta. When I started w/ them, I got in on a $77/yr. promo subscription, and have kept those ever since. Last time I had to renew my wife's sub, they didn't cave in easily to my demand for that deal, and promised it was the last time I'd be offered it. Last month, my RL's sub expired. I called to cancel, and when they asked why, I said I wasn't willing to pay their list pricing. Got the $77/yr. deal again. My wife and I have agreed to drop them should we ever have to pay more than that.

Confirmed. You have to do a bit of *work* with the customer service rep on the phone, but they will offer the $77/yr deal. I just got the "hope you are enjoying your trial subscription of XM" letter and it came with subscription plan choices that listed 1 year for $177.71 (1 month free!!). Using some advice I found online, the trick is to call [phone removed]- not the other numbers. They will still slap the performance tax on there, so the end price is around $96 for the year. To add to the group rant, XM is being dishonest and deceptive in their pricing. Why not just say it is $1/month* (*plus applicable fees, business expenses, salaries, executive perks, and shareholder dividends)? I guess the likes of AT&T and Comcast have demonstrated how well obfuscation works.