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XM Radio Plans Online Music Service
Grump writes "Diving into the already crowded online music business, XM Radio Online, will launch sometime in early October and operate commercial-free, just as its satellite programming does. XM will charge $7.99 per month for unlimited listening and offer a discount rate of $3.99 to subscribers of its existing radio services."
Time-shifting the broadcasts using Total Recorder.
XM's "add streaming of our music online" for $3.99 sounds like a pretty cool deal when taken alone, but their main competitor Sirius actually includes that feature for free with purchase of the main subscription. They'll even offer a 3-day trial of the streaming service for non-subscribers in the hopes of convinving people to sign up based on that. Of course, Sirius charges $3 a month more than XM for their base subscription.
It makes perfect sense (cents?)
They already have the structure setup to spit out tunes and news. As people get addicted to it in their car, they'll naturally want it at their desk too...
Wouldn't surprise me if they offer it for a cheap add-on to their existing service.
A "discount" rate? Why is it not free?
For sirius satellite radio, you can stream over the internet for free (if you already have a subscription).
This seems ridiculous.
What's the use of buying something that your are paying for in the first place? Hell stick a CD in the player if you want to hear something specific.
THis XM stuff is going too far to the wild side.
I'm here for the experience, not the Hyperbole.
I am sure there are numerous others free online services for different genres of music. Why would you shell out for this?
Sirius already offers this included in the cost of their service. Hell, you don't even need to be a subscriber to use it. You can sign up for a 3-day trial, wait for it to expire, then sign up again (according to their customer service).
Oh, and XM isn't 100% commercial-free, where Sirius is.
I love internet radio, but listening to heavy metal on my Launchcast station 9 hours a day at work tends to wear thin after awhile. If the online offering is anywhere near as expansive as what's currently offered, I would definitely throw down 8 bucks a month for the service.
Please pay attention! XM caused some trouble for the guy that wrote software to timeshift XM using their usb device.
All Sirius Sat Radio subsribers can listen to all their audio streams online for free (as in beer) for the past several months, how can XM possible claim this type of service is 'new and special' and charge for it???
Yes, I could join their StreamLink service, but this only costs a slight bit more and gives me access to a lot more stuff.
Erick
http://www.busyweather.com/
Only if I can get a ripper.
When modding "Informative", please make sure it both has a source and IS actually informative.
Okay, so this may be a little offtopic, but... /.er's opinions? I was already leaning towards Sirius because of the free internet streaming and nfl, but xm seems to have a few more channels.
Which satellite radio service is better in you
What do you think?
What's the bandwidth of their sattalite offering compared to steaming from the internet? and would their internet braodcast be higher quality than FM?
not sure how this is different from any number of countless other free streaming music resources on the internet... i think the bigger question is, do people want streaming of someone elses choice or do they want unlimited choice of their own? we may all jump quickly to the conclusion that we'd like 100% choice all of the time, but there is quite a phemonemon emerging as of late called tivo-itis, where so many are observed getting stuck in ruts at their own content programming ineptitudes and gleefully leap back to pre-programmed channels very interesting topic and one that will certainly continue to impact media markets as VOD and other viewer choice options emerge and are able to compete with pure pre-programmed options
But I think I'll just download the music for free instead, thank you internet.
What is so great about XM radio? I use FM radio and don't have any complaints. Is XM more clear or something?
Come and say hi. http://forum.penpals.com/index.php
I will purchase this the minute Howard Stern starts broadcasting over XM
John Smith of Nowhere, PA is reportedly not planning an online music store. We have yet to receive official confirmation that Mr. Smith, a 72 year-old retired janitor at Nowhere Middle School who is a local hero after bowling a 300 game back in '86, is indeed without plans for opening an online music store at any point within the next 6-12 months. Neighbor and long time friend Bob Jones was quoted as saying, "Nope. Y'uns gotta believe it... he ain't never thought of it a'once."
We'll have more on this breaking story as it develops.
Now this after killing XM on the PC? I'm beginning to think XM seriously doesn't "get it". While I enjoy Rhapsody where I can stream what I want, when I want, there are tons of free internet radio stations I can already available. If they keep up these tactics, I'll soon be cancelling my two XM subscriptions.
The winamp plugin shoutcast is an onlien radio service that has 1,000 channels + ITS FREE!
The key question for me is whether it is compatible with non-IE browsers. I would love to sign up for Rhapsody, but they are IE only.
e.g., live365 radio is advert free if you pay for it, and the rates are cheap.
I suppose it is similar to everything in life. Pay a lot, get the most commercialised service because you know about it because it is advertised, but it raises the cost of the service.
I wonder how they'll do security.
ie keep no-paying users off the service.
When I got XM radio (I've since canceled) I was disappointed when the artist/album/song titles were truncated. Figured I was up against a crummy piece of hardware but found out when I called XM it was XM's limitation.... WTF?!? Billions of bits of music streaming into my exercise room, and I can't get the few lousy extra bits to distinguish if the song I'm hearing is Crosby Stills Nash, or Crosby Still Nash Young?!?
Check out their features for on-line music. If they'll truncate the satellite feed, what other shortcuts will they take for the on-line?
Just an anecdotal sharing of my experience.
I'm paying $3.95/mo. for a VIP membership at Live365.com. Sure, I paid for 12 months in advance to get that rate, but you still only pay $5.95/mo. on a month to month basis. No adds, no pop-ups, good audio quality (for streaming audio), and with 10K+ streams available, no boredom. It's one of the few things keeping me sane during the workday.
I'll bet the RIAA will be looking at this extra-crispy close . . . after that whole XMPCR deal turned into an MP3 factory program.
For gods sake Apples Ipod was not inovative, it was marketed sure but Creative had solid state mp3 players long before apple did. I absolutly fail to see where Windows wants to be OSX and as far as I'm concerned linux only wants to be OSX when someone applys a theme for it.
Apple markets way more then they innovate. They know their Apple fanboys will pay hand over fist for their newest smooth peice of plastic regardless of the fact it is slower and does less then hundreds of alternitives out there.
And don't harp on to me about reliablity and manufacturing quality. My AMD Processor has yet to let me down, nor has my Asus Motherboard or my Sony DVD Writer. Also my 5 button Microsoft mouse is just aces.
Now if XM would offer the ability to configure personalized online streams to be broadcast over XM - that would be cool. So that I could listen to my favorite online radio stations in my car.
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I actually think this might work. I've always been skeptical of business models based on people paying for a music subscription rather than downloads. People like the idea that years down the line it's still theirs, and is always theirs.
This gets around it by having a receptive audience already in place - XM subscribers who effectively pay for commercial-free music streaming already. This just adds it to their computer as well as their car, etc.
Nice move.
I don't know what kind of crack I was on, but I suspect it was decaf.
Wow, you have a Windows PC!!?? That sounds really cool!
Thanks for sharing! Where can we get one? Got a link?
XM is great for the morning and evening commute- I can hardly believe I made due with the swill on the normal radio for so long. However, having a computer w/ internet connection at my disposal means my entertainment choices are much more open. Port this to my PPC cell and I'll bite. In the meantime, if I want XM at home I'll buy the home adapter for ~$50 and pay no extra monthly fee.
Why pay for music when it is free?
And stick your antenna out the window. (Or you may be able to leave the window closed if there is no screen.)
My Roady (original, not 2) home kit is taking forever, I just switch the antenna between listening locations.
I'd pay the extra $4/mo if:
a) it works under Linux
b) It isn't restricted to a single computer
Would reduce stress on my Roady's connectors bringing it inside from the car every night.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
The variety and choice on XM is far greater than XM.
I've heard a lot of stuff on XM that I would never hear on your average Clear Channel station.
I love my XM receiver.
As far as the Sirius fanboys saying Sirius includes it for free:
a) Sirius programming is more "mainstream" (i.e. Clear Channel-style) than XM from what I've heard
b) Above posters said the Sirius streams are crap quality
c) XM is $3-4/mo less than Sirius for the base sub.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Download Winamp (FREE) and listen to the 1000+ channels on shoutcast (FREE). Minimize Winamp. Do other stuff while you're listening to the beautiful FREE music.
This is insane. Why should you waste bandwidth for online radio? when they have (had) a usb adapter that could tune the same radio they are beaming into your home and head? Yes.. I should have to pay for isp bandwidth and radio service.. instead of just radio service.. ugh.
Another instance where *most* Linux users are locked out of multimendia content. I have not triued firing up my codeweaver cross-over with it yet. But I am getting sick of "HAVING" to do that. . . .
There is actually a bonus to having a DJ on a station, it gives it a more "human" feel to it, whereas no DJ starts seeming like Muzak.
XM typically handles the balance well though, their DJs usually talk far less than FM DJs. Bodhi and Grant Random, the two DJs that appear on Squizz (XM's hard rock channel) are really good, and a good example of "not too much, not too little".
So reasons to get XM over FM:
a) Variety, there's so much more you will hear on XM you'll never hear on XM
b) No commercials
c) Quality, and never needing to change channels because you're out of range. Of course you may want to change channels because you want to hear something different. I have 4 of my 6 car's FM presets set, and most of the time I only use one of them. On my Roady, I've filled all ten of my presets and use them all.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
"XM recently scrapped the XM PC Receiver because the device could be used with third-party software to download music from its radio stations onto home computers."
I can record anything I hear with my soundcard. Sure, it's a little more work, but I can separate the songs using mp3 direct cut. The work comes in when it's time to name them and complete the tags.
Am I missing something or is the "commercial free" line complete BS? I rented an Avis car a few weeks ago that had XM satellite radio in it. It seemed like it was as bad as AM radio! I listened to the two comedy selections they had, raunchy and nice, and both were filled with ads. Many of the ads were for XM sattelite service itself, but there were other ads for the same kind of crap you would find on any station. The same was true for their political stations, both left-leaning and right-wing. The brichure int he car made the same claim, that the satellite service was "commercial free". Far from it.
I love listening to it in the car, but I didn't wanna buy one of those XM boomboxes. I will definately get this!
So fucking what? Sirius is a far better service and already offers this without additional charge.
before someone creates a program that automagically rips to mp3s and tags them?
Is XM Radio available over the Internet?
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XM Satellite Radio is an entertainment service delivered to cars and homes via satellite. Although we do plan on continuing to use the Internet to provide samples of our audio, our over 120 channel lineup is only available using dedicated XM hardware. (Additionally, the state of Internet streaming technology and limited consumer bandwidth would necessarily degrade the clarity and quality of our service.) If you'd like to sample XM, please visit http://channels.xmradio.com/ and listen in.
http://www.xmradio.com/faq/help_sub.jsp?id=32&off
Launch is $3 or $4 a month for streaming radio and has a ton of users (I've been a user for abour 4 years but never sprung for the pay version).
Rhapsody is $10/month with unlimited streaming stations and unlimited on-demand. This is the greatest thing to ever happen to me since my first cassette player. Why would I pay $8 a month for XM when I get as many stations and as much variety from Rhapsody PLUS the ability to listen to damn near anything I want within about 2 seconds of deciding I want to hear it? Rhapsody allows me to listen to full CDs that I would never buy, just to verify that I don't like them. And it allows me to listen to a full CD 3 times and have it grow into my favorite band this year. And make playlists that rival anything anyone would ever dare play on the radio.
Streaming radio is great, I am a fan. On-demand is heaven. Unless XM is on-demand, that price will never suceed.
The truth doesn't care what I think.
There are tons of great free online stations like WOXY. I can understand why one might pay for radio in your car, but not for streaming radio on the internet.
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
Don't you think XM Radio will be pretty much out of business once wireless internet access becomes available "pretty much anywhere??" I have a vast array of music, and once the technology for wireless internet access increases enough in speed and is more available across the nation, I will just listen to my own music (for free--or whatever the costs of the internet access are) rather than use XM.. I imagine a lot of others would do the same. And in the case that you don't want to listen to your own music, well, there are thousands of MP3 radio stations out there, so to me it sounds like XM radio's future isn't too bright.
Don't bother listening to it unless you like recycled ClearChannel bull. Woohoo NO COMMERCIALS but you get the same BS as regular radio. Listen to something more original. Sirius radio rules satrad and I'd take shoutcast any day over anything else.
JZ
mplayer -dumpstream $location
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I always get suprised how people in America live with being charged for everything like watching ads on TV and listening to radio.
Sorry guys, in every country I've lived in, listening to radio was free. :) I just can't understand the concept.
Sirius streams are only 32kbps, although we don't know what the XM streams will be.
They are constantly having server issues. Sirius message boards are full of "is your online streaming working today" threads.
Not all SIrius channels are available online. Its pretty much music only, no news, sports or entertainment. XM has indicated that it will have music and "a variety of other content" which I assume means that they don't have all the contracts signed yet for all the content providers but it does seem like it will have more choices than Sirius,
"I forgot my mantra."
the article talks about how it's a music service... wouldn't all the xm stations be available to the subscriber???
i'd be more interested in the service for the news stations and talk radio...
All the torrents you could want.
O&A are coming to XMradio. Might be worth it to get the stream service so you can listen to them at work... [with the volume turned down ;-]
Live web cams
Opie and Anthony start broadcasting in October...with one catch: Its a "premium channel" that you have to pay and extra $1.99 for. I'm sure if Howard Stern moves to XM it will be the same deal - which sucks.
Sound waves should be free!
Apparently I was under a rock when xm offered the pcr, because I had only heard of it a week ago. When I read about it on the xm site, I was thrilled, because I have only dialup available in my area, so streaming internet was out of the question. I also wanted to listen to music at work, but the system admin recently told me I couldnt because my 16k streaming apparently eats up all of the company's bandwidth (sucky huh?). As quickly as i was excited to find the pcr service, it was erased, as I learned they cancelled it due to the RIAA. When I emailed XM about this, I got a canned response telling me about their streaming internet radio. In short term, I let them know no one really gives a hoot about this outdated technology, and if I wanted to pay money for streaming music, I would just get Napster which has an unlimited number of stations, and downloadable music, letting me make my own stations. With the satellite radio on the pc, they had a unique product that catered to people with low internet bandwidth, and they let the ripping software ruin an innovative product before it got off the ground. I think it is one of the biggest business blunders I have ever heard of.
I assume there will still be an extra fee for subscribing to the "premium" Opie and Anthony channel starting in October.. hmph
Enough said. Its worth more for a couple of bucks a month not to support clear channel. I enjoy my Sirius system.