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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."
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.
Please pay attention! XM caused some trouble for the guy that wrote software to timeshift XM using their usb device.
You don't have to download anything, though. Searching a music catalog is limited by your memory: instead of thinking, "gee I want to listen to that obscure Twisted Sister B-side from the early eighties," you can tune in to XM's hair metal channel and it will probably come on. On my vacation, I kept the rental car's radio tuned in to that very channel, and I couldn't believe how many times I heard something that I only vaguely remembered but liked, and never would have thought of searching for. (Especially when it comes to one hit wonders whose names you don't recall.) For this reason, some people prefer paying professionals in the given genre to find content for them.
--All your stolen base are belong to Rickey Henderson
Disclaimer: I am an XM subscriber.
The music channels are commercial free. XM makes no false pretenses about other channels. The closest thing that you get to a commercial on the music channels that the DJ might mention a show on another XM channel.
Content that comes from third party sources may include breaks for commericals because they are carried on commercial radio stations. That's just the way those shows are created. They don't make a commercial free version of Al Franken or Michael Savage.
For example, talk radio material comes from major syndicators (e.g. Premier Radio Network, Talk Radio Network, Air America, and ABC Radio Networks). Those shows are programmed to have hard breaks. Go check the websites for the syndicators for the clocks.
Same goes for the simulcasts of the cable news channels (Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, etc.) and the sports radio channels (Fox Sports, Sporting News, and ESPN Radio).
In many instances, the space used for commericals is populated by a number of non-advertisement filler features and blurbs. Among those I've heard:
Audio Book Cafe (description of new audio books)
Between the Lines (interview with authors)
Earth and Sky (science and nature news)
Film Clips (movie reviews from Mike Reynolds)
Country Music Report (Natalie Windsor)
Megabyte Minute (tech news)
Into Tomorrow (tech news with Dave Graveline)
Technofile (tech news with Lazlow)
NASCAR News (reports from Clarie B. Lang)
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P.J. Hinton
-- P.J.