2012 Will Be The Year Of Sirius XM

As an investor in Sirius XM it is always good news to receive an upgrade and fun to watch the obligatory short-term bounce in the share price. The bounce is typically commensurate with the weight and notoriety of the analyst providing the guidance.

Over the weekend, Sirius XM issued an incredibly meaningful upgrade for its subscribers. Sirius XM has finally upgraded its mobile app for its iOS users, and for this enormously valuable (and long awaited) functionality, it is currently receiving the most quantifiable of upgrades, more substantial than even the most prestigious analyst could ever wish to give.

Sirius XM is now receiving accolades, gushing with sincerity and adorned with the highly coveted and elusive 5-star reviews from its current paying mobile app subscribers, and drawing the attention of incredulous spectators and has even raised the eyebrow of jilted ex-subscribers.

Over the past couple of years the Sirius XM mobile app was nothing more than an annoyingly clunky "promise-ring" marred with visible inclusions and out shined in an overly crowded mobile-music arena. An arena rife with precocious competitors comprised of the glimmering hordes of cannibalistic upstarts vying for their piece of the "cost-free" crown and moniker.

Sirius XM's mobile app subscribers have quietly suffered the shame and embarrassment borne out of the painful mediocrity of a loveless marriage and internalizing the invisible scars inflicted by a negligent partner in addition to the insidious nature of a protracted self-esteem deficit. These well-meaning subscribers strayed from the safety of their homes...

Read more on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/313355-2012-will-be-the-year-of-sirius-xm

Sirius XM: The "App" Pathetic Approach

...First things first. "Dear valued subscriber?" Since I have not personally received the email notification and have only seen the email second hand on several occasions, would I be correct to assume that I am not in the "valued" subscriber category? It certainly feels that way. Secondly, the perceived value of a subscription is a completely subjective premise. If you signed up for a subscription in 2001-2006, you will likely agree that both Sirius and XM have each added more variety and exclusive content over the term of your subscription and a price increase can be rationally justified.

If you signed up for Howard Stern, (as I did) the added value proposition becomes a bit flimsy, due to the fact that I am actually getting less value since Howard reduced his "live" weekly contribution by 25% and I have since been charged to use the internet feed, which was originally offered as complimentary, as well as the increased charges for additional subscriptions and new royalty fees. Upon the release of the mobile apps, Stern fans were shocked and dismayed after signing up for the $2.99/mo. service only to find that the "King of All Media" (some media apparently) was not available until his latest contract was negotiated and signed last December. To this day under the Sirius XM Appstore reviews, potential new subscribers are greeted with this horrendous and currently inaccurate 1 star review and rant that is visible by default as the most helpful: "No Howard 100/101?? Are you...

Read more on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/307359-sirius-xm-the-app-pathetic-approach

Paying The Piper: Sirius XM, Pandora & The Musical Artist

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture."-Steve Martin

In exploring the future viability of these two types of radio (satellite & Internet) and gauging if they are worth investing in, one must first understand the cost of royalties for Sirius XM (SIRI) and Pandora (P). It is essential to assign a value to the integral component and true source of each business' growing popularity and this (of course) is the music. Although some of the creators of music share the benevolent nature of a Jonas Salk and think their music should be free, the fact remains that most artists wish to become famous, popular and ultimately...highly paid. The journey of a song from creation to exploitation is a varied and a convoluted tale, so it should best be described in broad generalities, to which I will seek to let brevity be my guide. I'll give it a shot.

"Do your job and demand your compensation, but in that order."-Carey Grant

An artist sits down with an idea, a pad, a pencil, a piano, guitar or possibly a hookah, and through the enviable alchemy of intangible inspiration or (more commonly) through the warmed-over hackery of mediocre mimicry, a song is created. This artist may be unaware that the song was automatically copyrighted the moment it was fixed in a "tangible" medium (i.e. song tablature, CD, tape, etc.) however a smart artist will also register the song with the U.S. Copyright office for verification purposes and protection... 

Read More On Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/294332-paying-the-piper-sirius-xm-pandora-the-musical-artist