Competitors

It is a subject that has been in the news for quite some time, yet satellite radio fans and sites seem to ignore the news. In my experience one thing that no one should ever do is ignore Google. The company is a giant, has a bankroll bigger than many nations, and does not often fail at something they attempt to do. In news today it was speculated that the Google streaming music service will use audio ads.

MediaPost has been following the subject closely, and their latest information about audio ads for Google’s Streaming to Android Smart Phones is yet another aspect of the service that makes it a potential to many audio entertainment services. MediaPost mentioned that a service like the one speculated for Google will compete not only with iTunes, but services such as Pandora. What audio entertainment fans should realize here is that Google does not tend to do things only part way. I would anticipate a full service offering that will compete with everything out there.

In addition to this news it is also being reported that Internet will be in 5 million cars by 2015. Analysts Frost and Sullivan note that, “Brought-in apps such as Internet radio are the latest developments in the automotive apps and services market. There is a gradual shift in the United States and Europe from embedded telematics to hybrid connected telematics in terms of allowing features to run from a smartphone inside the car. Within this hybrid connected space, vehicle manufacturers have enough traction to allow Internet radio apps to run inside the car from the smartphone and control it using vehicle Human Machine Interface (HMI).”

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In an interesting move that could have an impact on any music service globally, Google seems to be taking enough of an interest in music that they have brought on board music licensing attorney Elizabet Moody. In a story released by Billboards Antony Bruno, it is stated that Moody has been brought on board to spearhead negotiations with the record labels.

The news released still further speculation that Google may be in the midst of offering up a “cloud” based music service. The issue of cloud computing is something SiriusBuzz has been talking about both here and on our Satellite Radio News radio show. The important thing with cloud networks is that it makes the music and video files for services available from anywhere. This gives consumers more options on using and accessing their content on virtually any device capable of accessing the Internet, and storage capacity is not an issue.

If Google decides to make the move into music, they have deep enough pockets to do just about anything they want. With the hiring of an attorney that specializes in negotiations with the music industry, everyone in that space should pay attention. Google can impact everyone, and the scalability of music fees has gotten to a level that will make competition stiff. Moody is scheduled to start in August.

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We are all well aware that Sirius XM is a subscription service. We are also aware that over 16,000,000 Americans are willing to pay for subscriptions themselves. What we don’t know is if the current pricing structure of Sirius XM is at that magic point that maximizes potential. Sirius XM is still relatively young as a company, but the service ages almost daily with the amount of services and methods that people can obtain their audio entertainment.

There has been a lot of talk lately about “Cloud Computing”. The concept is simple. Your data, in this case videos and music, are stored on the net for streaming from any capable device anywhere. It is a model being considered by iTunes, and is already working with many other services such as MP3Tunes. Simply stated, you no longer need massive amounts of storage to hold your music and videos. With cloud computing, your entertainment is stored elsewhere, and you can access and stream it any time. New smart phones are great, but with all of the apps that users seem to love, space becomes a premium, and users are forced to choose between apps and some music or movies they have on the device. Cloud computing makes that choice easy.

NPD recently polled 3,862 iTunes users and posed a simple question to them. How much would you pay per month to have your iTune library stored for you?

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The mobile Internet platform has plenty of audio entertainment choice out there for consumers. Sirius XM has apps on the major platforms, but they are far from alone. Pandora and Slacker have been long time mainstays of consumers who stream over their phone, and it seems that each month another service announces their presence to the world via apps.

Yesterday Rdio and MP3Tunes went live on the Android Platform. While the services do not stream live content, they do fill a niche that satellite radio has not yet addressed. Rdio allows users to browse and listen to their own playlists previously saved in an online account, or access content on-demand from an extensive library.

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The Internet is a great resource used for everything from conducting businesses and people to being a place where many get their entertainment. It has literally become a facet of our daily lives, and as network speeds improve, we have begun to get more and more uses out of the Internet.

For Sirius XM investors it is an issue that carries particular interest with the Internet radio facet of their business. Central to the issue is the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington which made a decision in April that states that the FCC does not have seem to have the authority to have oversight of broadband, and by extension may not have the power to enforce “Network Neutrality” that bars broadband services from controlling what information flows through their networks.

This issue pits the owners of broadband networks against the services that do business on them. This is not only about music services such as Pandora, but also services such as Google, Amazon, and any company that maintains a presence on the Internet. Music and video centered services seem to take the limelight because their services are data intensive, and put a lot of demand on the systems.

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In an interesting move United Airlines has opted to utilize Microsoft’s Zune to entertain flyers. Up until the end of May the air carrier used Sirius XM. The contract with satellite radio was not renewed.

Zune, which has had trouble gaining penetration into the market, is likely using the deal to gain exposure much like satellite radio did a few years back.

The deals with airlines do expose travelers to services, but the effectiveness of such deals is difficult to measure. Sirius XM is still the music entertainment provider on Jet Blue.

The news sent ripples through the cell phone community, not just AT&T and their iPhone users. They all have great phones with awesome capability. You can use apps to do everything from basic calculations to editing photos, but it is the data that is so meaningful to many smart phone users. The ability to get on the Internet from anywhere is something that attracts many to upgrade to smart phones such as iPhone and Android.

AT&T recently announced that they are planning on phasing out unlimited data plans. For many this could be a major concern. Especially those that like to use Sirius XM, Pandora and Slacker. Streaming music is data intensive, and if a user does not have an unlimited plan, there is a danger of having to cough up the equivalent of a mortgage on a cell phone bill.

The announcement by AT&T could be followed by similar announcements from other carriers. What are those that stream music going to do? Well Slacker, a competitor of Sirius XM Internet Radio and Pandora has already developed a solution that will deliver the content people want while taking it easy on data usage.

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The FCC has issued a press release regarding their decision on the WCS spectrum which sits adjacent to the spectrum owned by satellite radio. The issue has been ongoing for years, and while the FCC is adopting new rules, the new decision is one that will have both WCS and Sirius XM claiming small victories while neither side will be completely satisfied.

The FCC Press Release states, “The Federal Communications Commission today adopted rules that will make available 25 megahertz of spectrum for mobile broadband service in much of the United States, while protecting adjacent satellite radio and aeronautical mobile telemetry operations. Mobile broadband promises to be a significant contributing factor for economic growth and job creation in the 21st century. To promote mobile innovation and investment, the National Broadband Plan recommends that the Commission make 500 megahertz of spectrum available for broadband use in the next 10 years, including 300 megahertz for broadband use in the next five years.

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