Sirius XM CC 0800 ET Don't be late!
I, as well as many others, are very anxious to have our conference call. It has been long awaited and a lot has happened without the guidance of Mel and Company. I want this to go smooth and I want it to be cold. Cold in the sense that I don’t want things buttered up or sugar coated, if you will. I want Mel to give us his best estimates of what Sirius XM is facing with the auto industry. Nobody can argue a slowdown right now, so be cold. Then I want him to already have a working plan on how Sirius XM is not going to lose subscribers because of this since (he will have plan XYZ). I still believe there are a lot of untapped revenue streams with this company and now is the time to attack them. Bring subs to Sirius XM while the markets are dead. Don’t sit on your hands and say the OEM’s will be back in 2010.
I also want to know with great detail the discussions Liberty and Sirius XM have going forward. Sirius has been working on synergies since they merged with XM. Now it’s time to start talking synergies between Direct TV and Sirius XM. There is a lot of opportunity and that opportunity is clearly why we are now partners with Liberty Media. Instantly, synergistic monies can be found by combined advertising in sporting events. Direct TV has all the major sport packages for our televisions and Sirius XM has conquered the sports radio waves. Right there, money in the bank from advertising synergies. That very basic example can be compounded and create a strong potential revenue stream. We may need to wait a little while longer on Liberty Media and Sirius XM as partners until Malone has his BOD are in place.
I want to hear in this conference call what Sirius XM is doing to create a whole new revenue stream. First I will mention the iPhone App and this I demand be addressed in the CC. It is long overdue and will not be put off any longer. The App itself has been rumored for some time now so this is not new, the revenues however, will be.
Second, I want Sirius XM to start thinking outside of the box. Follow me on this journey; Apple right now has the Mecca of all gadgets, the iPod. Every guy and gal from high school up to grad school has one. They are viral and this is exactly what Sirius XM needs. You want America’s youth on your side? (The answer better be yes because they drive the music and music technology industry and that my friends means $$$) Give them what they want, something fresh and unlike all other products out there.
Here is a humble mans approach to not just get a niche in the market but to become the market. Take our Stiletto 2 (already allows you to add your own mp3’s and record sat radio music) and juice it up more. Why shouldn’t I be able to purchase songs directly from Sirius XM no matter where I am (perhaps a partnership with Apple could help that.) That may bring small revenues but let’s think bigger monies. Instant information is the world we live in so why can’t we combine our work in progress Stiletto with the internet. With the internet at the tips of your fingers and essentially an endless supply of music you don’t need another gadget; or do you? Of course you do! A phone! Nobody lives without one and almost all have cameras on them.
Let me piece together my final product: A Sirius XM phone that has the ability to download music (for a fee like iTunes), can store mp3’s you already own, and also has the best radio man has ever seen, Sirius XM, built right in. It also has a camera that can store pictures/videos to instantly be added to facebook/myspace/whoeverwantstoviewbookspace. To me, this sounds like something AT&T would love or better yet, a nonexclusive partnership with cell phone companies to all sell Sirius XM’s phone.
The way I see it now, there are two must have gadgets for American youth, an iPod and a cell phone. Sirius XM, Mr. Karmazin, Liberty Interactive Group, you have the capability to bring in HUGE new revenue streams if you can make the Stiletto answer the Phone! If you don’t, I suspect others will.
D. Hermes
