SiriusXM Responds to SoundExchange Request for Summary Judgement
In a 30 page document filed with the court, Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) has officially responded to the request for Summary Judgement in a case that alleges consiracy against the royalty collection and distribution agency. The battle is over alleged interference on the part of Sound Exchange and A2IM in Sirius XM trying to obtain direct deals with record labels.
At stake are millions of dollars and the ability for Sirius XM to offer true personalized and on-demnad radio for music. On-Demand and personalization will be staples in Sirius XM’s Satellite Radio 2.0 initiative. Satellite Radio 2.0 incorporates new technology on the satellite delivered content and makes Sirius XM Internet Radio much more robust.
While it is no secret that Sirius XM offers compelling content, rivals such as Spotify and MOG are much more customizable when it comes to music because they have direct deals with the record labels.
In its lawsuit, Sirius XM stated that it is seeking direct deals which offer the labels less money than they receive from Sound Exchange. Sirius XM points to the benefits of marketing for artists, as well as the removal of a middle man (Sound Exchange) and the fees associated. Royalty issues are currently being heard by the CRB with Sirius XM’s David Frear and Mel Karmazin testifying on behalf of Sirius XM last week.
In its filing this week Sirius XM stated that the defendants, Sound Exchange and A2IM, have “tortuously interfered with Sirius XM’s direct licensing efforts”. The company puts up a compelling argument. Whether the court sides with Sound Exchange or Sirius XM is up in the air, but in the meantime the CRB is wrapping up testimony and will be deciding the royalty fate in the next few month.
It’s not just music where SiriusXM’s advantage is slipping away, but also talk where new services offer a much wider selection PLUS it’s available on demand.
The battle used to be AM radio with a smattering of channels versus SiriusXM with a far superior lineup. Thanks to the net, DVR and smart phones there’s a totally new battle where SiriusXM content advantage is mitigated.
DAR.fm amasses the entire AM/FM/Net library of radio shows into one organized catalog available for recording and then listening on demand. Listening is like a DVR where users can fast-forward, rewind and there’s even a 30 sec skip. Most notably DAR.fm is free for one show and$40/year for 10 shows while SiriusXM is $216/yr. That’s a massive price difference.
Another competitor is Stitcher.com. They’re catalog of shows is weak focusing on the obscure and lightly listened, but all of their shows are available on demand. And their price is free.
SiriusXM was born in an era when competition looked much different than it does now. They seem to be aware of the net and they’re trying to adapt but like virtually every big company they’ll be too slow. Unless they acquire talent/services to supplement their offering they will struggle to keep their subscriber base in the face of ever improving digital competition.
I still say Sirius/XM is like espn. At first they were going to be copied. No competitive advantage. Blah, blah, blah. They are dominant as will be S/XM. Duel revenue, critical mass of ears. Men are the audience. Sports dominates as does the access to news. Music is not the driving force. The future key? Can they continue to raise prices? ESPN sure did!
why are all the comments slowly disappearing ?
Because one of my Internet stalkers is using even more fake names to threaten me. Rather than bore you with his threats to beat me up, his comments have been deleted.