That is a really cheap assessment. Total crap.
You speak nothing about content. You speak nothing about the lack of commercially-driven programming - that operating costs must come from subscriber fees since there is
no advertising. You only address cost to the consumer, and give no acknowledgement to the commercial-free access provided to music. Come on, Doug. That is not fair. I guess you feel the same about support for local symphonies, rock shows, opera, etc.? You would rather not pay for content and have it decided by the advertisers.
Yeah, the hardware has a cost. Done. And, like cable or satellite or whatever, if you yourself don't own the programming, you need to rent access. That is how it works. Don't be so naīve.
You really lost me on this one, Doug.
Agreed.
I live with constant music - many of us do. I loath FM and their playlists and advertising. I am too busy to swap CD's, and ever so hungry for new talent. I want to be shown stuff - things I am not aware of in Americana, Jazz, Classical, and even their talk radio choices. To the credit of satellite radio, my CD budget has increased. That is good for artists, good for the industry and good for us - artists will continue to strive for this as a career.
XM (and Sirius too...) does a phenomenal job in providing a non-commercially-compromised outlet for new artists. If you decide the cost is too high (and the compression, too...
), too bad for you. Through satelite radio I have learned a very great deal about new artists, new bands, new venues, new genres - a learning that far exceeds what came to me from FM.
I loath the compression, yet XM runs all-the-time at home through my 4345's, and I stream it at work (a part of their business model I proposed to management +3-yrs ago, and after being rebuffed is now a staple in their offerings... ). There simply is no alternative for real-time audio. The artists flock to these outlets and provide wonderful sessions of recording-session quality - live concerts of rare availability.
Don't miss this on basis of cost alone - that is the wrong metric, IMO. Cancel some of your cable- or satellite-TV options and redirect the spending. You will not be sorry...