Thanks, that's about what I was thinking.
As for the live stuff, they probably insert that as needed. I'm sure most of the DJs are available to record a snippet for a particular day, or to make a brief live announcement.
Music Thoughts
- Thread starter Kryptonite
- Start date
As for the live stuff, they probably insert that as needed. I'm sure most of the DJs are available to record a snippet for a particular day, or to make a brief live announcement.
I think they keep a couple on air live for their shifts so that they can show them off for visitors and whatnot.
To a certain extent that 'formats not available on FM' still exists. Nowhere in this town does classic country exist, and you sure as hell aren't going to hear Shooter Jennings on mainstream country radio. It reminds me of a SiriusXM town hall a while ago with the Dixie Chicks, where they were asked why their music wasn't played on regular radio. They said it'd have a hard time fitting in between songs like 'Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" and "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" (and yes, those are actual country song titles. Yee haw!). It's so bad around here, even if the rates did go up I'd probably opt for a cheaper plan, as I understand, a 1 year/$99 plan exists. That accounts to about $8.25 a month.
There is a college rock/indie station based out of Denver (about 60 miles south of me) but the reception is very spotty. Hence the reason SiriusXMU and the Alternative channels are still very useful.
There is a college rock/indie station based out of Denver (about 60 miles south of me) but the reception is very spotty. Hence the reason SiriusXMU and the Alternative channels are still very useful.
They're like the animatronics at Chuck-E-Cheese, except they're on a continuous loop talking about the RRHOF exhibits, and how they're broadcasting from the Alan Freed studio.
I'm fortunate to have a good college station and adult contemporary station to listen to. But there's the usual myriad issues: poor reception, repetition, commercial breaks, sponsor promos, and just plain ol' shitty music sometimes.
However, being better than FM is trivial. Most people use other streaming or downloading services, and that's a tougher case to make. We get a sat sub with streaming. It's around $25/mo. Other people are paying under $10/mo for an alternative. Hell, we get Amazon music with our prime sub.
But the wife likes being able to start her car, and the sat just plays. No streaming, or downloading, or fussing. And we mostly use her car for trips/errands, so it works everywhere, every time we start the car.
I stream in my car, at work, and at home. I've tried other streaming services, and I prefer that SXM brings me the most significant new songs and artists. They have people who actually cultivate the music, based on who's important, or who's the next big thing. I don't want to stream or download music that's all related to Tame Impala. I don't know what new music is coming out, or by who. But they do a good job of keeping me musically informed. So that's what I pay for.
BTW, my daughter has a sat rad in her car, and when they raised the monthly fee on her package, she went down to the "mostly music" package. It kinda sucks. She was getting the comedy channels, but not any more. Now it's just music and selected news. And it's $14/mo. So whatever plan you're talking about, that's a promotional rate.
I drive a Chevrolet Cruze that comes with CarPlay, with CarPlay I can get Apple Music (I have a yearly subscription at $99) plus Podcasts (free) Audiobooks and several apps that are CarPlay compatible.
Apple Music has human curators that create playlists, program what radio stations they do have (Beats1 is the main one, but they have several that are format based, including a lot you can't get on Sirius, World Music used to have quite the presence on XM before the takeove-, er merger.
I also have OnStar which offers a $20 a month data plan of unlimited data anywhere you are at. It works out here, and it's worked everywhere I've been. I had it before re-signing up for Sirius, so it's an option if Sirius goes away.
I like Sirius, but at its current rate. If it went up, that'd give something to think about.
Apple Music has human curators that create playlists, program what radio stations they do have (Beats1 is the main one, but they have several that are format based, including a lot you can't get on Sirius, World Music used to have quite the presence on XM before the takeove-, er merger.
I also have OnStar which offers a $20 a month data plan of unlimited data anywhere you are at. It works out here, and it's worked everywhere I've been. I had it before re-signing up for Sirius, so it's an option if Sirius goes away.
I like Sirius, but at its current rate. If it went up, that'd give something to think about.
Okay, my recent job change made my commute go from 20-25 minutes one way down to about 5. So Sirius is out the door. Not worth paying $25 a month for 5-10 minutes of listening a day. Since my car has CarPlay equipped I won't be missing much music wise (except talkative DJs) plus podcasts and the local NPR stations will more than make up for the talk selection.
We stream Sirius through our home theater receiver for dinner/ background music, and I run it to bluetooth speakers on our screened porch. Plus I stream it at work. So even if I didn't have a 50 minute commute, I'd still want all that. Plus the wife's truck has the satellite built-in, and we drive that all weekend.