Monday, January 22, 2007

XMSR: Is A Merger With Sirius The Way To Settle With The RIAA?

I am a fan of satellite radio, and think their services provide huge benefits to consumers, so I am NOT impartial, but nor is the RIAA. They have a huge bias TOWARDS terrestrial radio and an obvious set of double standards. I give credit to XM for standing up to the RIAA, but am concerned about the risk of trial. Ultimately, I think a jury would be sympathetic to satellite radio over the RIAA, but is the overhang of uncertainty through resolution worth it?

Perhaps a merger with Sirius is a graceful way to for XM to exit this situation. Sirius already has an agreement with the RIAA as mentioned in our JAN. 20 post regarding recordable devices, and theoretically, XM could assume this arrangement in a negotiated settlement.

When is the RIAA going to realize that they are biting the hands that feed them? Satellite radio provides the best way to spontaneously and effortlessly introduce listeners to new music. The labels should evaluate their excessive contracts with talent, payola costs, etc. to understand what's behind their falling profits