XM subscription pricing

The royalty fee is a result of a court settlement. Not negotiable. XM has to pay that amount per subscriber to be able to continue to program music.

 

the electric company has to buy gas to make our electricity, that doesn't mean they should add that cost on top of thier cost.

Every business has operating costs.

The price should be the price.... end of story.
But there are always gimmicks to try and pass on the price.

At least they don't tack on a fee to wash their dirty underwear.

 

I just renewed my trial - Got the 77 + 11.95 just for asking. Also got the Nav for 3.95 per month. No break on the Nav. Thanks sharing this deal - well worth the 15 minutes of hold music.

--Mickey

 

I don't believe that is correct. Due to the merger with Sirrius they were not allowed to raise rates for three years but they were allowed to pass on additional licensing costs. Some people still seem to be getting the 5 month deal for $20 which appears not to have the royalty fees.

Sirius XM must raise prices to pay music royalties | Digital Media - CNET News

 

They can charge whatever price they want, but if they want my business, its going to be at my price. They can take it, or I walk.

I honestly dont think they will make it on their current pricing, even at $77. Their only new business is the new car buyers. All the home and portable subcriptions are going away, fast. Its just not worth it.

 

all businesses have pricing models. its like verizon wireless. they bill you surcharges.

surcharges pay their licensing fees they pay others to do business. they also charge a fee to process your bill, etc. its part of their customer agreement you accept when you sign up for service.

other companies bill you the same but bury it in their price to you. bottom line, they have the right to charge whatever they want and call it what ever they want. you either pay it or walk.

 

I did and didn't argue it. Ended up at $96 with tax for a year. That's probably about my limit. I'll see what happens next August.

 

Lots going on. Here's some more detailed information.


In late 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board made a decision to increase the royalty payments for "performance fees" for playing music on satellite radio. The license rate of 6.0% of gross revenue was applied for 2007 and 2008 - it was then increased to 6.5% for 2009 and will continue to increase to 7.0% for 2010, 7.5% for 2011 and 8.0% for 2012.

"Unfortunately we can no longer absorb these increased costs," the company stated in the leaked Sirius XM customer service script.

SoundExchange, the organization that collects royalties for record companies and artists, originally asked for rates roughly equal to 8% to 23% over the rate period. The final CRB decision of 6% to 8% came in significantly lower.

Remember, at the time of the CRB's decision, regular terrestrial AM/FM radio has never had to pay a single dime for performance royalties. Only internet radio and satellite radio were subject to these fees. Terrestrial radio is currently locked in a battle with the music industry's attempts at getting them to pay for music performance royalties.

Still, despite the fact that Sirius XM have been absorbing the royalty fees, effectively since 2007, the decision was made to pass along the fees to subscribers starting in July. The reason for this timing has to do with one thing and one thing only: the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC, in its decision to allow Sirius and XM to merge, authorized the combined company to begin passing along the music royalty fees beginning on July 29, 2009 - beforehand, the satcaster was required to absorb the fees.

The royalty fee is, in essence, a government-required fee (some would call it a "tax") much like the line items you would see on your electric bill. Of course - much like the electric companies - no one is forcing Sirius XM to pass along the fee to consumers, they're just allowing it.

 

I did a lifetime subscription to Sirius (DISCLAIMER: they still run as separate companies). When it came time to change cars they would not let me transfer it. I told them that this was never explained to me at the time of the subscription and pressed them on it. They relunctantly allowed me to transfer it to another car with a $70 "transfer fee". The net result is not much savings over a regular yearly plan. The company even after the merger is in financial terouble; their stock sells for less than $1/ share and who knows if they'll be taken over or survive. My advise: don't buy the lifetime subscription.

 

+1

I was even a bit skeptical about buying a whole year, it doesn't look like they are going to make it. They could but they would need to lower prices and improve customer service which they probably won't do. It's a concept that seems beyond them.

 

I will be willing to bet that the USG will take over the satellites if XM/Sirius goes under.

 

I just called and asked for "Visa Rewards" since I met all of the above conditions spelled out on your link. Even though I was very polite yet insistent, she told me it was only for "after-market radio" subscriptions, not for XM/Sirius car-installed units. I insisted that the information on the website, in no place, not even in fine print, said that. After putting me on hold twice, she said she was sorry but that was one of the conditions.

I called again hours later to speak to someone else. I was on "hold" more than not and eventually connected to a supervisor. Both of them seemed to search for a reason(s) to deny me the promotion and after the longest "hold" period said she would call me back at the number she recited that they had of mine on file. I'll see what happens if I ever get that call.

This is another instance of how they really suck.

 

XM weather is invaluable for aircraft and I think boats. It's $50 a month, has no competition, and I would think this would keep them afloat, but apparently not?

 

I just called 1-877-224-8720 and signed up for the 5 month promotional rate. They asked me where I heard about this rate, and I told them "through a special Prius automobile club that I'm a member of". She didn't hesitate for a second and signed me up for the deal. Here's the breakdown:

$19.99 for 5 months
$3.06 for the music royalty fee
$1.36 in taxes
Total Cost for 5 months: $24.41

The 5 months are added to the end of your 3-month free trial subscription, so if you are considering this offer, there is no need to worry about losing part of your free trial period. At the end of the 5-month promotion, they will start charging $12.95 a month unless you call to cancel or negotiate a better deal. This is how they "hook" most people, but for me, it's as easy as setting an automated reminder on my calendar to call and negotiate another deal 5 days out from the end of the 5-month period. (negotiating another deal is very easy to do when you threaten to cancel)

If you're thinking about renewing, don't hesitate to call...this is the best deal out there!

Bryan

 

If you don't want to deal with calling at the 5-month point, then perhaps the 1-year deal is the way to go, but it is not cheaper. The $77 deal is actually a little over $88 after the music royalty fee and then you have to add on taxes, so it comes in for most folks in at the $93-$94 range.

The final cost breakdown is $24 for 5 months or $93 for 12 months. For me personally, I don't mind calling at the 5-month point and negotiating a new deal. Again, it's a personal choice...and I'm glad that we all have so many deals to choose from! :thumb:

Bryan

 

XM killer?... iphone + pandora/slacker radio

I'm the kind of person that doesnt have a huge number of tunes on my ipod... I prefer to let someone else pick my music.. I'll choose the genre...

For music, I've had XM for a number of years... had a Roady XT in the matrix... when I got the 2010 prius I didnt bother to move the XM acct to the prius.. and I used the Roady XT at home/office/etc.

I figured I'd be signing up the prius as a "second radio".

But it appears to me that there's no discount for a second XM radio. Not good (it used to be $5/mo).

Also, I recently discovered pandora and slacker radio on the iphone 3gs... I'm currently using the "free" account... but ~could~ easily see paying the $36 (or so) per YEAR for "radio".

Given pandora, I'm not so sure I have any need whatsoever for XM.

I might drop the Roady and add the prius, but really, I'm not sure its worth it given pandora & slacker.

(There's no argument about the cost of the 3gs internet -- i need that anyhow for other reasons!)

Welcome to convergence.

The only downside with the iphone/pandora/slacker is coverage... e.g. if I travel to the boonies (camping/etc).. no coverage.
XM gets a +1 for this scenario.. but the downside on XM is the repetitive nature of the music and the talking DJs that showed up the day of the sirius merger.

jeff

 

Me to, the talking DJs is just crap, I pay good money for music, not some DJ. I live near Indy and get Q95, it's better at times and it's free and they do not pay any fees to play music. I set my tabs at 7, 8 and 46 and just flip as soon as the DJ comes on, you never get to here the start of any song, but no DJs.

 

just sign up xm radio. pricing this good for $77 and nav traffic for 3.99 a year. total for one year is 136.00. thank's to all member for the pricing info.

 

Thanks to this forum I was aware of the $77 per year offer for XM Everything. I called XM and the girl's comment was "since I was aware of the offer that she would have to give it to me". The total with the Music Royalty Fee and taxes was $95.66. I was told that at the end of next year that I would be invoiced at the current rate unless I choose not to renew.

The radio reception on my Nav system is very good; FM, AM, and SAT. I had just installed a Pioneer sound system in my Jeep about a year before buying the Prius. The radio reception and sound quality on my Nav system is just as good as the Pioneer system to me. I can even pick up distant FM stations that were intermittent on the Pioneer system.

I have a 50+ mile daily commute to work and enjoy the XM stations with no commercial interruptions. I found a station, the Bridge on Ch. 27, that advertises as the Lighter Side of Rock and has a lot of the groups that I listened to in my younger days. I also enjoy the ESPN stations along with the Atlantic Coast Conference sports stations. This is obviously worth it to me.