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SiriusXM Searching for New Biz

landtuna

landtuna

Walk of Fame Participant
I wasn't real sure this post belongs in this folder so hope it is OK and assume it will be moved if necessary.

I took my car into my local dealer for some warranty work last week and yesterday received a letter from SiriusXM offering a two-month freebie trial subscription to its basic tier. Because I am not in the car very much it is not likely to be used and they didn't offer an Internet streaming capability along with the vehicle (my only sat receiver) trial. I was hoping the streaming was part of the trial since I spend a lot more time online than in the car.

When new in 2012 my vehicle came with a trial subscription which expired long ago and the letter from SiriusXM still had all the original information (radio ID, VIN, my personal info) from the purchase.

Apparently they are trying very hard to resign previous subscribers. I occasionally get flyers in the mail from them but none have had my specific vehicle or radio info so this looks like a new campaign.
 
It's a smart campaign.
Giving you a trial subscription costs them nothing (except for a small music rights payment).
There is a chance that you will become a long-term subscriber.
They can deduct the dollar value of your trial subscription from their income tax liability.
It's possible that they can actually make a profit by giving away some trial subscriptions.
 
That, and they count freebie users under the trial period in their subscriber numbers. Ironically they don't adjust those numbers down as people don't sign up past the free trial or cancel their subscription. Even then Sirius XM is estimated to have <1.3% of the total US radio listening base.
 
Kelly A said:
That, and they count freebie users under the trial period in their subscriber numbers.
Click to expand...

And unsold cars sitting in dealer lots. If there's an activated radio out there, it's a "subscriber" whether anyone listens to it or not. Amazing that the SEC has let those weasels get away with this for so long.
 
Forgot to mention that this trial, unlike the many others I have received, does not require a credit card to initiate. It will therefore be interesting to see how the subscription is handled once it reaches its end of life as a trial. Most other offers like this require a credit card and will automatically begin billing at a default rate once the trial ends.
 
After a few hours listening to the "new" SiriusXM it appears there is little joy in Mudville.

First, I will admit my listening habits are rather narrow although on occasion I will listen to Big Band, BeBop (50's), Oldies (thru early 80's), and even Country now and then. Once my radio activated I dialed through all the channels just to get a flavor of what was playing. Sad to say I didn't hear a single song on any channel that would grab my interest.

I don't understand how SiriusXM thinks genres consisting of one single artist would ever succeed (think Sinatra or Elvis). Likewise, some of the country flavors are so similar you can't tell which channel you are listening to. The religious and ethnic channels are a waste to me and, I assume, to the majority of total listeners.

I think the only way I would ever become a paid customer is if I was a long-haul trucker or over-the-road salesperson who spend their days and nights driving way out West where OTA radio signals arrive and depart without warning. One thing that did surprise me though was, compared to the HD signal quality, SiriusXM wasn't that much worse. You can tell familiar passages aren't quite the same as with HD but they are close enough not to bug the average listener not listening to quiet classical.
 
Like my friend Landtuna, I just don't find their programming to be very interesting. I suppose if I were a news junkie, I might like some of the news channels, but they tend to be very repetitive. I'm not a huge sports fan, so those channels don't interest me very much either. The comedy is OK, but again that is repetitive. After you've heard the same routine over and over, it ceases to by funny. My choice in music channels is fairly close to Tuna's. They are OK, but it isn't very often I hear a song that makes me go "Oh, Wow!" The fidelity issue isn't a killer for me, but a well processed FM station usually sounds a lot better.

Sirius-XM's latest offer is $4 a month for 6 months. They are getting close to a reasonable price. I may do it. On the other hand, unless I'm traveling, I usually keep my own radio stations tuned in, if for no other reason than to make sure everything is working properly (also, I actually like them). If I'm on the road, my cellphone will stream audio via Bluetooth to my car radio. It sounds reasonably decent. I've never gone over my data limit, so I'm not sure why IO really want XM.
 
If I may revive this old post, I just got a free trial on my car too... IMO the monthly $14 aren't worth it. Highly compressed audio with a lot of song repeating at least in the audio channels. I'll stick with my good old AM/FM and MP3 radio.
 
The only reason I've kept my subscription(s) is my wife and son like listening to the commercial free music channels. That being said, both do complain about some of the tracked jocks breaking in too often trying to inflict their personality. Admittedly it can be painful to listen to sometimes. Especially the old MTV VJ's.
 
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