XM gets worse...

[bellenseb]

I'd been enjoying XM through DirecTv, since at least it was free, and they've just ruined one of the halfway decent stations they had, Ethel. In the past the station played a pretty interesting variety of alt rock from the 90s to now, lots of non-singles and stuff you really don't hear on regular radio...and then suddenly they flip to a FM "modern rock" clone that plays the likes of My Chemical Romance in very heavy rotation and little else. Tell me again when I can get internet radio in my car?

[kosmo vinyl]

so wait xm is behaving like a terrestrial radio station?  say it ain't so!

[J'Mal]

It ain't so.
 
 I'm not a big ethel listener, but ethel is SUPPOSED to be the "mainstream alternative" station.  If you want more non-singles, old alternative stuff, you need to listen to XMU (43) and FRED (44).  You may also try VERGE (52), which is for emerging artists with a somewhat canadian emphasis (for cancon requirements, go figure).
 
 Personally, much of my XM listening time has recently gone to the most excellent CHILL (84).

[anarchist]

someone told me that clear channel programs xm.

[sonickteam2]

i spent 16 hours a week for 9 months trying to find a XM station that consistently played good music...never found one!

[Dr. Anton Phibes]

Originally posted by J'Mal:
  It ain't so.
 
 I'm not a big ethel listener, but ethel is SUPPOSED to be the "mainstream alternative" station.  If you want more non-singles, old alternative stuff, you need to listen to XMU (43) and FRED (44).  You may also try VERGE (52), which is for emerging artists with a somewhat canadian emphasis (for cancon requirements, go figure).
 
 Personally, much of my XM listening time has recently gone to the most excellent CHILL (84).

Im digging Chill myself recently.....XMU & Fred is where you'll find me most of the time.....Ethel is a little "mainstream" for my tastes as J'Mal has pointed out.....I was listening to Fungus last week,which I rarely do,and found a great industrial block going down...Meat Beat Manifesto,Revolting Cocks,Front 242,Skinny Puppy,etc.......it's always good to tune into the many speciality shows when you find them on the schedule.....lots of variety,really....

[xcanuck]

This is a timely discussion. Here's a link to a Forbes article on the CC investment in XM. Note the part that says CC controls programming on four channels (for now).
 
 Have I ever mentioned how much I fucking hate Clear Channel?

[bellenseb]

Originally posted by J'Mal:
  It ain't so.
 
 I'm not a big ethel listener, but ethel is SUPPOSED to be the "mainstream alternative" station.  If you want more non-singles, old alternative stuff, you need to listen to XMU (43) and FRED (44).  You may also try VERGE (52), which is for emerging artists with a somewhat canadian emphasis (for cancon requirements, go figure).
 
 Personally, much of my XM listening time has recently gone to the most excellent CHILL (84).

J'Mal, you XM shill! Ethel used to have a very deep playlist with lots of non-singles (albeit from fairly mainstream bands), and now it suddenly doesn't play anything you wouldn't hear on FM radio. Fred only goes up to the early 90s, and XMU only goes back a few months. So anything inbetween, you are SOL on XM even more than before.

[J'Mal]

Originally posted by anarchist:
  someone told me that clear channel programs xm.

Someone is wrong.  There is so much disinformation out there.  Clear channel supplies a very small amount of XM programming, for a limited time.  these companies hate each other.
 
 Back in ye olden days, circa 1998, clear channel was an early investor in XM.  in exchange for their investment they got to supply programming for about 10% of XM's bandwidth, some of which would be talk, and some music channels with limited commercials. The agreement would expire if and when clear channel divested itself of xm.
 
 It was clear that the companies were really competitors, not partners, but them's the breaks and XM had to suck it up.
 
 In mid 2003, clear channel entered into a "forward sale" agreement of its XM shares with its  bankers.  They delivered the shares for sale, and got a guaranteed stream of $$$.
 
 XM considered clear channel to have sold out, kicked clear channel off the XM board of directors, and as part of going 100% commercial free on the music channels, stopped taking ads on the music channels desired by clear channel.
 
 clear channel sued and, incredibly, won.  XM doesn't have to let clear channel back in the boardroom, but they have to take the clear channel content, with ads, until the forward sale ends.
 
 luckily, at about the same time, XM had another technology upgrade, so they could make more efficient use of their bandwidth.  XM added additional music channels, including copycats of the four --FOUR -- clear channel music channels, so they can still maintain they have the most commercial free music channels in satellite radio -- 69.  In other worse, clear channel provides a whopping 4 out of 73 music channels on XM (mix, kiss, sunny, and nashville).

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by Mike Rohsopht:
  i spent 16 hours a week for 9 months trying to find a XM station that consistently played good music...never found one!

That's a rather silly statement to make...the only way that you could find a radio station that consistently played good music would be if you put the playlist together personally......and even then everyone else in the world would find some shite on it, even if just one song.
 
 Get my point?
 
 I miss xm I must admit, but at least Irish fm radio is far superior than the doodle crap....apart from 5pm (I think) when they just do that silly church bells thing, what's that all about?...oh, and I enjoy the news in Irish knowing that only about 6 people in the whole country actually speak Irish.    Now that's catering to minorities people.
 
 Tom Dunnes pet sounds is great, and Dave Fanning isn't bad if you can get over his voice...a bit Weasely (HFS)

[Paul Styrene]

I'm a huge XM fan.  Between 80 (the Move - underground dance), 82 (The System - techno/industrial), 43 (XMU - college/indie), 44 (FRED - "classic alternative") and 53 (Fungus - punk) I get my daily requirements of soul filling music.
 
 I didn't know about the Chill channel until I read it above (thanks J'Mal).  Yay.  I can't wait to get to the car and check it out.
 
 Sorry to hear about Ethel. Though, I didn't think I missed much in the 90's anyways.  But that's me.

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
   

Originally posted by Mike Rohsopht:
  i spent 16 hours a week for 9 months trying to find a XM station that consistently played good music...never found one!

That's a rather silly statement to make...the only way that you could find a radio station that consistently played good music would be if you put the playlist together personally...... [/b]

that was my point. actually. what i meant was no matter how cool XM radio is, it still pales in comparison to playing your own musical playlist.
 
   on the other hand...a radio station like WOXY or even 3WK plays "good music" consistently (note i didnt say "all the time")  but still not enough for me to listen.
 
   guess i am just too picky...or its the DJ in me!