# Good News for Sirius



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Two positives have surfaced for Sirius Satellite Radio.

With the first, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company
reached key deals with two music groups - Warner Music Group
and Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group. The deals allow
music to be played on a still-under-development satellite radio
unit that allows users to store music like an iPod.

Tom Eagan of Oppenheimer and Co. said the deals could serve as
a template for future negotiations, including with two other major
music labels, which are EMI Group and Sony BMG. "Sirius' agree-
ment also dispels concern that negotiations with music labels
would be ongoing, possibly moving to arbitration," he said.

Said Bernstein Research's Craig Moffett, "The agreement is 
very limited in scope - it applies to the S50 portable only - but it
is a breakthrough nonetheless, inasmuch as it assigns the
royalty to the device rather than the service."

Moffett added that the deal is a bonus for both Sirius and XM,
and could signal a breakthrough for upcoming negotiations with
the Recording Industry Association of America concerning music
storage devices.

In the other development, Sirius said it passed the 4 million
subscriber milestone. The company ended 2005 with 3.316 
million customers, and has said it expects to end 2006 with 
more than 6 million customers.

www.SkyReport.com - used with permission


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## jfalkingham (Dec 6, 2005)

Now, if the RIAA can just give it a rest! 

It's not like you can create clean digital files from a Sirius stream. With all of the talking by the hosts over the beginning and ending of music, kind of makes it hard. I notice more on some channels than others but it is annoying. Even if you did, it would not be CD quality. If the RIAA can go ahead and get the record companies to innovate their medium, then maybe they don't have to worry about folks listening to music that they are already paying to listen to.


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