Bob Dylan, who has become the very definition of terms
such as "reclusive," "enigmatic" and 'incomprehensible" for many today, is debuting a new show
on XM Satellite Radio. The show, which debuts this Wednesday, will highlight Dylan's favorite music, organized each
week by topic. For instance, since Mother's Day is fast approaching (time to buy a card, guys) his first week will
focus on music with a maternal theme. The New York Times has
a look at the structure and substance of his first show, including transcripts of some of Dylan's commentary. As the
story states, Dylan continues to be just as inscrutable in discussing music as he often is when creating it. The show is
being recorded from basically wherever he is, at home or on the road and will feature some pre-recorded cameos from
others.Dylan debuts on XM
Bob Dylan, who has become the very definition of terms
such as "reclusive," "enigmatic" and 'incomprehensible" for many today, is debuting a new show
on XM Satellite Radio. The show, which debuts this Wednesday, will highlight Dylan's favorite music, organized each
week by topic. For instance, since Mother's Day is fast approaching (time to buy a card, guys) his first week will
focus on music with a maternal theme. The New York Times has
a look at the structure and substance of his first show, including transcripts of some of Dylan's commentary. As the
story states, Dylan continues to be just as inscrutable in discussing music as he often is when creating it. The show is
being recorded from basically wherever he is, at home or on the road and will feature some pre-recorded cameos from
others.Sirius website beats XM's
Since Howard Stern joined the Sirius lineup in January its website has
begun to outperform that of rival XM. According to NielsenNetRatings traffic in January of 2006 was 188 percent
higher than in January of 2005. An increasing amount of those visitors are hitting the site in order to stream
programming over the web while they're at work and away from their actual radios. Stern's show is not streamed online
but just about everything else is. Both service's sites are getting traffic that's comparable to music services such as
Rhapsody and others.
XM adds more channels
XM Satellite Radio
has announced
plans to add at least 16 new channels to their lineup of offerings. That mix will include ten new commercial-free music
stations that run the spectrum from classic rock of the 70's to Gospel and easy listening. The even bigger news is that
XM is adding seven local channels that will provide regional news and talk across the country. That provides direct
competition to local stations that deal in, you know, news and talk. That brings the total number of channels being
offered by XM to over 170.XM prepping video player?
If this story is true and XM is truly readying a portable video player it could prove to be a serious competitor to the PSP and Video iPod. The device will be capable of receiving satellite video signals that can be used to broadcast anything, from TV shows to full-length movies. The player was reportedly hinted at recently by a Bears Stearn analyst and could be hitting shelves before the 2006 holiday season. It would be portable, just like current mobile satellite-radio ready devices, and not require buying another copy of a movie like the PSP did or downloading and syncing like the Video iPod does. This could just be rumor but would be excellent if true.
SXSW podcasts available
The
organizers of this year's South By Southwest (SXSW for short) festival have made a number of the presentations and
panel discussions from the fest available as podcasts. You
can download individual programs or subscribe to the RSS feed for the whole thing and get new ones automatically.
There's some really good stuff in these shows, which deal mostly (for now at least) on podcasting itself and other
Web2.0-type topics.Record labels look for more money from Sirius
Record labels are applying the screws to Sirius Satellite Radio. They're looking
for royalty payments on the music Sirius plays that could total 30 percent of the satellite provider's revenue. This is
based largely on a new piece of hardware coming from Sirius that will allow listeners to record hours of programming in
much the same manner as a DVR does for TV broadcasts. This is being seen by the record labels as an
"interactive" service that entitles them to a royalty-based payment schedule as opposed to a
"broadcast" service where they get lower payments. The two parties will have to go into arbitration if they
can't hammer out their differences by June 30th.Tower offers music for podcasts
Tower Records is looking to increase its brand
recognition and in doing so its sales by offering
music online for customers to use in their podcasts. The music will be available free of charge for those looking for a
little bit of tunes for their self-made shows. None of the major labels have signed up to let their artists' music be
part of the program. Instead the music will come from artists and labels that have signed on to the Independent Online
Distribution Alliance. Tower is looking to make money by selling ads within the podcasts. Revenues of those ads will be
split between Tower, the podcast creator and the labels and artists providing the music.Podcast fiction collection launched
PodioBooks has launched a new compilation of previously produced podcast works of fiction. The first
"volume" from Voices: New Media Fiction went live
and features 18 stories from 18 different authors. At some point it looks like users or creators will
have ability to submit their works to the site for consideration for inclusion in future collections. Voices is
put up under a Creative Commons license and you can either listen online or download to sync with your MP3 player of
choice.
[via BoingBoing]
Gervais podcast to require paid subscription
TV Squad is reporting that the popular podcast
from Ricky Gervais, creator of the original version of The Office, will become available only to those willing to pony
up a subscription fee. The first "season" of the podcast, which features Gervais and his Office co-creator
Stephen Marchant, was available through the British newspaper The Guardian and was free because of that corporate
sponsorship. This new season is going straight through Audible (but will still be available via iTunes) and
therefore is requiring a $7 payment for four episodes of the show.Tough times at both XM and SIRIUS
The New York Times has a couple stories on the fortunes of both XM and SIRIUS. The first details
how Pierce J. Roberts has resigned as a director on the board of XM. Roberts felt that the company is generally going in
the wrong direction and will lose cash faster than it will gain subscribers, especially by pricing the subscription too
low. The cost of attracting each new subscriber has increased in the last year from $64 to $89 per acquisition. That
increase is likely coming from a growing ad budget. The second tells of how SIRIUS lost $311 million in the third quarter of 2005. That's up from $261 million in the same period in 2004. Once again it's the cost of acquiring new customers that seem largely to blame. This time, though, those costs have actually gone done for SIRIUS, from $124 a year ago to $113 today. Still, that's a lot of money to spend to attract new business. SIRIUS says it expects to be profitable next year.
NASCAR drivers launch XM show
NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have
each launched new weekly shows devoted to auto
racing on XM Satellite Radio. The shows, called "Jimmie Johnson: Not What You Expected With Marty Smith" and
"Dale Jr.'s Unrestricted" respectively kicked off yesterday. Earnhardt's show sounds to be more personality
driven, with the driver offering his own tastes in music and other areas as well as an inside look at life on the
NASCAR circuit. Johnson's program is more focused on the actual sport and is billed as giving a behind-the-scenes
perspective of NASCAR. These shows are extensions of XM's relationship with NASCAR. The satellite radio company will be
broadcasting Daytona 500 this Sunday, the 19th.Podcast burnout
The term "podfading"
has been created to label what is sometimes a rapid and unexplained drop-off in someone producing their podcasts. As
this Wired story says, a lot of the
time independent podcasters who created the majority of the content out there simply run out of time or eventually find
the process or creation to time and labor intensive. In fact according to one expert about a fifth of podcasts don't
make it to the tenth show. Another factor contributing to the attrition rate is that more mainstream media outlets are
creating podcasts that are taking up the higher rankings and smaller producers don't feel they're able to get the
exposure, especially on Apple's iTunes service.Oprah signs on XM
Who has a
following along the same lines as Howard Stern? Oprah Winfrey, that's who.
The multimedia icon has signed a three-year deal with Winfrey that will have the talk-show icon creating a new channel called "Oprah and Friends." Winfrey will host a weekly show on the channel. Other programs will feature personalities from Oprah's stable of regulars. XM got Winfrey for a fraction of what Sirius signed Howard Stern for, just $55 million over the three years. The new channel is expected to be a hit among women, who make up a great deal of Winfrey's core audience. The low cost of the deal also means XM won't have to add too many subscribers to pay for the contract.
Is satellite ignoring HD radio at its own peril?
There's a pretty broad
industry-wide move that's seeing traditional radio stations add HD signials as a way to up both the sound and image of
radio stations as the compete against Sirius and XM. There's concern that the two providers of
satellite radio aren't taking seriously the threat HD radio could be to their business model. While new hardware would
need to be purchased there aren't the monthly subscription fees that need to be paid to get satellite service. That,
and the potential for Apple to include some form of HD radio reception into their iPod line, could kill whatever
forward momentum and lofty ambitions the satellite providers have.XM launches GRAMMY Radio
XM will provide comprehensive coverage of the upcoming Grammy Awards on
GRAMMY Radio, a channel the satellite radio provider is launching February 6th and running through the 8th. The
channel, to be broadcast on XM's channel 200, will cover interviews with attendees as they enter the awards ceremony as
well as the other events such as the Trustee Awards Ceremony and Lifetime Achievement Awards. A complete list of
coverage and events can be found at the special Grammys page on XM's
website.
