Americans really don't want to pay for music in their cars

[ZLoth]

From Music Business Worldwide:

Americans really don't want to pay for music in their cars

The Holy Grail for the future of the music business, we're told, is billions of people around the world paying a monthly subscription fee for digital audio services.

But new data out of the US suggests that nation's motorists just aren't ready to play ball. And that's a worry. Because according to estimates, there's more than 210m of them.

According to research from trusted pollster Ipsos, an overwhelming majority of American drivers still prefer listening to free AM or FM radio in their cars instead of digital services such as Pandora, Spotify and Sirius XM.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[SP Cook]

What a weird spin on poll results.  "Only" 27.3 MILLION subscribers to SXM.

Of course a lot of people are never going to pay for SXM.  A lot of people have a single musical taste or talk radio taste that is satisfied for free on FM or even AM.  More are happy with their own music, either on their cell phone or an "old fashioned" CD.   A lot of people don't listen to the radio at all.   And a lot of people would like SXM, but simply cannot afford it.  And a lot of people spend a very small amount of time in their cars on a regular basis.

"Only" 27.3 MILLION subscribers?  What did they expect?  Something like cable/dbs with near ubiquity?  Never was the plan. 

In five or so years, when built in (a lot of people don't want aftermarket stuff) SXM radios and Bluetooth type connections for cell phones and other players have been homologated throughout even used cars, we will see where the industry matures.  Probably about 35M or so.  Which is great.

[corco]

If I were made of money, I would probably subscribe to SiriusXM. The problem is that in this day and age, I'm already paying an internet bill and a cell phone bill that I didn't need to pay twenty years ago (in addition to a dramatically more expensive cable bill and a Netflix bill), and that cuts significantly into a lot of people's incomes.


There's only so many monthly automatic bills for technology a person wants to see come out of their paycheck, and in-car audio has got to be the lowest priority for most, since there are significantly better free alternatives to satellite radio than there are to not having a cell phone or not having the internet.

With limited resources, people have to balance what they spend money on, and selling satellite radio as a "need to have to function in society" item is tough to do. The line has to be drawn somewhere, and if I can get 95% of the enjoyment from my audio player by listening to the radio and my MP3 player as I can from listening to satellite radio, it's not worth it.

[cjk374]

I hate the fact that I have to pay for TV.  But nowadays, if you want to watch your favorite shows, you will pay for it whether it be cable or Hulu or Netflix. I do not need pay-for radio nor will I get it. I also don't allow any company access to my bank account for bill drafting. I will put a check in the mail with an envelope that they provide, send it to them via USPS and they can wait until it gets to them so that they can give someone a job to process it and take it to a bank.   

[The Nature Boy]

I pay for satellite radio because I travel a lot and hate to have to constantly fish for channels as I drive. My car also doesn't have an AUX port or Bluetooth so I can't even listen to my phone. I bought an FM transmitter to try to remedy this but it did nothing to help me.

I do hate that SiriusXM doesn't allow you to cancel online. You have to call them and cancel. I assume it's so they can try to convince you to keep their service.

[mgk920]

I'm totally happy with my iPod and its 9K or so files (just over 25 days to play them all straight through).  And the way that I have things rigged up in my car means that I can play the radio (listening to a game, news, discussions, etc) while the tunes from the iPod are playing in the background.



Mike

[Pete from Boston]

I hate the fact that I have to pay for TV.  But nowadays, if you want to watch your favorite shows, you will pay for it whether it be cable or Hulu or Netflix.

Well, they don't usually become your favorite shows unless you first pay for them.

[Brian556]

Why the hell would I pay a subscription fee for satellite radio were someone else makes the playlist, so it's likely to contain a lot of songs I do not like anyway. I'd rather listen to my playlist on an iphone or ipod so I only have to hear songs I like.

It seems like they are intentionally making free radio stations shitty so that more people will get satellite radio. Back in the old days (not too long ago), free radio was pretty good. Now, around here anyway, it's putrid, despite the fact that there has been a decent amount of good music coming out recently.

What really sucks is that there are no true soft rock stations anymore.

[NE2]

What really sucks is that there are no true soft rock stations anymore.

Isn't that called country?

[Pete from Boston]

Why the hell would I pay a subscription fee for satellite radio were someone else makes the playlist, so it's likely to contain a lot of songs I do not like anyway.

Because you may learn of new music you like, even if you don't like everything they play.

There are thousands of songs on my iPod, all put there by one person who has already heard them all.  Often I want my horizons broadened beyond them.

[vdeane]

This explains why the car companies are trying to remove the radios entirely.  If Americans don't want to buy these services because there's a perfectly good free alternative, the solution in the eyes of companies is obviously to remove the free alternative rather than make the service better.

I hate the fact that I have to pay for TV.  But nowadays, if you want to watch your favorite shows, you will pay for it whether it be cable or Hulu or Netflix. I do not need pay-for radio nor will I get it. I also don't allow any company access to my bank account for bill drafting. I will put a check in the mail with an envelope that they provide, send it to them via USPS and they can wait until it gets to them so that they can give someone a job to process it and take it to a bank.   

Your bank doesn't have online bill pay?  I pay almost all of my bills online, but none of the companies have my bank account info.  I have two billers that go to my credit card, not because I want to do business that way, but because of other reasons (Verizon requires it unless you have more than one service, and E-ZPass NY refunds the $10 deposit if you do).

[MikeTheActuary]

Because you may learn of new music you like, even if you don't like everything they play.

There are thousands of songs on my iPod, all put there by one person who has already heard them all.  Often I want my horizons broadened beyond them.

Also, sometimes the mood for something different strikes.  It's much easier to flip to a different SXM channel than it is to download new songs and fuss with a playlist while on the road.

Also if I want a news fix when I'm in an area with spotty cell service....

[wxfree]

I don't want to pay for radio.  I don't even listen to free radio any more, because of the huge blocks of commercials that can last my whole drive across town, or half my drive to another town.  I listen to music I have stored on a digital player.  I don't even like free streams; I prefer my own playlist of music I like.  My musical preferences are broadly varied, but very specific.  I don't like genres or bands; I like specific songs, so streams and stations don't work well for me.  When I hear something new, or old, that I like, I add it to my collection and put it in circulation.

[corco]

This explains why the car companies are trying to remove the radios entirely.  If Americans don't want to buy these services because there's a perfectly good free alternative, the solution in the eyes of companies is obviously to remove the free alternative rather than make the service better.

Is this something that is actually happening? I hadn't heard at all about it.

[US 41]

I know lots of people that get their music for free by using the Youtube (YTD) Downloader. Why pay for something you can get for free?

[Pete from Boston]

This explains why the car companies are trying to remove the radios entirely.  If Americans don't want to buy these services because there's a perfectly good free alternative, the solution in the eyes of companies is obviously to remove the free alternative rather than make the service better.

Is this something that is actually happening? I hadn't heard at all about it.

So the dude breaking into my car really did work for Honda?

[gilpdawg]

I know lots of people that get their music for free by using the Youtube (YTD) Downloader. Why pay for something you can get for free?

Because it's illegal and unethical?

[cjk374]

This explains why the car companies are trying to remove the radios entirely.  If Americans don't want to buy these services because there's a perfectly good free alternative, the solution in the eyes of companies is obviously to remove the free alternative rather than make the service better.

I hate the fact that I have to pay for TV.  But nowadays, if you want to watch your favorite shows, you will pay for it whether it be cable or Hulu or Netflix. I do not need pay-for radio nor will I get it. I also don't allow any company access to my bank account for bill drafting. I will put a check in the mail with an envelope that they provide, send it to them via USPS and they can wait until it gets to them so that they can give someone a job to process it and take it to a bank.   

Your bank doesn't have online bill pay?  I pay almost all of my bills online, but none of the companies have my bank account info.  I have two billers that go to my credit card, not because I want to do business that way, but because of other reasons (Verizon requires it unless you have more than one service, and E-ZPass NY refunds the $10 deposit if you do).

I don't pay anything online. I don't put my debit card number out there in cyberspace. Technology gets hacked, identities are stolen, and then life is hell for a couple of years. Thanks but noooooo thanks.

I hate the fact that I have to pay for TV.  But nowadays, if you want to watch your favorite shows, you will pay for it whether it be cable or Hulu or Netflix.

Well, they don't usually become your favorite shows unless you first pay for them.

It wasn't always like that. Think back to the days or aerial antennas on the side of the house. Good times.

[cu2010]

I've been listening to Pandora a lot more often these days...most radio stations play nothing but the same limited playlists, and while there is a rather large and eclectic variety on my phone, it's just easier to go to my Pandora app instead.

I'm too cheap to pay for a paid account, though, so I get a thirty-second ad every so often...but it's not so annoying that it'll get me to actually pay to make those ads disappear.

[dfwmapper]

I don't pay anything online. I don't put my debit card number out there in cyberspace. Technology gets hacked, identities are stolen, and then life is hell for a couple of years. Thanks but noooooo thanks

Good plan. Just as long as you never bought anything at Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, PF Changs, Albertsons, UPS, Dairy Queen, Jimmy John's, or Kmart, or had health insurance from Anthem, or attended school at UMD or South Carolina or Auburn or UC Riverside. Or interacted with any of the countless other companies who have had their data compromised. You're literally doing nothing to improve security by not buying online.

[corco]

I don't pay anything online. I don't put my debit card number out there in cyberspace. Technology gets hacked, identities are stolen, and then life is hell for a couple of years. Thanks but noooooo thanks

Good plan. Just as long as you never bought anything at Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, PF Changs, Albertsons, UPS, Dairy Queen, Jimmy John's, or Kmart, or had health insurance from Anthem, or attended school at UMD or South Carolina or Auburn or UC Riverside. Or interacted with any of the countless other companies who have had their data compromised. You're literally doing nothing to improve security by not buying online.

Also why it is important to have a credit card (that is used responsibly) in this day and age. I auto-pay everything but my electric bill onto a credit card and make all online purchases with a credit card and review those charges. That adds an extra layer between my checking account and the purchase, so that if there is a billing error or fraud I'm not screwed out of actual money. There's going to be a lag of at least a couple weeks between the time I make a credit card transaction and the time I have to pay the credit card company, and in that time, if there is an issue, I can work it out either by working with the vendor directly or by disputing the charge with the credit card company.

I agree that you should never, ever use a debit card online.

[Roadrunner75]

Also why it is important to have a credit card (that is used responsibly) in this day and age. I auto-pay everything but my electric bill onto a credit card and make all online purchases with a credit card and review those charges. That adds an extra layer between my checking account and the purchase, so that if there is a billing error or fraud I'm not screwed out of actual money. There's going to be a lag of at least a couple weeks between the time I make a credit card transaction and the time I have to pay the credit card company, and in that time, if there is an issue, I can work it out either by working with the vendor directly or by disputing the charge with the credit card company.

I agree that you should never, ever use a debit card online.

Agreed - and I don't use a debit card at all - only a credit card - for exactly the reason above.  The bank thinks I'm nuts when I demand only an ATM card with no credit card logo.  The bank account stays "offline".

[The Nature Boy]

Why the hell would I pay a subscription fee for satellite radio were someone else makes the playlist, so it's likely to contain a lot of songs I do not like anyway.

Because you may learn of new music you like, even if you don't like everything they play.

There are thousands of songs on my iPod, all put there by one person who has already heard them all.  Often I want my horizons broadened beyond them.

This.

You aren't born with a playlist of songs in your head. You have to learn about new songs somehow and often that comes through listening to the radio.

[formulanone]

We had SiriusXM for six months, and enjoyed it - for a while. The choices are much more varied than anything you'd find on AM/FM, and it's clear as could be. With about 15-20 presets, it was tough to be bored, and there weren't any annoying DJs there to fill commercial voids.

But after a while, it too starts to get repetitive. The same songs are just played again and again, but just a few days apart. I get the same experience from renting a car with satellite radio - you find a few favorite stations, and you're set for a few days, until repetition sets in just before its time to hand the car back.

I think lots of people don't want to pay for something they can largely get for free, which record companies have been trying to work with for 60+ years. As corco said, I think most folks roll their eyes at another subscription-based bill, and I think folks who enjoy a varied tapestry of musical tastes probably "own" a lot of their music and some form(s) of portability to replay it. So SXM finds itself in a curious niche; still...8% sounds like decent market penetration for something that's long been thought of as a freebie.

[US 41]

I know lots of people that get their music for free by using the Youtube (YTD) Downloader. Why pay for something you can get for free?

Because it's illegal and unethical?

FYI, I buy all of my music (usually CDs at Walmart). I agree with t being unethical. It's basically the same as stealing. This was just an example of some people I know and what they do.