UPDATE 3-26-18: I’ve gotten a “Welcome to SiriusXM packet with every car I’ve purchased over the last 5 years. I’ve never once accepted the 90-days free evaluation. Why, because it sucks. It’s not getting better. And SiriusXM and everyone else for that matter, is losing their shirts to Spotify. My kids will never pay for a song. They will pay for streaming forever. The artists are the main losers in the digital music revolution. But SiriusXM will not survive another 5 years. It’s a dead model. And yes, they have shock jock Howard Stern and tons of other content, but the platform is unsustainable. I won’t pay for subscription radio, and when I’m driving the middle of the desert it dies and is not available. What do you like/hate about satellite radio?
When Sirius and XM merged a while back we lost the idea of competition for satellite radio. That’s too bad because what it’s become is dead and dying. Streaming platforms like Spotify and Pandora are going to eat satellite radio for breakfast. It may not happen this year, but the satellite format sucks. Let me explain.
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The BIG IDEA: Kill all station bumpers. We can see the name of the station right there on our XM dashboard. And since we’re paying we don’t need you to remind us what “station” we are listening to.
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Too many choices, too much of the same music. There is ONE channel called Deep Tracks. Guess what? That’s about the only station that plays deeper cuts of music. When you see that AC/DC is rocking around on channel 34 you can be assured it’s one of three songs. And that’s across the board, no matter what station they are playing on, except for Deep Tracks.
Stations like Tom Petty, and Pearl Jam, while interesting in concept become quite boring to listen to. Sure you can jump around XM like a giddy teenager, but if I’m on Lithium – Grunge of the 90’s I should LOVE almost every song. Well, that’s the idea. In actual practice XM’s curation feels much more like a machine rather than a DJ, even though they interrupt the music between damn near every song to tell you your listening to Lithium. Oh boy, that’s helpful. We’re already PAYING for the radio not to have ads. Why do they make their own “near ads” bump in between EVERY. STINKIN. SONG?
So if you find a station you like, you should be compelled, by the great selection of songs, to stay on that station for a while, at least a 15 minute car trip. But that’s not my experience. The stations are so poorly constructed, I find myself queueing up the next station as every song begins to wrap up. Part of this is so I don’t have to have the annoying station bumper, but the main reason is the song selection is likely to be so formulaic that I’m bored even before the next song begins.
Here’s an idea. If you’ve got a Tom Petty station, how about not playing any Tom Petty on the other stations? Same goes for Pearl Jam.
The BIG IDEA: Kill all station bumpers. We can see the name of the station right there on our XM dashboard. And since we’re paying we don’t need you to remind us what “station” we are listening to. The stations and djs are not live, so don’t try to fake us into believing we’re listening to regular radio. Give us a BETTER EXPERIENCE not the same experience. What are you getting out of the near-ad? Branding? Did I mention we’re paying already, so kill you own internal ads.
I don’t think I’ll ever subscribe to a paid service. Heck I don’t even mind Pandora’s ads. And Pandora is only $4.99 per month to delete the ads. AND that means ALL of the ads.
Just my opinion.
John McElhenney
@jmacofearth
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3 Responses to Sirius XM Radio Sucks – Here’s Why
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08/17/2018 at 7:24 pm
My 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee came with a free year of XM. I do not drive except on weekends, so did not notice it until I got the letter in the mail (about three weeks after the purchase). I tried it, but the radio was stuck on channel 1. I had to call for a “refresh”. I noted that none of the channels are “commercial free”.
When I left my Jeep parked in the underground garage for more than four days, it would lose the subscription again (thus requiring a “refresh”). I got angry and asked them to shut the thing down after about three months into the year subscription. I requested them to invoke a “do not contact” policy.
After a few weeks I was getting nag messages, and weather alerts on my Uconnect screen. I disconnected the antenna. FM still works. I am good.
I am picky about who gets my address. I reprimanded Chrysler for handing my name and address over to SXM without my permission.
07/25/2018 at 10:37 am
I recently purchased a new Dodge Ram truck that came with a SiriusXM “free trial.” It was my first opportunity to try SiriusXM commercial free satellite radio. My bubble burst quicker than a clown slapping me on a happy day! You sir, have nailed every point that had been ranting on about over the last month. Music is mediocre to “Side B” songs that you’ve never heard before, not everyone wants to hear the “live” version where the artist is so trashed they can’t even hold a note or remember the words. Excessive bumpers, between every song, forcing you to channel surf to get away from the chalkboard fingernail bumpers. And someone really lied to me about there being no commercials. There have been several moments where it actually developed a bit of road rage while listening. SIRIUS XM DOES NOT LISTEN TO OR CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS!! (something would have changed by now), so i’m calling them to cancel my free subscription, it’s just not worth more hassle.
My only other complaint is about another service called “UConnect” which came bundled along with Sirius XM, that forces you to PAY for service after a brief “6 month limited trial” forcing you to pay for voice messaging if you want it, but if you connect your phone, it LOCKS it in via Bluetooth and forces you to use the hands free option, no way out of it. WOW, ANOTHER ROAD RAGE ISSUE BUILDING UP!!! There is also NO navigational options through the stereo screen while using your phone without EXTORTING more money out of me. I wrote the Dodge dealer, and there is NOTHING they will do for you. I HATE SiriusXM! I hate UConnect! I wish there was something i could do, but i feel screwed over. Even Microsoft got in trouble for bundling products together under the hood, I guess Dodge found a loophole.. JERKS!
10/05/2021 at 9:16 pm
I agree. Get rid of the bumpers and fire the DJ’s. Especially, Kayla Riley and Madison. I have to turn them off every time I hear them speak. I don’t think a Tom Petty station is necessary, butTom Petty’s Buried Treasure show is my favorite program on Sirius.