SiriusXM projected to have lower subscriber gains later in 2023

[Deleted User]

Even Howard Stern has been working from home. I believe he is paid as an independent contractor.

Stern is paid via his company 112 Productions or something like that

112 is the number of new shows his contract requires him to produce a year for broadcast on SXM

So SXM pays 112, 112 pays Howard, and the rest of the staff, 112 makes social security and other contributions, health insurance, pension plans, etc etc etc.

Supposedly 112 is a Florida based company for tax purposes but I am not 100% sure on that one

 

[Deleted User]

They very likely are already contractors. Most work from home studios.

The IRS has a very strict interpretation of what a "contractor" is, there are 12 criteria IIRC.

Now if someone sets up a legal entity, and that entity agrees to provide a service... that is a different story.

Handing out 1099's and claiming the recipient is a contractor is a great way to get in deep with the IRS.

I had a legal entity for my business, all payments went into a specific bank account, I paid all my expenses out of that account, my quarterly tax filings, my self employment tax, and I wrote myself a check to pay myself out of was left.

 

[Kelly A]

The IRS has a very strict interpretation of what a "contractor" is, there are 12 criteria IIRC.

Now if someone sets up a legal entity, and that entity agrees to provide a service... that is a different story.

Handing out 1099's and claiming the recipient is a contractor is a great way to get in deep with the IRS.

I had a legal entity for my business, all payments went into a specific bank account, I paid all my expenses out of that account, my quarterly tax filings, my self employment tax, and I wrote myself a check to pay myself out of was left.

All correct. If say RIF'ed talent is offered to provide contractor services to SXM going forward, they'll need to set up an LLC, or C-Corp, or whatever. Bottom line; that means becoming an employee of their own company with all the medical, dental, and other benefits. Obviously if they decide they don't want to take on the burden of running their own company, they can always decline.

 

[TheBigA]

If say RIF'ed talent is offered to provide contractor services to SXM going forward, they'll need to set up an LLC, or C-Corp, or whatever.

Depending on state laws they can also set up a sole proprietorship. That's a lot easier than LLC.

 

[gr8oldies]

All correct. If say RIF'ed talent is offered to provide contractor services to SXM going forward, they'll need to set up an LLC, or C-Corp, or whatever. Bottom line; that means becoming an employee of their own company with all the medical, dental, and other benefits. Obviously if they decide they don't want to take on the burden of running their own company, they can always decline.

I believe that's the case in California

 

[kevtronics]

My dad recently let his car's SiriusXM subscription lapse when they tried to jack up his rate by 3X for the same service. They surprisingly haven't flooded him with promotional offers begging him to return.

 

[gr8oldies]

BTW I wasn't suggesting RIFed talent would be offered independent contractor positions, but that likely a good share of them are ICs.

 

[TheBigA]

I haven't seen any specifics as far as RIF'd talent, none have raised their hands yet. But my sense is that any salaried people are more likely behind the scenes.

 

[TheBigA]

More news on changes at SiriusXM. They address the issue of converting subscribers from satellite to streaming:

Who Needs A Satellite? SiriusXM Is Charting A Path To Be A Bigger Digital Audio Player.

No one at SiriusXM is saying there will be a day when it will no longer require satellites in the sky to reach its listeners, but the company is looking

www.insideradio.com

Investors seem to be very concerned about the future of satellite radio. The stock is under $4, which is lower than its been since 2016.

 

[vchimpanzee]

People objected strongly to this when Escape did it.

I never had Sirius/XM put in my car and wasn't interested if I couldn't pay for one subscription and have it both in the house and in the car. And I wouldn't want to figure out how to stream in the car.

 

[Kelly A]

More news on changes at SiriusXM. They address the issue of converting subscribers from satellite to streaming:

Investors seem to be very concerned about the future of satellite radio. The stock is under $4, which is lower than its been since 2016.

They have reason to be. SXM spent a boatload on replacing ridiculously expensive satellites for both Sirius and XM, with little to no new subscriber growth directly attributed to satellite customers last year. Right now, streaming is given away with every subscription. From an on-air promotional perspective, it seems like SXM is all-in on promoting streaming offerings, with specifically- satellite offerings seemingly taking a back seat.

As mentioned prior; all subscription streaming providers, including the biggies like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Paramont+, etc., are all in the same boat as SXM. Seems like assumptions were made that wild subscription growth during the pandemic would continue in 2022/2023. That obviously wasn't the case.

 

[TheBigA]

As mentioned prior; all subscription streaming providers, including the biggies like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Paramont+, etc., are all in the same boat as SXM. Seems like assumptions were made that wild subscription growth during the pandemic would continue in 2022/2023. That obviously wasn't the case.

What we know is that very few audio streamers use the linear, curated radio stations offered by Apple Music or Spotify. SiriusXM is ALL linear curated radio, like traditional FM radio, but delivered by satellite. I guess the fear is this kind of linear service won't translate to the streaming platform. In other words, the subscribers prefer the satellite delivery for this kind of service. Conversely they see streaming as a place for their personal playlists rather than curated audio.

 

[CTListener]

I haven't seen any specifics as far as RIF'd talent, none have raised their hands yet. But my sense is that any salaried people are more likely behind the scenes.

Farewell instagrams and tweets, as well as press releases, have appeared on the SiriusXM Fans Facebook page. Kyle Cantrell from Bluegrass Junction, Ron Ross gone from the Pulse, B.K. Kirkland from The Groove, Kellie Pickler replaced by "SiriusXM Music" on The Highway, although there's no release or social media on that last one; her disappearance may be due to her recent family tragedy. All but Pickler had been with the company for more than 20 years. I'd imagine all received hefty raises during the boom years, making them nicely fatted calves to be sacrificed when things went south. Seniority is not something you want to have in today's media industry.

 

[TheBigA]

Farewell instagrams and tweets, as well as press releases, have appeared on the SiriusXM Fans Facebook page. Kyle Cantrell from Bluegrass Junction, Ron Ross gone from the Pulse, B.K. Kirkland from The Groove,

Twenty years would date them pretty much to the very early days. I think Kyle was originally XM.

 

[Kelly A]

Seniority is not something you want to have in today's media industry.

It's not that simple. Assuming you're talent that brings in subscribers, or in the case of talk programming; advertisers want to reach your audience, then you're assumed to be safe. If you're essentially taking up space/payroll, one will always be on the bubble.
As BigA mentioned earlier; we don't yet know whether the cuts involve talent and how much. SXM has facilities all across the country with technical support folks, project managers, software engineers, satellite engineers, traffic and billing, sales, administrative, subscriber relations, finance, and HR. What you hear on the satellite/air is in reality, the smallest percentage of actual personnel on the payroll.

 

[CTListener]

Twenty years would date them pretty much to the very early days. I think Kyle was originally XM.

AllAccess has Cantrell at 21 years, Kirkland at 22 according to Bluegrass Today. No length of employment given for Ross, but listeners to The Pulse indicate he's been there a long time. On the executive side, AllAccess reports the heaving over the side of the sinking ship of a veep, Steve Leeds,VP/Talent & Industry Affairs. Lots of schadenfreud from the usual suspects on the FB page, calling him VP of Payola and such.

 

[TheBigA]

Lots of schadenfreud from the usual suspects on the FB page, calling him VP of Payola and such.

Keep in mind that payola laws do not apply to satellite or streaming radio.

 

[CTListener]

Keep in mind that payola laws do not apply to satellite or streaming radio.

Even they know that, but there's a certain segment of the satellite listener community that's convinced that celebrity/single-artist channels are the worst aspect of the service and the P-word is always tossed around loosely. And Leeds apparently was a former record plugger for Virgin who was hired by Sirius to lure celebrities to push their brands on their own channels.

 

[wadio]

SXM's subscription model is a strange one.

The "published" level is $21+/mo. But if you threaten to cancel it drops to about $70/yr!

I've always wondered why they didn't price it at around $10/mo to gain more subscribers. Unlike streaming, adding more subscribers doesn't require additional bandwidth so it would seem that the net revenue from every additional subscription would be quite high.

 

[TheBigA]

Leeds apparently was a former record plugger for Virgin who was hired Sirius to lure celebrities to push their brands on their own channels.

They didn't need someone to "lure celebrities" to Sirius. They needed someone to translate the marketing of music and artists into something that worked for Sirius. Record labels are the ones trying to push their brands. You have a willing buyer/willing seller situation. All that needs to happen is for someone to handle the co-ordination on the Sirius side, Just because he's gone doesn't mean his work will go away. The template is set.