Category: Radio

BBC radio station censors Pogues Christmas hit
LONDON (Reuters) – British public broadcaster BBC’s Radio 1 has cut out the word “faggot” from an old Christmas hit in a move the mother of the song’s late performer branded “ridiculous.”
In “Fairytale of New York,” released 20 years ago by Irish band the Pogues and singer Kirsty MacColl, she sings “You scumbag, you maggot/You cheap lousy faggot” as her character in the song argues with one sung by Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan.
MacColl died in 2000 when she was killed by a speedboat off the coast of Mexico.
The song is a perennial favorite in Britain around Christmas time, and is once again battling for the lucrative number one spot in the charts this year. It has also topped several Best Christmas Song polls.
“Radio 1 are playing an edited version of the Fairytale of New York that does not include the world ‘faggot’ as this is a word that members of our audience would find offensive,” the BBC said in a statement.
A spokeswoman said the word was “faded down” on air, rather than bleeped out.
But MacColl’s mother Jean, speaking on the BBC Radio 5 Live, called the ban “too ridiculous.”
“These are a couple of characters,” she said, referring to the characters in the song.
“Today we have a lot of a gratuitous vulgarity and … whatever from people all over which I think is quite unnecessary. These are characters and they speak like that.”
A spokeswoman for the band said they would be amused to hear about Radio 1’s decision.
“This song now goes with Christmas like the Queen’s speech and mince pies, and all of a sudden it’s offensive,” she said. “It strikes me as very odd and I’m sure the band will be very amused.”

Yoko Ono tells of last night with Lennon
LONDON (AP) ó John Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment after deciding he wanted to return home to see his son rather than go out for dinner, Yoko Ono said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
“We were returning from the studio, and I said: ‘Should we go and have dinner before we go home?’ and John was saying, ‘No, lets go home because I want to see Sean before he goes to sleep.’ And it was like he wasn’t sure if we would get home before he (Sean) went to sleep and he was concerned about that.”
Ono, 74, the wife of the late Beatle, made the comment on “Desert Island Discs,” the British Broadcasting Corp. radio program that interviews famous people and plays their favorite songs.
She said Lennon uttered no dying words when he was shot and killed by deranged fan Mark Chapman outside their Dakota apartment building in Manhattan on Dec. 8, 1980.
Ono also said that when she became pregnant with Sean shortly after the couple reunited in 1975 following a two-year separation, she let Lennon decide whether she should have the baby or abort it.
“I thought that I should let John decide whether to keep it or not. We’d just got back together and I became pregnant very soon, and I didn’t know if it was the right moment to have a child. I just didn’t want to burden him with something he didn’t want,” Ono said.
The songs Ono played on Sunday’s show included Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy” (about Sean); “Liverpool Lou,” which was written by Scaffold, a Liverpool group that included Paul McCartney’s brother, and “Magic,” a song composed by Sean.

Research firm argues against Sirius-XM deal
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Influential research firm Carmel Group argued against a planned merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. in a new report sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters.
The National Association of Broadcasters represents local broadcast radio stations that oppose the combination of the two satellite radio companies with which they compete.
The Carmel Group is credited for having lent arguments to regulators’ rejection of a 2002 merger plan between satellite television providers EchoStar Communications Corp. and DirecTV Group Inc.
The new report, issued on Tuesday, concluded that the Sirius-XM deal would result in “less service, less affordability, less diversity and less choice in content and hardware.”
In morning Nasdaq trade, Sirius shares were down 4 cents at $3.11, while XM fell 19 cents to $12.20.
The report also included a “ping pong” chart of retail promotions and other moves that Sirius and XM took to compete with each other, to support the argument that their competition forced improvements in service, choice and pricing.
Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin has promised lawmakers reviewing the deal that the combined company would not raise prices. The deal requires approval from the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust office as well as the Federal Communications Commission.

Music publishers sue XM over copyrighted songs use
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) filed a lawsuit against XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc on Thursday for providing radios that allegedly let users reproduce and distribute copyrighted music without paying appropriate royalties.
The publishers said the suit alleges that XM engages in massive copyright infringement with devices that provide its service known as “XM + MP3,” which lets listeners store songs they hear on XM’s service and arrange them into playlists.
In a statement, the publishers’ group said the suit, filed in New York federal court following months of failed negotiations, includes such well-known songs as “Let it Be,” “My Heart Will Go On” and “Me and Bobby McGee.”
The complaint seeks a maximum of $150,000 in statutory damages for each work infringed by XM, and lists over 175 songs as a “small fraction” of those being illegally distributed through the “XM + MP3” service.
In a statement, XM said the lawsuit was a negotiating tactic to gain an advantage in ongoing business discussions.
An XM spokesman said it pays royalties to writers and composers who are also compensated by its device manufacturers and that it was confident it would prevail and the lawsuit was without merit.
Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a similar copyright infringement lawsuit against XM on behalf of its record label members.
In January, XM was dealt a setback in that copyright infringement case when its motion to dismiss that lawsuit was denied by a federal court.
The case, originally filed last May in New York federal court, alleged that XM’s portable “Inno” device — which can store music — infringes on copyrights and transforms a passive radio experience into the equivalent of a digital download service such as Apple Inc.’s iTunes.
XM argued that the 1992 Home Recording Audio Act protected it from being sued, saying that the law shields equipment makers and consumers who make digital music recordings for private use.

Labels weigh potential fallout of satellite merger
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Would a merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio be good or bad for the music business?
That’s the question industry executives have been wrestling with since the two companies announced plans to combine in a $13 billion deal that creates a single satellite radio behemoth.
Officially, label executives are taking a wait-and-see approach. But privately, they are debating the ramifications of the tie-up on everything from promotion opportunities to licensing revenue to existing litigation strategies.
Some of the biggest question marks surround the impact of consolidation on satellite radio’s role as a promotion and exposure platform.
XM claimed 7.6 million subscribers at the end of 2006, while Sirius had 6 million. If the two companies are integrated, similar channels likely will be eliminated, giving the labels fewer outlets where they can promote new artists.
Label sources say that support from XM and Sirius in terms of airplay for baby bands oftentimes can be a key early component in building momentum to take budding acts to terrestrial radio and MTV.
Such strategies have worked effectively, particularly in the rock genre with bands like Panic! at the Disco and Hellogoodbye.
“Anytime you take away airplay it hurts,” said Mike Easterlin, senior vice president of promotion for Lava/Atlantic. “There’s (fewer and fewer) places to go to break new music, and this is one place where we had a couple outlets that were aggressive about it. Now we’re losing one.”
That’s not to say that a merger of the satellite radio rivals is going to be felt immediately in terms of sales.
EFFECT ON SALES UNCLEAR
Radio promo executives note that exposure via XM and Sirius is tough to gauge in terms of CD and download purchasing.
“When MTV is really spinning a video you see the sales,” Easterlin said. “I don’t know (that) you necessarily get a sense from satellite radio whether it turns into sales. It is difficult to quantify what is happening there.”
But not everyone is convinced that consolidation among satellite radio players is going to negatively affect the music industry’s ability to find early champions for developing artists.
Edison Media Research analyst Sean Ross suggests that airplay from the combined entity will have a greater impact on the artists it plays due to its increased size and potential reach of more than 13 million subscribers combined.
If a merger is allowed to go through — far from a certainty, according to analysts like Maurice McKenzie of Signal Hill Capital, who calls the prospects of the deal clearing regulatory hurdles a “low probability” — the merger could also hit the labels on the bottom line.
Record companies collect licensing fees of a few million dollars each from the two satellite operators. Income the labels take in from satellite is expected to increase meaningfully when the Copyright Royalty Board announces new rates for noninteractive performance rates for sound recordings. An opinion is expected to be delivered by March 5.
Labels are also trying to determine just how a merger would affect a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the four major record companies against XM last May over the Inno, a handheld device that allows for downloading of satellite programming. A federal judge in January denied XM’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Some industry sources have suggested the merger could force XM to settle the deal.

XM and Sirius to combine; hurdles loom
NEW YORK – XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., rivals in the fledgling satellite radio industry, have agreed to combine in a deal that investors hope will result in lower costs, assuming it overcomes significant regulatory hurdles.
The companies billed the deal announced Monday as a merger of equals, with shareholders of both companies owning approximately 50 percent of the combined entity. However, Sirius will be giving $4.57 billion of its stock to XM shareholders, a substantial premium to the value of their shares.
Sirius’ Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will lead the combined company, and XM’s CEO Hugh Panero will stay on only until the deal is closed. XM Chairman Gary Parsons will remain in that role.
The deal faces substantial obstacles in Washington, including a Federal Communications Commission provision that specifically forbids the two companies to combine.
Analysts have noted that the FCC could change the rule, but in a statement late Monday FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that the “hurdle” would be “high” to prove that the deal would be in the public interest.
“The companies would need to demonstrate that consumers would clearly be better off with both more choice and affordable prices,” Martin said.
A combination would also have to meet antitrust approval from the Department of Justice. The companies are expected to argue that they compete not only with each other but also with traditional radio and a growing base of digital audio sources such as iPods, mobile phones and non-satellite digital radio.
The XM shareholders will receive 4.6 shares of Sirius stock for every share they own, valuing them at $17.02 each based on Friday’s closing price for Sirius shares. That gives XM shareholders a premium of 22 percent to the $13.98 closing value of their stock on Friday. Markets were closed Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday.
Investors and analysts have been speculating about a deal for months, and are hoping that the cost savings that would result would make up for softening retail demand for satellite radio units. Both services offer dozens of channels of talk and commercial-free music for monthly fees of about $13.
XM radio receivers can’t receive signals from Sirius, and vice versa. But Karmazin and Parsons said in an interview that the companies are working on developing a receiver that could receive both signals.
In the meantime, they said, assuming the deal goes through, the companies would make other arrangements to bring programming that’s currently exclusive to one provider to listeners of the other, such as getting Major League Baseball games ó currently only available on XM ó to Sirius listeners.
“We will be taking every effort to find the best possible programming combination,” Parsons said.
It’s too early to say what the deal will mean for subscription prices. The merger could bring down the cost of providing service, but at the same time give the company more pricing power as the only U.S. satellite radio provider.
Karmazin declined to comment specifically about how much the companies hoped to save by the merger, but he said he expected the deal to clear regulatory approval and close within six to nine months. “We understand that there’s a lot of work to be done,” Karmazin said.
Neither XM nor Sirius have turned a profit yet as they spent heavily to build up their programming lineups and subscriber bases, including a five-year, $500 million contract that Sirius made with the shock jock Howard Stern. Both stocks declined more than 40 percent last year on concerns about their continued growth in subscribers, but investors have held out hope of a merger.
The combined company would have had about $1.5 billion in revenues in 2006 and about 14 million subscribers, they said. The companies said they would work together to decide on a new name and also to determine where it would be based. XM is based in Washington, while Sirius is based in New York.
The new company’s board will have 12 members, including Parsons, Karmazin, four independent directors named by each company, and one representative each from General Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
News of a possible merger was reported earlier Monday by the New York Post.
On Friday, a Bear Stearns analyst said in a research note that a merger would have a good chance of overcoming regulatory obstacles.
Other analysts remain less sure. Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said he gives the deal a “50-50” chance of passing regulatory muster.
Moffett said the deal could have a particularly tough time getting through the FCC, and said it was “anyone’s guess” as to whether the FCC would change its rule barring a consolidation of the two satellite radio companies.
A group representing radio companies, the National Association of Broadcasters, put out a statement Monday urging federal regulators to block the satellite radio deal.

CRTC changing radio content rules
OTTAWA (CP) ó The CRTC says itís going to make commercial radio stations air more Canadian jazz, blues and concert music.
The federal regulator also says itís going to almost double the amount of money it collects from radio stations to support Canadian talent.
The ruling says the requirement for broadcasting jazz and blues will rise to 25 per cent of the broadcast week from 10 per cent.
The requirement to air Canadian concert music will rise to 20 per cent from 10 per cent.
The levies for the support of Canadian talent had been based on the size of the market served by each station, but now the commission plans to vary the levies according to revenues.
Stations at the low end will pay a flat $500 and the biggest money makers will pay a flat $1,000 plus 0.5 per cent of over revenues over $1.25 million.

XM, Sirius open to raising radio service prices
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Both U.S. satellite radio providers envision a time when they will raise the monthly fee subscribers pay for their services, but no increase is planned in the near term, executives said on Wednesday.
Speaking at separate investor conferences in New York, executives from XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said it is more likely that in time they will increase subscription fees rather than lower them from the current standard of $13 a month.
“When you think about where we can go with our pricing, we have plenty of flexibility, but to date we have kept our pricing low to continue to drive subscriber growth,” Joseph Euteneuer, XM’s chief financial officer, said at a UBS investment conference in New York.
XM most recently raised its price, boosting its monthly fee by 30 percent early in 2005. Both services offer discounts for multiple subscriptions and advance payment.
XM Chairman Gary Parsons noted that when the price hike was initiated some of the discounted rates for multiple accounts were unaffected, and that any new rate increase might be targeted at “family plan” rates.
Sirius Satellite Radio has held its price steady for several years and Chief Executive Officer Mel Karmazin, speaking at a Credit Suisse investor conference, said that it has added significant amount of programming during that time.
Shock jock Howard Stern started a five-year, $500 million pact with Sirius this year.
Karmazin suggested that Sirius would not resist a move to a higher price before XM, if the time were right.
“We think there is an opportunity to increase our pricing,” Karmazin said. “When we were at $12.95, our competitor was at $9.95, and very wisely they raised their price to $12.95.”
“In that period of time we got the NFL, Nascar, Howard Stern. So we think there is a history of us being the premium priced content company,” he said.
Higher fees would boost revenue for both money-losing companies, whose popularity remains solid — Sirius alone expects to nearly double its subscriber totals this year.
But a rate hike could sour those who still think of traditional radio as free and already pay monthly fees to services like subscription music services and cable or satellite television.
Moreover, satellite radio faces competition from a growing number of entertainment options that can occupy consumers’ time and money, such as iPods and video game consoles.
Karmazin said price change is inevitable, including the possibility that the radios themselves could one day be free, should the market demand such a scenario. Satellite radio devices range from less than $50 to more than $300 in cost.
“We certainly have the ability to reduce prices. If down the line free radios become common place, our costs are coming down to where it is absolutely possible.” he said. “The pricing points today (of radios) is not stopping somebody from buying satellite radio.”

Howard Stern Reaches Out to Internet
Stern’s four-hour-plus program will be made available live online at no charge for two days.
Ten months after leaving the commercial airwaves for subscription-based Sirius Satellite Radio, shock jock Howard Stern is out to attract a broad new online audience with his first-ever free Internet broadcast.
Stern’s four-hour-plus program will be made available live online at no charge for two days, October 25 and 26, to promote an Internet radio service Sirius is launching this week. A formal announcement was planned for Monday morning.
The new service offers more than 75 channels of CD-quality programming over the Internet ó without the need to buy a Sirius satellite receiver ó for a monthly subscription fee of $12.95, the company said in a press release.
The service can be accessed by logging on to the Sirius Web site, www.sirius.com.
The two-day free trial of “The Howard Stern Show” marks the first time he has been available to a non-paying audience since he left terrestrial FM radio in December 2005.
After next week’s promotion, fans will once again have to pay to hear the self-proclaimed “king of all media,” either by subscribing to Sirius or its Internet service.
Stern’s show and other Sirius programming had been available on the Internet before, but only to existing customers who had purchased a satellite receiver in addition to the $12.95 monthly radio subscription.
Under the new stand-alone Internet package, users anywhere in the world can subscribe and listen to Stern online without first having to buy satellite hardware, which is sold only in North America, a company spokesman said.
Sirius rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. offers its own stand-alone Internet service for $7.99 a month.
Stern, a pioneer of ribald radio comedy bits like “Lesbian Dial-a-Date” and “Stripper Jeopardy,” stunned the broadcast industry in October 2004 when he announced he was leaving commercial radio for satellite.
After fulfilling the last 14 months on his contract at CBS Corp., Stern debuted in January 2006 on Sirius under a five-year deal valued at $500 million and immediately became the marquee talent of the No. 2 satellite radio provider.
He also recently ventured into the realm of video-on-demand television with an all-Stern channel available through several major cable operators.
Sirius ended the third quarter with 5.12 million subscribers, an audience that pales in comparison to the 12 million listeners who regularly tuned into Stern at the peak of his CBS career. XM posted nearly 7.2 million subscribers for the third quarter.

Sirius to launch Metropolitan Opera channel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. on Wednesday said it will launch a channel programmed primarily by New York’s Metropolitan Opera, which will feature live and archived broadcasts.
Terms were not disclosed, but Sirius said it was a multiyear
deal. The channel debuts on September 25, and will replace Sirius’ current “Classical Voices” channel.
Sirius and rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. are seeking to woo consumers to their pay-radio services, which cost about $13 a month. XM’s channels include “VOX,” which showcases vocal classical music selections.
Sirius said: “This is a significant step in our plans to use digital technology to relay our extraordinary content,” said Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera.
Additional vocal content will complement the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, Sirius added.