3 ms·

I love SirusXM. They are a truly unique offer in the modern music landscape of algorithm-driven music listening experiences. The human curation of shows and sta

I love SirusXM. They are a truly unique offer in the modern music landscape of algorithm-driven music listening experiences. The human curation of shows and stations is why I listen. That said, they have a lot of problems: I have to complain yearly to keep my $8/mo rate, and they seem to be slowly moving toward wanting more algorithmic content with their Pandora merger. I wish they'd focus more on growing their technology (e.g. a macOS app). They just did a big rewrite on all the platforms, seemingly toward this goal; I hope they keep going down that path. If the government forces them to adopt more modern subscription practices, I think _more_ people would use their platform, not less.

tombert 3y ago
This is coming from a person who has a SiriusXM membership and who actually likes it, but is the human curation really that much better? I frequent SiriusXMU to listen to more obscure stuff, but I feel like I get pretty fairly comparable performance with YouTube Music's "Start Radio" on an Imogen Heap or Secret Machines album or something.
- threeio 3y ago
  Yah, the merger between Sirius and XM was a dramatic difference in programming content. XM had spent most of their time getting quality PM and on air talent, Sirius was basically a glorified Winamp playlist. As the channels merged, you found yourself going from a base of 5000 songs a channel to a few hundred. The folks who used to have XMPCR's (computer connected receivers) published a comparison of songs at one point but my google fu can't find it right now.
- zacwest 3y ago
  I agree some of the stations are somewhat repetitive, especially those stuck intentionally in an older genre like Lithium or one of the decades channels. I think the mix tends to still be less than surface level in those. They also have DJ-hosted segments; I think Tom Morello has a lot more flexibility in what he's playing, for example. It's still their superpower compared to the algorithmic track selections.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

tombert 3y ago

This is coming from a person who has a SiriusXM membership and who actually likes it, but is the human curation really that much better? I frequent SiriusXMU to listen to more obscure stuff, but I feel like I get pretty fairly comparable performance with YouTube Music's "Start Radio" on an Imogen Heap or Secret Machines album or something.

threeio 3y ago
Yah, the merger between Sirius and XM was a dramatic difference in programming content. XM had spent most of their time getting quality PM and on air talent, Sirius was basically a glorified Winamp playlist. As the channels merged, you found yourself going from a base of 5000 songs a channel to a few hundred. The folks who used to have XMPCR's (computer connected receivers) published a comparison of songs at one point but my google fu can't find it right now.
zacwest 3y ago
I agree some of the stations are somewhat repetitive, especially those stuck intentionally in an older genre like Lithium or one of the decades channels. I think the mix tends to still be less than surface level in those. They also have DJ-hosted segments; I think Tom Morello has a lot more flexibility in what he's playing, for example. It's still their superpower compared to the algorithmic track selections.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]