Online Media Cultist

The Department of Justice approved the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio with XM yesterday, combining the two major satellite radio companies in the U.S. market.

I hope the merger ends up being a good thing for the industry and consumers both, and more than anything doesn’t mess up what I think is a fabulous service. I only started using satellite radio recently, and I have to say that I love it feverishly at the moment.

I’ve known for a long time that terrestrial radio is terrible from a vague intellectual perspective, having long ago switched to CDs, MP3s, and the occasional podcast (would love to listen to more but it’s a clunky transition) while in the car. Getting Sirius reminded me of the galaxy of great music that’s out there and reunited me with the Howard Stern show after being away for far too long.

And for the online angle, I listen to Sirius’ online feed whenever I get the chance. Turn it on, get to work, and let people who know more about music than you deliver you the goods. The Underground Garage station is amazing, bringing “the coolest rock n’ roll records,” produced by Little Steven. Just last night I heard a crazy array of unearthed treasures from the ’50s through the punk era ’70s from the likes of Minx Jaguar and The Creation.

As for Stern, say what you like about him (and he certainly goes a little too far at times) but he’s fabulously entertaining over an astonishing four-hour show each day. Just this week I enjoyed a surprisingly interesting interview with Senator Arlen Specter, the return of a lost dog to a distraught woman in New York who called in, and a hysterical and lengthy tirade from Tracy Morgan. I also bore witness to a slice of history via something called Master Tape Theater, which digs into the 25-ish year history of shows in the vault. A show from September 1987 featured an interview with Whoopi Goldberg, Jessica Hahn, and Gorbachev and arms control news talk.

In any event, Silicon Alley Insider gleefully points out the large list of competitors that even a combined Sirius-XM satellite radio force will face, including HD radio, MP3 players, Internet radio, cell phones, new fangled digital radio systems. Fair enough, but I think and hope that it will force all comers to create or provide superior content. Consumers will rightfully pay for the service or hardware that best provides value.

For now I’m sticking with satellite, and don’t expect to turn back to terrestrial radio or to a new device for a long while.