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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsMy Sirius XM yearly renewal is up. On the fence about renewing
Sirius wants $210 for the year, which is @ $17 a month.
That seems just outrageous to me.
The problem is that I love to have the radio on when I drive, but terrestrial radio around here (Iowa) totally stinks. NPR is about all I can tolerate and anymore that really stretches my nerves.
Of course the problem is that I want some progressive radio. There is no such a thing in Iowa. I feel like this is a tax for not being an RW nut job.
I called customer service and they basically had 2 plans - the full package and a slightly cheaper no music package. While I like to keep current, sometimes I need some music to relax.
I am fairly sure Sirius has no competitors in satellite radio (hence the SiriusXM name).
I would sure miss Stephie and Thom especially on trips.
Is there any alternatives, oh denizens of the Lounge? Or should I bend over and ask "please, sir, may I have another?"
Eliot Rosewater
(31,121 posts)they did for me
I have two cars on it and I said this is just way too much money, they did something to both and they both went down
Same thing with SAT tv like Direct TV, you can get credits all the time by calling and complaining
rurallib
(62,448 posts)full service for full price of lose music and save @ 50 bucks.
Eliot Rosewater
(31,121 posts)rurallib
(62,448 posts)I filled it out saying I was pissed and would cancel.
At the end they asked for my telephone number, so I will wait to see if they call.
If not I will let it die and see what happens.
may be time to buy some cds and audio books
Eliot Rosewater
(31,121 posts)Or let it expire, yeah, try that and if they try and get you back put pressure on then
montanacowboy
(6,101 posts)"special deals"
I always get something for about $25 for 5 or 6 mos.
Tell them unless you can get a special offer you need to cancel.
randr
(12,414 posts)An app for phone or computer, puts thousands of radio stations from around the globe at your fingertips.
For free.
Also read this article:https://medium.com/@eaXLR/the-8-music-stations-to-hear-in-2017-4fe030c815e#.894y0sa6m
Your will need to copy and paste to browser.
rurallib
(62,448 posts)not too technically adept anymore
randr
(12,414 posts)putitinD
(1,551 posts)sirius at all. I'm never in the car more than 5 minutes, for me it is just a waste.
randr
(12,414 posts)The compilation of stations is mostly small alternative and includes some pirates.
Also you might be interested in the Amazon Prime extended music service. Comes for $7/mo. on top of Prime which is more than worth it if you use it. Streaming rates are also above Sirus and iTunes with no drops.
Cattledog
(5,919 posts)I guess you have to weigh what's important to you. I would figure something to cut out that costs you 56 cents a day.
rurallib
(62,448 posts)I am probably reacting to what I feel was their "my way or the highway" attitude.
MindPilot
(12,693 posts)I can get everything I want to listen to from the youtube app on my phone.
Yes, they will drop the price if you complain, but my attitude about that is, "...if you could give me the service at such a low price, why were you gouging me in the first place?"
They wanted over $500 to renew my two-year subscription, by the time they were done trying to get me to stay, the price was down to $88 a year, and I had finally convinced them that I no longer wanted their service at any cost. Especially given how overpriced I now know that service is.
exboyfil
(17,865 posts)years ago, and got one with my HHR. I quit a few times, and they would always come back with a special offer. When my dad's radio died, I permanently cancelled the service. Had already done it on the HHR. I probably stayed a customer than I would have normally because of sentimental reasons (it was a gift from my dad as he was dying and he took great pleasure from it).
I live in Iowa, but I don't drive much anymore (five minute commute to work). I listen to NPR and sometimes sports radio talk shows. As you stated all other talk shows are right wing. I have found, at least in the Cedar Valley, the music offerings are to my tastes (lots of older rock). Many places which I have traveled like in Georgia this is not the case.
I like audiobooks when I travel. Many libraries offer large selection of online audiobooks (Overdrive and Hoopla). Also still have CDs in the library as well. I think you might have some opportunity to download podcasts. i wonder if cell phone data packages would give you a better option (I don't use cell phone data packages so i don't know).
$17/mo is more than I pay for Netflix and Amazon Prime student combined. It seems very steep.
PearliePoo2
(7,768 posts)I let the subscription run out and they cut the signal. Within a week or so, they send me an e-mail saying they want me back and they have a promo special. It's usually 6 months for $30. They then tell you that after the 6 months you get billed at the regular price and they'll put it on your credit card automatically. They say, "Do you agree to that?" Tell them, "No, I do not". I tell them my equipment is OLD (which is true) and I don't know if my receiver will even LAST 6 months and I tell them they do NOT have my permission to keep my credit card info on file. They usually put me on hold and say they have to talk to a manager, but that's bullshit too. I then demand the promo price and I always get it. I've been doing this for about 5 years or more. If they refuse, hang up and call back for a different representative. Sometimes they say they have a special 1 year price, but it's never a good deal, so I refuse that too. The Reps want to make a sale, even if it's just the Promo. Of course when I tell them my equipment is old, they then try to sell me new equipment, but I tell them I'm not interested. BTW, when my units break or quit, I buy used ones on eBay with good success.
Now, if you don't get an e-mail offer after they cut the signal, call them and tell them you have an inactive unit and you want the promo special. Stick to your guns, it always works. Any questions for me, shoot away!
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)I stream TuneIn, Podbean (podcasts), and Apple Music on my phone through my car stereo.
Apple Music is only $10 a month, which Id get even if I couldn't stream in my car.
rurallib
(62,448 posts)and we do have bluetooth - so we should try that.
We would like to be able to stream a lefty radio station - we have unlimited data - so we may try that. I know KTNf and WCPT are left radio stations.
wishstar
(5,271 posts)I get several news channels plus dozens of music channels but I don't get all the talk shows though
Don't know why yours is $210. I have been on same plan since 2010 in same car, and it automatically renews, but goes up every year.
Fla Dem
(23,741 posts)Listen to it all the time. But also do a lot of podcasts. Check out available podcasts. If you don't already have a podcast app on your phone, download one. There are hundreds of free podcasts available ranging from humor to politics, to paranormal, sports, news etc.
rurallib
(62,448 posts)I know I am a luddite. Maybe this summer.
I could make a case easily to renew and I might yet. It is just that the main reason I have to pay for their service is that our effing "market place economy" can't seem to find a spot for radio for the 50%+ that are not limbaugh lackeys.
Maybe I am not so much rebelling against Sirius as I am against a business & political cabal that forces me to pay in order to hear discourse that is reasonable and progressive. The crazy shit is all they want to let me have on terrestrial radio.
Plus there is no competition. That really bothers me in everything anymore. There is so little competition in most markets.
synergie
(1,901 posts)There are wide variety of radio apps, where you can pick the station you'd like, with unlimited internet of course, podcasts etc. Not as handy as the Sirius though (and having one makes you not much of a luddite, lol).
I'm just super pissed that I have to pay that much per year to subsidize all this religious crap, the sports crap etc. I only need the news channels, the politics and the music, the rest is stuff I'm not happy to be charged for. Let the churches foot the bill for the religious nonsense, it's all Christian anyway.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)The last time I let it expire, they contacted me and gave me a free offer to get me back. It was like six months for free.
I'm going to do that again. I just don't drive enough anymore to justify the expense.
BuddyCa
(99 posts)for the times I listened, the progressive programs were awful. They seemed to have gone out of their way to find hosts that had nothing to say. They would just hem and haw and repeat themselves to get to the next break, and take calls from people even more inarticulate. Listening to them makes it sound like progressives have no ideas at all.
So for talk I would mostly listen to POTUS. But in the morning they seemed to have right-wing think tanks all the time, and the regular Steve Farley treated them as if they were objective sources. One time there was a substitute host, and he made a reference to the "agenda" of the guest's organization (American Enterprise Institute) and the guest was offended. He was obviously used to the regular host's more
But the last straw that got me to cancel was their partnership with CPAC. They are promoting them on their morning and afternoon programs. Even the progressive station has someone there. I heard the host interviewing a CPAC representative who got the CPAC message very articulately and the host's commentary was feeble in response. I really do think the weakness of the progressive hosts is not an accident.
I have felt pissed off by this and then I realized, I'm paying for this!!! Insanity!!! So I cancelled.
rurallib
(62,448 posts)I don't remember hearing anything like you describe on there
I just looked it up, it's channel 127, "Progress". The programs I heard were "The Agenda" in the morning, and Michelangelo Signorile on my way home.
rurallib
(62,448 posts)I know Signliori and Hartmann go to CPAC every year and rip the crap out of them.
I don't hear the morning show much, but I think that is Ari Berman who I always thought was pretty solid.
Maybe I will listen more closely - maybe I am missing something.
mrmpa
(4,033 posts)paid it in one lump sum. Kept it at that price for 3 years. Once I did not have service for 3 days. I called customer support and it took about 30 minutes to get it taken care of. I then asked "what can you do for me?" I explained that I hadn't gotten angry and had been very nice. They gave me a small home Sirius radio with service for 1 year with no payment. I let that subscription lapse.
Initech
(100,102 posts)I am constantly getting hounded by them with 100 emails a week saying that I should reactivate my old radio. Annoying as shit!
pkdu
(3,977 posts)IADEMO2004
(5,559 posts)Huge price jumps stink but for my mental health I renewed. Portable tuner moves between house, car, and work van. House docking station plugged into a "Whole House" fm transmitter with 100 150 ft range. Listen outside while mowing a treat. Damn expensive to avoid GOP hate radio in SW Iowa.
politicat
(9,808 posts)It's the audio equivalent of cord-cutting.
You will likely need a smart-phone or an iPod Touch if you don't already have one. (there does not seem to be a non-phone PDA equivalent in the other handheld environments anymore. But for this purpose, you don't need a current model, just something with working wifi and a working audio jack, and if you're committed to an anything but Apple stance, you can use a prior generation android smart-phone and just not add it to a cell account. Just be warned that an iPod Touch is probably the easiest solution for a non-technical person. You can use a regular MP3 player that has a media card, but you'll have to be prepared to download to a media card, then move the media card from computer to player, so judge your technical abilities and frustration level.)
The simple process is this: You 1) subscribe to a bunch of podcasts on subjects that interest you, 2) tell your subscriptions to download at a convenient time for you, 3) plug your device into your computer to sync & charge or attach it to your wifi network (depends on device) 4) pull your charged device before you leave, 5) plug it into your car stereo, and press play. Repeat 3-5 as needed. Audiobooks work mostly the same way (depends on vendor, though Audible/Amazon is the most common), and music streaming can work as either a streaming service (which does require a data plan) or via a podcast model. (I do not like commercial music radio, but I do like staying current with music, so there are some curated music podcasts I listen to.) Or just assemble some playlists and keep some music on your device.
Podcasts are usually free. Some are daily, some are weekly. A small percentage are subscription only or have additional content by subscription. The big podcast universes are Stitcher, Spotify, Apple and SoundCloud; usually if a podcast is on one, it will be on all the others. Go look at the platforms and see which interface catches your eye. Most podcasts have a HUGE backlog, so if you find one that interests you, there's a good chance you will have hundreds or thousands of hours available. Most podcasts are now ad supported, but usually, an ad supported podcast has 1 minute of commercial per 15-20 minutes of content, which compares very favorably against all broadcast media.
Audiobooks are usually available on a buy/subscribe basis. Audible has a newish channel service that is something like Netflix streaming and that service is available with a Prime membership. A book a month plan is $15 or $150 a year, or 2 for $23/$230 a year. If you're already a kindle reader, there are a lot of audiobooks available to add on to your kindle copies, for a low price ($3-7 is usual).
Music streaming does require a data plan, but it's not that bad. Spouse uses his data plan to stream music at work (he doesn't like to put his personal phone on the work network) and I watch his bill carefully. He's got "unlimited" streaming (we use TMobile) but he gets throttled above 5GB a month. He's never gotten above 4GB, despite streaming 8 hours a day, several days a week. It depends on your location, how available good service is for you, but it's also not at all necessary.
The downsides: it's not perfectly seamless, the way turning on a radio is. You have to select what you want to hear, and have to be responsible for knowing your device and your computer. It requires conscious attention, which isn't a bad thing, and we'd probably all be better off if we spent more time being conscious of our media diets. It requires an initial outlay for the hardware, but that hardware is a one-time investment. (Refurb iPod touches run about $70-100, maybe lower.) If you don't plan to hear something, you'll have to wait and remember to add it to your next download. It works best if you're regularly returning to one place where you have a solid, maintained network connection. (I wouldn't recommend this for OTR truckers, unless they are already comfortable with this process.) It's easiest if you already have a home wifi network and you're already comfortable with hardware, but that's true of all cord-cutting. And having made conscious decisions about your media diet, be aware that the first few days or weeks will feel uncomfortable, just like being on a food diet. It's a change in habit, and one of the reasons radio persists is because it provides a regular poke at our emotional centers and reactions. Hate radio works because it's constantly provoking emotional outrage, and that outrage is addictive. (There's a body of evidence that people who are already feeling stressed by their circumstances find hate radio gives them emotional fuel, and their brains in fMRI look a little like they've gotten a tiny hit of meth after hearing something inflammatory. All talk radio seems to work on this principle; a reason progressive radio is less successful may be because the people attracted to progressive radio are less susceptible to or don't want that outrage fuel.)
BuddyCa
(99 posts)i've been hooked on "rewatch" podcasts, where very funny people break down old TV shows episode by episode. My favorite so far is "Go Bayside" lol. http://gobayside.libsyn.com/
I'll have to put some effort into figuring out how to listen in my car...
mwooldri
(10,303 posts)A regular run from A to B and back again with decent LTE coverage makes mobile video streaming possible, so mobile audio is a cinch.
BBC iPlayer app for Apple/Android is a recommendation of mine, if only for World Service - but I recommend Radio 4 Extra for its comedy & drama - speech radio without the news.
Tunein is another app I recommend. It's a good index to most of the world's radio feeds (though no iHeartRadio - I'll save my tears) and you can probably find the feeds for the terrestrial stations that are broadcasting most of the stuff that's already on SiriusXM.
If however you are in a cell phone signal black hole, podcasts recommended.
astral
(2,531 posts)It's funny bc I was really rarely using it anymore. They would give me decent offers, but I moved to a spot out of range and didn't want to mess with seeing if I could get the signal running the antenna from the correct-facing window upstairs. We have other choices now but Sirius was still filling that easy void of pet favorite music channels and not burning my data plan to listen, and being able to listen online too for a pittance more per month. The internet Sirius also allowed for some offline listening.
I still like Slacker for its personalization and download feature to save data, and aside from Slacker I create download music lists by picking songs, and buy albums from allflac dot com. Calm Radio and Pandora are with me too, because I really go for paying for radio that's commercial-free. I download talk radio programs, and really always have good stuff to listen to, and would have kept Sirius too if it were possible.
Mosby
(16,350 posts)But you can get Slacker or Pandora for free, play it on your phone connected to your car stereo.
I pay for slacker, it's $4 per month.
Paladin
(28,272 posts)Like your situation, our commercial radio sucks out loud.
We've trimmed back on some of our cable TV service and managed to live without it, saving some money. Wouldn't want to do the same with Sirius.