The DOJ announced that after investigating the joining of Sirius and XM, they would take no action to stop the merger.

Official statement:

“After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the Division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and that the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers. The Division reached this conclusion because the evidence did not show that the merger would enable the parties to profitably increase prices to satellite radio customers for several reasons, including: a lack of competition between the parties in important segments even without the merger; the competitive alternative services available to consumers; technological change that is expected to make those alternatives increasingly attractive over time; and efficiencies likely to flow from the transaction that could benefit consumers.

“The Division’s investigation indicated that the parties are not likely to compete with respect to many segments of the satellite radio business even in the absence of the merger. Because customers must acquire equipment that is specialized to the satellite radio service to which they subscribe, and which cannot receive the other provider’s signal, there has never been significant competition for customers who have already subscribed to one or the other service. For potential new subscribers, past competition has resulted in XM and Sirius entering long-term, sole-source contracts that provide incentives to all of the major auto manufacturers to install their radios in new vehicles. The car manufacturer channel accounts for a large and growing share of all satellite radio sales; yet, as a result of these contracts, there is not likely to be significant further competition between the parties for satellite radio equipment and service sold through this channel for many years. In the retail channel, where the parties likely would continue to compete to attract new subscribers absent the merger, the Division found that the evidence did not support defining a market limited to the two satellite radio firms that would exclude various alternative sources for audio entertainment, and similarly did not establish that the combined firm could profitably sustain an increased price to satellite radio consumers. Substantial cost savings likely to flow from the transaction also undermined any inference of competitive harm. Finally, the likely evolution of technology in the future, including the expected introduction in the next several years of mobile broadband Internet devices, made it even more unlikely that the transaction would harm consumers in the longer term. Accordingly, the Division has closed its investigation of the proposed merger.”

Matt Ryan

This is a topic that I feel very close to, since I depend on my work as a disk jockey as I would a second job. My work is done using a program called SAM Broadcaster to send streaming audio to a large server that then streams my broadcast to listeners all over the world. This is achieved using the internet in a way that I never dreamed possible as an intern at K-LITE radio at the age of 15.

Back then, the same process was achieved using satellite signals and a rather large dish. When sun spots would interfere with the transmission, we relied on someone constantly at the station to run the board should the signal die down. Internet radio has been around for years, though now more than ever it is a possibility for virtually anyone to pick up the hobby and share their mixes, creations, and shows with the world.

Thanks to Second Life, musicians are also finding themselves suddenly able to perform in front of an audience of 40-100 people with a moment’s notice. These performances allow music lovers to enjoy a virtualized feeling of going to a live show without the expense to both the artist and the listener of traveling to concert locations. An artist can share their music in a live way with people all over the world at a cost near zero.

Musicians can share their music on websites like The 61, and sell their work on iTunes and through other online vendors. Total costs to the artist again, next to nothing.

Whatever your feelings on virtual worlds, online music sales, DRM, or music in general is, there is no question that creativity and the independent artists are beginning to see the benefits of the internet in several ways.