A great many bluegrass fans have embraced satellite radio. In addition to each having nearly 200 channels offering a wide variety of news, music and sports, both XM and Sirius have 24/7 bluegrass music channels produced in house.

With the US Department of Justice’s approval of the proposed merger between the two satellite radio giants being announced a month ago, subscribers and music industry observers have had much to say, pro and con, about the impact such a merger might have on this relatively new medium.

Billboard and Reuters had a joint piece last week looking at how record labels view this merger, and their fears that it could eventually lead to the sort of consolidation that would eliminate any duplication of services. Though both companies insist that their goal is to maintain separate subscription services, allowing a la carte selections from the other side of the aisle, the label reps quoted in the April 20 piece by Ken Tucker don’t cherish the thought of loosing any possible exposure via satellite radio.

Brad Paul, senior VP of promotion at Rounder Records — a label whose bluegrass releases benefit from the 24/7 national exposure they get from Sirius and XM — doesn’t like the idea of one less national outlet. “If the argument were being made that it’s a good thing because I could economize my effort, heck, I’m not about economizing my efforts, I’m about having opportunities to get these artists’ music exposed to as many listeners as possible.

“Both networks offer different ways to feature and launch a new project,” Paul says. “I feel good about having both those options to go to.”

Tucker also passes along the feeling expressed by several reps that satellite radio had been responsible for breaking new artists, though none presented any concrete examples. There was some disagreement expressed, but overall, the quotes in the piece look askance at the merger.

But Kevin Herring, VP of promotion for Nashville-based Lyric Street Records, says losing XM’s Highway 16 channel or Sirius’ New Country channel wouldn’t have much of an effect on his label’s promotion efforts. “Anytime there’s less current outlets, it affects us, but I don’t see it having an overarching effect on what we do or how we do it,” he says.

Sony BMG Nashville VP of marketing Tom Baldrica says his label group has long supported both satellite services and is also not pleased with the possibility of consolidation. “One of those stations goes and it’s like losing a major-market radio station,” he says. “And it’s a major-market radio station that’s speaking to the people that value and love the music more than most. I’m not happy about that at all.”

Read the full piece online.

Starting this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (4/11 - EDT) there will be four opportunities to catch Blue Highway live on SIRIUS Bluegrass over the next few days. They will perform material from their latest CD, Through The Window Of A Train, whose title track has been voted #1 on SIRIUS for three weeks running.

After this afternoon’s airing, the Blue Highway show will be rebroadcast as follows (all times EDT):

• Saturday (4/12) at 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday (4/13) at 5:00 p.m.
• Monday (4/14) at noon

SIRIUS Bluegrass can be found at channel 65 on your Sirius Satellite Radio receiver. They also offer a subscription-based online service, Sirius Internet Radio, and free 3-day trials are offered to non-subscribers.

Monday the US Department of Justice approved the proposed merger/buyout of Sirius and XM Satellite Radio companies. The proposed merger is really a Sirius take over of XM, to the tune of $5 billion.

This proposal has been in the works since the beginning of last year. The Department of Justice Antitrust Division had to approve the merger before it could take place, in order to determine the effect it might have on consumers. The main concern being the creation of a monopoly with no competition. The DOJ determined that although the merger would create a situation in which only one satellite radio company would exist in the US market, there would be sufficient competition from other technology sectors to protect consumers.

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.

Further into its report, the DOJ gets specific about where this competition is coming from. When the report says “The Parties” it is referring to Sirius and XM.

The parties contended that they compete with a variety of other sources of audio entertainment, including traditional AM/FM radio, HD Radio, MP3 players (e.g., iPods®), and audio offerings delivered through wireless telephones. Those options, used individually or in combination, offer many consumers attributes of satellite radio service that they may find attractive. The parties further contended that these audio entertainment alternatives were sufficient to prevent the merged company from profitably raising prices to consumers in the retail channel.

And the DOJ agreed.

Interestingly, it seems the National Association of Broadcasters agrees as well, and they’re not happy about it. The LA Times is reporting that (more…)

Sirius Satellite Radio has announced that 13-time Grammy award-winning bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs will take over its Sirius Bluegrass channel (65) for an entire week. Skaggs Place will premiere on March 23 at 3 pm ET. The launch of Skaggs Place coincides with the release of Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass - Tribute to 1946 and 1947. The album which will be in stores from March 25, honors Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, specifically that aggregation that was together during those ground-breaking years.

The channel will feature Skaggs’ own music, both old and new, as well as some of Ricky’s favorite bluegrass artists, and will include personal introductions from the artist himself. Ricky will also share his feelings about his love for bluegrass and talk about his favorite bluegrass acts.

The bluegrass star and 13-time Grammy award winner Ricky Skaggs was recognized as a child prodigy for his remarkable musical talent. Skaggs began performing bluegrass with his family at the age of 17 and went on to release 10 mainstream country hits before returning to the bluegrass music fold. Skaggs recently received the 2008 Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album Grammy award for his record Salt of the Earth.

Skaggs Place continues Sirius’ tradition of creating exclusive artist branded channels dedicated to iconic figures at the top of their game. Recent exclusive channels launched on Sirius include Rolling Stones Radio, Grateful Dead Channel, E Street Radio, JAY-Z Nation, and Garth Brooks Radio, among many others.

To learn more about Skaggs Place please visit Sirius Bluegrass online.

Girl power… on the hour. That’s what the folks at Sirius Bluegrass have in store for this week.

Starting today (3/17) and running through Friday (3/21) Sirius Bluegrass will offer hourly biographies of the women who have left a mark on bluegrass music. Rhonda Vincent and Dale Ann Bradley will host these brief segments to help celebrate Women’s History Month.

Sirius Bluegrass can be found on Channel 65 on your Sirius Satellite receiver, and subscribers can listen online. They have a free, 3 day trial for their internet radio service should you want to get a taste of the Sirius experience.

Starting this evening at 5:00 p.m., and running through the end of the game on Sunday night, Sirius Bluegrass will celebrate Super Bowl weekend with a bluegrass Pick Off.

On-air hosts Chris Jones, Ned Luberecki and Joey Black have compiled the best bluegrass instrumental music from their massive collection to feature all weekend - the perfect background for your pregame get-togethers?

Or as Ned might put it… listen to the Pick Off while awaiting the kick off.

Sirius Bluegrass can be found on Channel 65 on your Sirius Satellite receiver, or subscribers can listen online. They have a free, 3 day trial for their internet radio service should you want to get a taste of the Sirius experience.

Sirius Bluegrass (Channel 65) is giving New Year’s Eve over to Del McCoury, with 36 hours of back-to-back McCoury.

Starting Monday (12/31) at noon and running throughout New Year’s Day, Sirius Bluegrass will air encore presentations of their Hand Picked with Del program, hosted by McCoury. Del plays his favorite bluegrass songs (old and new), and shares stories from his long career in the business.

The only interruption from the Hand Picked Del-a-thon comes at 10:00 p.m. (EST) when Sirius will carry a live broadcast of the New Year’s Eve McCoury Family Pickin’ Party from The Ryman in Nashville. In addition to The Del McCoury Band, the show will feature performances from Ronnie Bowman, Leftover Salmon’s Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, Jon Fishman (from Phish), and Steep Canyon Rangers.

It’s sure to be a rollicking good time, and a fine way to welcome 2008.

Sirius Bluegrass will have a special program featuring Rhonda Vincent on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Rhonda Vincent’s Christmas Memories finds her in the studio with her family and several friends, discussing their Christmas memories - and playing her favorite bluegrass Christmas music as well.

The show airs on 12/24 at both noon and 9:00 p.m., and again on Christmas Day at 3:00 p.m. All times Eastern.

Count Down Yonder is the name of the newest show to debut on Sirius Bluegrass, channel 65 on the Sirius Satellite Radio network.

Each Friday at 3:00 p.m. they will announce and spin the top 17 songs as determined by listener requests. Host Chris Jones tells us that there isn’t any special significance to the number 17 - it just worked out well to fit that many songs into a one hour program.

The #1 song from last week - the first week of the countdown - was Alison’s Band by The Charlie Sizemore Band. You can add your own requests by calling the Sirius Request Line (877-33-SIRIUS), or by email.

Count Down Yonder is rebroadcast on Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. (all times EST).

With controversy and legal action still taking place over the rates set for internet radio, the Copyright Royalty Board has fixed new rates for satellite radio services. Since there are only two satellite providers in the US, Sirius and XM are the only companies affected by the ruling.

The two satellite radio services have been given an entirely different deal than that handed down for webcasters. While internet radio was burdened with a per song fee, satellite radio has been given a favorable percentage of revenue model to work from.

These fees are the ones paid to SoundExchange for performance royalties. They are paid in addition to publishing royalties owed to such organizations as ASCAP.

Here is the fee structure as set by the CRB: (more…)

Jamie Daley will be doing a guest host shot on Sirius Bluegrass (Channel 65), this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. He’ll spin some of his favorite songs on the Sirius playlist, and offer a few sneak peeks at his upcoming release with The Dailey Vincent Band.

If you aren’t here at IBMA in Nashville to see them perform at Fan Fest, be sure to tune in this afternoon at 5:00 (ET) to catch a couple of songs from the debut release.

Sam Bush will be a guest host this evening on Sirius Bluegrass, warming up for next week’s IBMA convention in Nashville, where Sam will serve as host for the International Bluegrass Music Awards on October 4.

Sam takes over at 5:00 p.m. today (9/27) for an hour of talk and music. He’ll spin tracks of his choosing, and expound as his inclinations direct. Sounds like fun…

The show will be rebroadcast on Saturday (9/29) at 9:00 p.m. and again on Sunday (9/30) at 3:00 p.m. All times eastern

Sirius subscribers can find Bluegrass on channel 65, broadcasting bluegrass 24/7.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver will be featured on July 4 with a live, in-studio performance on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Channel 65.

They will pick and sing several songs from their latest CD, More Behind The Picture Than The Wall, and Doyle will talk about his career as a band leader and his life on the road.

The show runs at 2:00 and 11:00 p.m. on July 4, with rebroadcasts later in the week on Friday (7/6) at 5:00 p.m., Saturday (7/7) at 9:00 p.m., and Sunday (7/8) at 3:00 p.m. All times EDT.

What better way for a bluegrass fan to celebrate Father’s Day than with the music of the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe?

That’s exactly what the folks at Sirius Satellite radio’s bluegrass channel (65) think. They will feature wall-to-wall Monroe music from Saturday (6/16) at 9:00 a.m. until Sunday (6/17) at 9:00 p.m. Both his own recordings, and other artists’ interpretations of the music of Bill Monroe will be included, along with background and commentary from the channels hosts, Chris Jones and Ned Luberecki.

As they say on their site:

No Bill, No Bluegrass. Know Bill, Know Bluegrass!

Here’s an update to a story Brance discussed earlier this year - the proposed acquisition of XM Satellite Radio by Sirius Satellite Radio.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has begun its 180 day review period, during which public comment on the possible effects of the merger are sought. Even prior to this review period, however, intense lobbying against the merger has been forthcoming, particularly from Clear Channel Communications and the National Association of Broadcasters.

Since both Sirius and XM feature lively, 24/7 bluegrass programming, many of our readers have been following this issue with interest. The planned merger would not immediately involve consolidation of services, and is not possible at this time due to incompatible technology. What might develop after the merger will surely be a focus of the FCC review.

Here are a few more stories on the start of the 180 review we found online for those who want more details.

• OrbitCast: FCC starts pleading cycle for Sirius-XM merger
• Wall Street Journal: FCC Seeks Comment On Sirius-XM Merger
• Lasar’s Letter on the FCC: Clear Channel, Tennessee broadcasters lobby FCC against XM/Sirius merger
• The Street: Clock Ticks Slowly for XM, Sirius
• Petition Online: FCC: Allow Sirius-XM Merger for Consumer Benefit

Williams and Clark Expedition will be featured guests on Sirius Satellie Radio’s Channel 65 on Friday (6/8) at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). They will join host Chris Jones for an interview, and one would presume, some music from their current, self-titled CD.

We’ve told you before about the proposed merger of the two satellite radio providers, Sirius and XM. Previously the House of Representatives had inquired into the deal, now the Senate is doing so. The main objection to the action is the creation of a monopoly resulting in increased costs for consumers.

Chief executive of Sirius, Mel Karmazin, has testified, saying that he feels the combined satellite provider would still face robust competition from other sources, such as terrestrial radio, iPods, and internet radio (despite recent efforts involving the satellite providers that appears to be directed toward killing, or at least severely crippling, that industry’s ability to compete in the marketplace). Karmazin went on to promise there would be no increase in price due to the merger. In response to that argument, Senator Herb Kohl, D-Wis, said the following.

We must view these claims with a healthy degree of skepticism…Over-the-air radio does not come close to duplicating the impressive array of program offerings of satellite radio.

The National Association of Broadcasters has testified at the hearings to the effect that they feel they would be unable to compete with a monopoly in the satellite market. MercuryNews.com has the full story.

Even though they are holding hearings, neither house of Congress has announced plans to prevent the merger at this point. Assuming they don’t, (more…)

As you’ve probably heard, Sirius and XM have announced plans to merge their two companies into one larger satellite radio provider. It’s still unclear at this point if regulators will allow it though.

CNN Money reports that both companies will need to seek shareholder approval, and with that done the new company would need FCC approval as well. Congress is also looking into the matter in the form of a review by the House Judiciary Committee. Committee Chairman John Conyers issued a statement recently about the planned review by an antitrust task force.

We are holding this hearing to allow members to probe whether this merger will enhance or diminish competition in the digital music distribution industry,

Just a few years ago, regulators rejected a similar proposed merger between satellite TV providers, DirecTV and DISH Network. It remains to be seen whether they will allow the merger of the only two providers of satellite radio.

Ultimately, it seems there will be only one satellite radio provider, either due to a merger or simply one or the other going out of business.

If the merger is allowed by regulators, the two companies plan to offer listeners an “a la carte” option as to which channels they subscribe to. This could be a nice feature for those wanting a limited number of stations and desiring not to have offensive channels such as the one carrying Howard Stern.

How this might affect the bluegrass listeners is yet to be determined. Based on this comment found on the XM website, it seems certain that there will be a combining of the bluegrass channels.

a merger would ultimately allow the new company to eliminate duplicative music programming and free up bandwidth

I know this sounds bad, but, if they were to retain the best of each (Sirius and XM) channel, the emerging bluegrass programing could be quite good. On the other hand, it will mean the cancellation of some shows, which is sure to upset fans of those shows. Sirius currently makes use of a large number of “part-time” bluegrass DJs recruited from among the ranks of professional bluegrass musicians. XM, on the other hand, leaves the majority of hosting duties in the hands of professional DJ, Kyle Cantrell. What balance would be struck between the two formats is unknown at this point.

One wonders how Sirius and XM subscribers feel about the impending shift in programing. Will the merger be a good thing for bluegrass fans? You tell me…

Tim Shelton of NewFound Road has written in to let us know that the band will be featured on Sirius Satellite Radio tomorrow, Saturday December 9th, with host Ned Luberecki. The program will air at 7 PM EST on the bluegrass channel. Ned and band will be discussing their latest Rounder release, Life In A Song. I’m sure they’ll be playing the music from the record as well.

For an appetizer, be sure to check out our recent podcast featuring Tim and some of the music from Life In A Song.