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Internet radio vs. Satellite radio – which one should you invest in?

by Phil Barrett

A few years ago when XM Radio finally came to Canada, I was among the first to buy one of their portable units that allowed me to stream radio in my car and at the office through my speaker system. With the extended antenna cord, I even got it to work in my home surround sound system.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven – no commercials and a great music selection. Awesome.

A year later I was still loving my Satellite radio but my docking stations started to malfunction. Soon i could no longer recharge or get a signal from either one.  I went to my local Future Shop and asked to buy replacement pieces only to find out that they no longer made my model and that the new models used a different setup.

I was not willing to buy another satellite system, so I went online to do some research on Ebay and Craig’s List.  During this process I discovered last.fm – an Internet radio station that played a selection of music based on tags I provided that matched those of the community. For example, if I wanted to hear techno – i typed in techno and all tracks that were tagged as such came streaming through. Better yet – I could let the site know that I hated or loved a track. Hated meant it would never get played again while loving it meant I got other tracks that others who loved this one also loved. Neat-o.

I allowed my Satellite radio contract to expire and I never looked back… that is until this past summer when I picked up my new Ford Edge which came with Sirius radio pre-installed along with six free months of service.

For the last six months I’ve been loving my in-car Satellite radio while still being loyal to last.fm at work and at home. With my free contract expiring, I went back online to check out the rates.

The most logical package was to get one that would last the lifetime of my lease – which is nearly three more years. The cost would be nearly $500 with taxes. Ouch.

They also have a lifetime plan for only $100 more – which seems like the best deal until you look at the bigger picture. Satellite radio is an old technology that may not last more than a few more years.

Why? Internet radio is coming to your next vehicle… or the one after that. Audi has already been showing off prototypes of a cabrio that includes an Internet radio feature. The same technology that allows vehicles today to pull down google maps into your display (essentially mobile Internet) can also be used to stream music into your vehicle.

Internet radio can also be social – or two-way unlike Satellite radio. And it’s free.

Just as my Rogers mobile stick allows me to get Internet wherever I go, I can see a day coming soon where your vehicle can be your own personal wifi hot spot that not only streams Internet radio based on your profile and preferences, but also allows you to stream video to the back seat for movies, games, and other media.

For the driver, having streaming Internet also means you can get weather and traffic alerts that are real-time – and even access those live highway video cams which will look much better on your dash system than on your mobile device.

With streaming Internet you can also install other features such as video cameras that capture the environment around you – including when you get rear-ended. Think of it like having a black box for your car… so when an accident occurs the police and or ambulance and insurance companies are notified with video of what just happened.

The possibilities are nearly endless – and coming sooner than you think.

I think I’ll just extend my Satellite radio contract to the end of my lease :)

  • david

    funny to hear you let your subscription laps. I got sirus radio b/c of you…. i also have never looked back. Anybody who spends anytime in the car should make the investment…. although obviously a “short term” one :)

    i’ll check out last.fm you should check out listen.grooveshark.com listen to entire albums, play lists etc.

  • david

    funny to hear you let your subscription laps. I got sirus radio b/c of you…. i also have never looked back. Anybody who spends anytime in the car should make the investment…. although obviously a “short term” one :)

    i’ll check out last.fm you should check out listen.grooveshark.com listen to entire albums, play lists etc.

  • Geoff

    According to Fast Company, “Dodge’s New Ram Is a WiFi Hotspot, Too?” You can check out the article here: http://tinyurl.com/5zbu8n. Too bad Dodge is going to tank soon…

  • Geoff

    According to Fast Company, “Dodge’s New Ram Is a WiFi Hotspot, Too?” You can check out the article here: http://tinyurl.com/5zbu8n. Too bad Dodge is going to tank soon…

  • http://zigideas.com/ larry Hammond

    I’ve been using Yahoo Music (formerly launchcast) for years, for all the reasons you outlined. Not only do I never hear a Britney Spears or Katy Perry song again, I still get NEW music introduced in to the mix based on a combination of genre selection and the ratings of people with similar ratings profiles as mine. The more we all rate music, the more accurate the system is at predicting my likes and dislikes.
    What’s also great about internet radio is that it is genre agnostic. I often get served some Enya followed by some Violent Femmes, followed by Goldfrapp. It’s like listening to my MP3 player, only I hear new music too. It’s perfect!
    Having said that, I too looked at satellite radio a few years ago. With hundreds of stations, there must be atleast a few that would cater to some of my more obscure musical tastes. I was very disappointed by the selection, however. As parodied on The Simpsons, you have 200 stations, but that works out to 15 pop rock, 12 country and western, 120 talk radio, etc. It was all mainstream. Even attaching the prefix ‘alternative’ to a genre didn’t cut it. Even the Cable radio stations on my TV offered more selection!
    I blame the number crunchers, who read the market research wrong. They based the genre selection based on what people listen to on traditional radio. What they failed to do was see that audience numbers in traditional radio have been dropping like crazy. So a fewer and fewer percent of us actually bother listening to the radio, and the rest of us have found other sources of music. What they should have done is polled what EVERYONE listened to, and they would have found huge pockets of international, truly alternative subculture and indi music. These still seem to be missing on the satellite music roster. Instead, they’re chasing after a diminishing market as immigration and the internet continue to diversify people’s musical tastes that aren’t reflected on traditional radio, and hence on traditional radio research.
    But Internet radio is facing a new hurdle, in the form of talent rights. A recent bill passed in the US is forcing online radio stations to pay the artists for streaming their music. Sounds reasonable, except it messes up their business model, and these sites are dropping like flies because they can’t afford to pay up. Yahoo music might be the next to go.
    So ya, the idea of getting my internet radio in my car, or through my smart phone would be the ideal. It would might even replace my MP3 use. IF they can make it work.
    I wouldn’t count on Rogers or Bell to offer the bandwidth though, because it opens up another problem that maybe you’d like to address in a new post… VOIP on your smartphone.

  • http://zigideas.com larry Hammond

    I’ve been using Yahoo Music (formerly launchcast) for years, for all the reasons you outlined. Not only do I never hear a Britney Spears or Katy Perry song again, I still get NEW music introduced in to the mix based on a combination of genre selection and the ratings of people with similar ratings profiles as mine. The more we all rate music, the more accurate the system is at predicting my likes and dislikes.
    What’s also great about internet radio is that it is genre agnostic. I often get served some Enya followed by some Violent Femmes, followed by Goldfrapp. It’s like listening to my MP3 player, only I hear new music too. It’s perfect!
    Having said that, I too looked at satellite radio a few years ago. With hundreds of stations, there must be atleast a few that would cater to some of my more obscure musical tastes. I was very disappointed by the selection, however. As parodied on The Simpsons, you have 200 stations, but that works out to 15 pop rock, 12 country and western, 120 talk radio, etc. It was all mainstream. Even attaching the prefix ‘alternative’ to a genre didn’t cut it. Even the Cable radio stations on my TV offered more selection!
    I blame the number crunchers, who read the market research wrong. They based the genre selection based on what people listen to on traditional radio. What they failed to do was see that audience numbers in traditional radio have been dropping like crazy. So a fewer and fewer percent of us actually bother listening to the radio, and the rest of us have found other sources of music. What they should have done is polled what EVERYONE listened to, and they would have found huge pockets of international, truly alternative subculture and indi music. These still seem to be missing on the satellite music roster. Instead, they’re chasing after a diminishing market as immigration and the internet continue to diversify people’s musical tastes that aren’t reflected on traditional radio, and hence on traditional radio research.
    But Internet radio is facing a new hurdle, in the form of talent rights. A recent bill passed in the US is forcing online radio stations to pay the artists for streaming their music. Sounds reasonable, except it messes up their business model, and these sites are dropping like flies because they can’t afford to pay up. Yahoo music might be the next to go.
    So ya, the idea of getting my internet radio in my car, or through my smart phone would be the ideal. It would might even replace my MP3 use. IF they can make it work.
    I wouldn’t count on Rogers or Bell to offer the bandwidth though, because it opens up another problem that maybe you’d like to address in a new post… VOIP on your smartphone.

  • http://www.burningthebacon.com/ Phil Barrett

    Bill’s in the U.S. are mostly irrelevant as there great internet radio stations based all around the world. Some of my favorite are UK based.

    Also interesting to note since the original post is Apple’s decision to drop their copywrite protection on itunes.

  • http://www.burningthebacon.com Phil Barrett

    Bill’s in the U.S. are mostly irrelevant as there great internet radio stations based all around the world. Some of my favorite are UK based.

    Also interesting to note since the original post is Apple’s decision to drop their copywrite protection on itunes.

  • Jenny

    I noticed that you mentioned the XMp3 (or XM) on your blog.

    I work for an agency on behalf of XM Canada and thought you and your readers may be interested in this Offer:

    With the purchase of an XMp3 portable satellite radio you will receive a $50 service credit and a free SD card.

    To check this out go to: http://www.xmradio.ca/xmp3offer.

  • Jenny

    I noticed that you mentioned the XMp3 (or XM) on your blog.

    I work for an agency on behalf of XM Canada and thought you and your readers may be interested in this Offer:

    With the purchase of an XMp3 portable satellite radio you will receive a $50 service credit and a free SD card.

    To check this out go to: http://www.xmradio.ca/xmp3offer.

  • Pingback: last.fm is now dead to me | burning the bacon with barrett

  • http://www.williampetruzzo.com/ William

    I just saw an ad for a $120 device that hooks up to an iPhone to make it a car-ready satellite radio receiver, which prompted me to do a search ultimately dropping me off here.

    With the iPhone, the competition is basically over. There are already at least three free applications for the phone that stream high quality, custom radio stations straight to you. Last.fm, Pandora Mobil and Imeem Mobil. No interruptions, no breaks. In fact, you can even give them feedback about what you like, so songs you don't like never come on again.

    I was puzzled when I saw the ad for the satellite radio adapter. Someone's got to be really out of the loop to go for that.

  • http://www.williampetruzzo.com/ William

    I just saw an ad for a $120 device that hooks up to an iPhone to make it a car-ready satellite radio receiver, which prompted me to do a search ultimately dropping me off here.

    With the iPhone, the competition is basically over. There are already at least three free applications for the phone that stream high quality, custom radio stations straight to you. Last.fm, Pandora Mobil and Imeem Mobil. No interruptions, no breaks. In fact, you can even give them feedback about what you like, so songs you don't like never come on again.

    I was puzzled when I saw the ad for the satellite radio adapter. Someone's got to be really out of the loop to go for that.

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