20230111-xm_radio.txt
So I'm going a bit off brand and talking about something that really
doesn't affect me at all. I was taking out the recycling the other
night and saw some spam mail from S1r1usXM. I never had it, but a few
relatives did. That got me looking around for anyone else who had to
deal with it and made me wonder if anyone actually thought radio was
worth an infinite subscription fee. I saw rates as outrageous as $22 a
month. It's audio you listen to in your car. I'd say the average US
resident spends less than 2 hours in a car per day (probably far
less). I've never heard of that radio service in anything other than
vehicles. Before 2000, I don't think anyone had even heard of XM.
As an anti-capitalist, I just cannot fathom any aural subscription
service being worth more than $2 a month, especially when so, so many
free alternatives exist. To see just how much this radio service is
worth, they usually will haggle down to $5/mo if you really, really
try to cancel. Yet this company advertises and sells the $22/mo model.
It's despicable, especially for something as redundant and, IMO,
worthless as satellite radio. This junk has cost the one-time price of
a crystal radio for well over a century. Now you want to say that your
"shows" that people might listen to intently for maybe an hour or two
a day are going to be worth nearly a dollar a day?
I saw reviews of some really scummy practices like not being able to
cancel online and having to go through multiple people just to get the
service canceled and I can't help but feel sorry for the poor fools
that pay for it with not only money but precious time, as well.
On a larger note, I'm saddened by the rise of SaaS and other
subscription models for products that should be one-time purchases, if
purchases at all. At least with A-to-Z, they include a bundle of
mailing, video, audio, and storage (though not storage for long) for
your subscription fee. The specialist companies that give you one
single thing for a large price just seems insane to me. I guess I've
been programmed by my parents to resist spending money where it's not
needed, but I absolutely hate that so many companies are doing it.
It's really sad, especially when capitalism is being corrupted like it
is and leading to big businesses buying out the little guys. It would
be fine if these big businesses had any sort of morality. I guess I
agree with some parts of capitalism, but honestly the way it's
implemented now with no healthy competition, oligopolies, coordinated
anti-consumerism, I just can't support it any longer.
