(Full disclosure: I've been a Sirius subscriber for about four years now, and have been following this story for some time.)
Today, the Justice Department announced that they have approved the merger between the two satellite radio companies, Sirius and XM. Although larger media conglomerates such as Clear Channel are screaming bloody murder today, this was the correct decision and will be beneficial to both consumers and to artists.
Now, I understand that there is apprehension from some on the left about whether or not this constitutes a monopoly. But that is not the case here.
First of all, XM and Sirius combined still constitute a tiny fraction (4% to be exact) of the entire radio industry. If this were a true monopoly, it would be two much larger corporations merging together in order to keep everyone else out of the market. But not only will this not have any effect on market entry for regular radio (Clear Channel and other large conglomerates take care of that), but at only 4% of the market, it still wouldn't preclude other satellite companies from entering in once the market is better established.
And with all due respect to the previous diarist, this is NOT analogous to having "just one cable TV company in America because you can always just watch the networks". But cable companies are not national in scope. In most areas outside of major cities, you DO only have one choice when it comes to cable. Here in Ithaca, where I'm in college, it's Time-Warner or nothing. Back home in Nashville, it's Comcast or nothing. But introduce satellite TV into the mix, and then you have an actual option if you wnat to watch more than just networks. Satellite radio is the same thing--it offers an option over a limited local selection. In Ithaca we at least have decent college radio stations, but in Nashville, your options are pretty much limited to country, Top 40, country, oldies, and country. We used to have a great alternative rock station but when I was in high school, it switched over to...wait for it...country!
(On that note, even being from Nashville, I don't think I truly started to appreciate country music until after I got Sirius. With satellite radio, you can listen to different types of country music, such as alt-country and the old classics, rather than what the Nashville record companies are trying to market on any given day)
In addition to offering more choice, this is also good for consumers in terms of cost. Sirius has already released their tentative pricing plans for after the merger (warning--PDF), and the merger will not only allow them to drop the price, but to offer more a la carte options as well.
Beyond just consumers, I really feel that this will be better for artists as well. There have been many times when I've listened to a song on Sirius that I'd never heard before that I immediately downloaded as soon as I got home. Satellite radio, just like MySpace and iTunes, offers a platform for newer, independent, and non-mainstream acts to be heard. Allowing satellite radio to remain viable will keep that opportunity alive.
In conclusion, I understand that on the surface, this looks like a Bush-controlled Justice Department giving a break to corporations. But for once, they got it right. Now I just hope Sirius gets it right and replaces Sirius Left with the far superior Air America!