Radio sucks. (Thankyouverymuch ClearChannel.) Broadcast TV sucks. Cable and Satellite TV both suck in volume.
MP3 libraries are a way out (1) if you have a large CD collection and (2) don't get tired of anything that's in your CD collection. Right now, I'm getting rather bored with most of my MP3s, and I'm not interested in buying CDs of music I might want to graze through.
Satellite Radio looks like a way out. Looking at the selection from XM and Sirius, there are points to like with each. But it's a hard sell -- if either service crashes, lots of subscribers will be stuck with expensive and utterly useless equipment.
I like the "no commercials, ever" policy with Sirius. Plus, they have a better looking channel lineup. But Sirius is only available for the car (it requires a ridiculously long antenna -- 13 feet?), and I want a home system. XM has some commercial-free channels, and it costs less. Plus, there's one home/car/boombox system available today, another home system available soon. And the monthly subscription is about $25 less per year.
Finally, XM has momentum and a clue. GM is heavily invested in XM, and XM radios are a standard option in all 2003 GM vehicles. XM's satellite broad cast technology is also designed to work with non-automotive systems (i.e. that fit in something as small as a bookshelf or a Cooper Mini). And today XM announced a PC device for listening to XM over your Win* box. (No software support for Macs or Linux, yet.) As for the clue factor, XM is pricing additional subscriptions at $7/month vs. the normal $10/month.
Add all that up (along with XM's serious head start over Sirius), and it's no wonder why there are 500,000 XM subscribers vs. 30,000 Sirius subscribers.
