US satellite radio service SiriusXM had another successful year in 2012, ending the year with 23.9m subscribers – a net addition of 2m over the course of the year. The figures came as part of SiriusXM’s new financial predictions for 2013, when it expects to generate revenues of more than $3.7bn and add another 1.4m total net subscribers. The company is on the rise, then, with plans to add new features to its service this year that will be of intense interest to music rightsholders. Having sued SoundExchange and A2IM last year claiming they were dissuading companies from signing up to its direct licensing programme (Bulletin, 28-Mar-12), SiriusXM also spent much of 2012 working on its own Pandora-style personal radio service. In the meantime, if it hits that predicted $3.7bn of revenues in 2013, its 9% statutory royalty rate means SiriusXM will pay $333m to rightsholders.
SiriusXM added 2m net subscribers in 2012
