Sirius Satellite Radio Censorship

[jbhorne]

So...I was listening the Hits 1 while driving to work today and noticed something very strange. Rappers were not cursing anymore. There was a moment of silence where my ears used to enjoy the sweet sounds of "ass" "bitch" "tits" and the occasional "fuck".

 

"What the fuck?" I wondered. I went online and googled "Sirius Censorship". What I discovered is that Sirius now has a partnership with Sprint, and they apparently don't appreciate this alternate vocabulary of expression.

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating ... orship.asp

 

Is Sirius the new cable television? In the end, are commercials going to be introduced? They apparently are already giving into the FCC in other regards.

 

If a parent complains that their children have to listen to this garbage, then they need to realize that their children only hear this "garbage" because it has been made available to them. No child goes out and purchases a Sirius subscription on their own. Parents purchase their children's cellular phone plans. If they prefer not to receive this content then don't pay for it! Parents: Take some responsibility and change from birth-giver to a parent. You are solely responsible for what enters your children's ears. Find a way to protect your children from what they hear when listening to a private broadcast. The FCC is not your child's babysitter.

 

If a child gets fat at McDonalds, it is the parents fault for going through the drive-thru...no one else's. If I purchase a Sirius subscription, I expect to listen to uncensored material. Not that I especially care for the swearing, but it is what I pay for. If this bothered me, then I would go back to listening FM radio. I choose to pay good money for the freedom of expression that the artists want me to listen to.

 

I am more angered by the fact that I was never notified by Sirius of this change. I contacted Sirius and they firmly denied that anything has changed recently in the way of content censorship. This is no way to treat subscribers who pay for a service in advance and expect to receive the same listening enjoyment throughout their subscription period.

 

Am I alone on this position or do others feel the same betrayal?

[whtcrxghst]

That article is two years old so its definitely not new. There are plenty of stations that don't censor at least

[installthis06]

Station one is and has been censored for a while.

[r1lover]

So how does Howard Stern fit into this Sirus now.... lol I'm sure he is worse then rappers are?

[njshaman]

if i had to guess station one is censored so business that play sirius have a hits station they can play as background music with out offending anyone.

[installermarc]

Think of this idea- I do not want my 2 year old saying words like shit and fuck, so I try to not let her hear them. I know she will eventually hear them, but I do not want her repeating them right now. So for me, Hits one on Sirius (wife's car) and 20 on 20 on XM (my Bullitt) suits the mood just fine. I let loose when she is not in the car, but I for one am glad to have the option of good, up to date music without commercials and rated G. Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't Shade 45 play uncencored rap? If you don't like the content on one station, don't you have SEVERAL other choices?

[RCblue]

All pop and country channels on Sirrius are censored. All rock and rap/hip hop channels are unedited. I believe all talk channels are also unedited as well. I don't mind having the choices of edited or unedited at my finger tips. Just remember you can't please every one all the time. You just have to go with the majority.

[jaedee]

My kids listen to Radio Disney.