The SIRIUS XM app debuted on the App Store on June 18 and quickly became the top free app in the Music category on the App Store. The SIRIUS XM app lets users access 120 channels of groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed talk, sports, entertainment and commercial-free music.

“Reaching more than 1 million downloads so quickly is a strong testament to our world-class programming and SIRIUS XM’s instant brand recognition,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer of SIRIUS XM Radio. “Our goal is to give people access to the best audio entertainment wherever they go with what we think is the best music and audio entertainment application available on the App Store.”

Users of iPhone and iPod touch with a SIRIUS XM Premium Online subscription have access to exclusive sports and entertainment programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service, including Oprah Radio, MLB Home Plate, Martha Stewart Living Radio, SIRIUS NFL Radio, NHL Home Ice, PGA TOUR, Opie & Anthony, Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo, Playboy Radio, The Foxxhole comedy channel presented by Jamie Foxx, Blue Collar Comedy Radio, CNN, Fox News Talk and NPR. The app also offers subscribers access to commercial-free music featuring exclusive shows from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service such as Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour and Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure, as well as 24/7 music channels such as Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Radio, The Grateful Dead Channel, Eminem’s Shade 45, Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, “Little Steven” Van Zandt’s Underground Garage and Outlaw Country channels, B.B. King’s Bluesville, Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Place, Elvis Radio, Siriusly Sinatra, Metropolitan Opera Radio and many others.

Users of iPhone and iPod touch who download the SIRIUS XM app also have access to exclusive, Internet-only showcase channels, such as SIRIUS XM Bootlegs, SIRIUS XM Talk Showcase, SIRIUS XM Music Showcase, and SIRIUS XM Comedy Showcase, featuring multiple plays of SIRIUS XM’s acclaimed shows. Exclusive programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service, such as Here’s Barbara with Barbara Walters, Oprah’s Soul Series, The Jamie Foxx Show, specials from Blue Collar Comedy and Raw Dog Comedy, selections from the Artist Confidential series, and selections from exclusive live SIRIUS XM music performances, including pop, rock, hip-hop, country, jazz, and more, are available for the first time on the iPhone and iPod touch.

You can download the App for free here: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=317951436&mt=8

Still no word on when or if Howard Stern will be included in the App, if I hear anything I will let everyone know.

Yeah you can get the Application on your iPhone for free but you are SOL if you do not subscribe to the Sirius Premium Internet Streaming. They do offer a 7 Day free trial and I’m sure a good percentage of users are using that but what about after that 7 days are up?

Do we really see people sticking with the app when there are other Radio/Music app’s out there that are not only 100% free but Honestly a overall better application.

I really think Sirius bombed on this one big time. When they showed this app to investors a few weeks ago there was a screen shot of Stern Playing in the app, so apparently this was a bad decision/mistake or Sirius XM duped investors.

I suggest Sirius figure out a way to add Stern and also an option to offer limited stations for Free, this would be way better then someone downloading the app only to figure out they need to drop another $3 to hear music on a device that plays music 99 different ways.

This is really a rant but it’s true and while the App is listed high on iTunes I only se this lasting a short time once people figure out nothing is ever free when it comes to Sirius XM.

I’m putting together a short survey to gather thoughts about this App, check back here in a few after I post an Update.

Survey Link Here

No word on if Stern will eventually become available but still looking into it.

Yeah you heard that right, the one thing 90% of the people wanting the App for is not to be seen.

This is taken from the FAQ:

Why don’t certain channels appear on my iPhone / iPod Touch?
SIRIUS & XM offer all of the channels for which we have mobile
performance rights. For that reason, certain channels which may be
available on your satellite radio or online radio service may not be
available on a mobile device like the iPhone.

Some select programming, including MLB® Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-
Play, SIRIUS NASCAR® Radio, and Howard Stern, will not be available on
the iPhone and iPod touch. Listeners will continue to be able to
access that programming through the platforms they are currently
offered on.

Second issue is that there is no support for 1st Generation iPod Touch users. Seems kinda weird.

Will report on this Tomorrow, until then will just need to wait and see what is up.

According to a source you will need to have the Best of Sirius to get Stern on the App. Can anyone confirm this?

SIRIUSXMPremiumOnline

Will test it out for a while and post updates as I use it.

Go get it everyone, it’s free, even includes a free 7 Day Trial.

Update: App will not work on 1st generation Touch.

Engadget.com is also running a story here.

Also got a few confirmations on Twitter, one you can see on the right side of this page.

So after a long wait we will finally get to see it. Hopefully the wait will be worth it.

As soon as the App Launches I will get some Images and reviews up. Until then get you iPhones/iPods ready!

Thank you for contacting SIRIUS regarding whether or not there is a
SIRIUS iPhone application available. We are here to help! We
appreciate the time you have taken to contact us in regards to this
matter! We are happy to inform you that beginning June 18th a SIRIUS
Internet Radio application will be available at the Apple iTunes App-
Store for the iPhone and the iPod Touch! All Premium SIRIUS Internet
Radio subscribers will be able to download the application fromthe
Apple iTunes App-Store for free on their device and access the service
at no additional cost! Subscribers who are listening to the Basic
Online Service for free must first upgrade to the Premium Online
Service for $2.99 per month to access the application on the iPhone or
iPod Touch.

Guess we will see if this is true come Thursday. Until then let’s just hope it’s not a hoax.

Edit: According to http://twitter.com/gabespears this rumor is true. Although not 100% sure about the source.

It’s not the best but this is taken from a slide from todays Stock Holder meeting. More to come as information is available but at least we know they are still working on things.

Wish they would give us some more info, nothing really said then what we all already know.

I just want to know what that shopping cart icon at the bottom is for…….? To Purchase Tracks as you hear them???

According to the post:

Last year, NiceMac LLC has been in contact with Sirius XM and was unable to reach an agreement with the satellite radio company. To clear up the rumors, NiceMac has not received a C & D letter. However based on previous events, our organization predicted that was the next step. Rather than waiting for the inevitable, our company decided to close down the StarPlayr StarLight Project.

During the time of development, NiceMac was in hopes of landing an entrepreneurial agreement with Sirius XM. For the past 9 months NiceMac was under a mutual NDA with Sirius XM Radio. Now that our satellite radio endeavor has been officially terminated, NiceMac LLC will dissolve the NDA with a formal letter addressed to Sirius XM.

At the beginning of this year, without Sirius XM’s blessing, NiceMac decided to move forward as an independent third party developer. StarPlayr from NiceMac become well known and praised around the globe. Just a few weeks ago Howard Stern on Howard 100, raved about StarPlayr on the air. Howard said he would get an iPhone because of our App. Two weeks later, it was never mentioned again. Around the same time, the iPhone app was killed by a subsidiary of the satellite radio giant. Seven hours before we received the official email from Apple, NiceMac received posts and private messages from users saying how they knew about the alleged copyright infringement claim and that it was leaked by a Sirius XM employee.

Our developers and designers were devistated. NiceMac had three years into the StarPlayr Project and uSirius StarPlayr, our flagship App, was nixed at the 11th hour. Soon after the bad news, there were several phone calls and emails that discussed NiceMac leaving satellite radio behind. The game was over. We did not see what was coming and it all unraveled before our eyes in a matter of hours.

For the record, NiceMac had a working iPhone App before Sirius XM’s version and 289 beta testers including Ralph Cirillo can confirm this. Despite all this, the former and current members of NiceMac are still Howard Stern fans. Hey Now! We love you Howard.

For more information, please refer to satellite radio’s terms and conditions, effective 12.18.2008.

We appreciate your support and understanding. Without Sirius XM’s approval for third party developers, NiceMac cannot continue creating software that plays satellite radio everywhere. Please accept our apology. We are truly sorry. We hope one day satellite radio sees the light.

Sincerely,
NiceMac LLC

So there you have it the official response. I just hope Sirius XM can get the job done and create a product just as good, if not better then StarPlayr. I’m sure there will be many pissed off consumers if Sirius XM does not do this right.

In all fairness Sirius XM was right in their decision, did the decision suck? Yes! but there is not much anyone can do about it.

I have tried to contact Sirius XM about the current App but still have not heard anything back. Hopefully they will beta test the application before going live.

Would love to hear everyones thought on the situation.

P.S. I hope the guys at NicecMac continue on with other projects and I wish them the best. I’m sure if Sirius XM’s application is a bomb they will be running to you guys for help!

Even though we all knew this was the reason Nicemac stepped out of the game Sirius XM now makes it official for any doubters. Sirius XM expects the app to launch sometime in the second quarter. Hopefully we can get our hands on a beta version.

Here are a few other items mentioned in the confrence call that took place this morning.

Sirius XM said that its brush with bankruptcy is behind it and 2009 will be about cost cutting and preparing for future growth—at some point.

Sirius said its Mirge radio player, which gets Sirius and XM signals is available today.

Executives said a recent transaction with Liberty Media, which acquired a 40 percent stake in Sirius XM for $530 million, puts its debt issues behind it for 2009.

Sirius XM stopped giving subscriber and revenue guidance because it’s
impossible to predict sales given the auto industry’s problem and the
broader economic downturn. All previous forecasts on subscribers and
revenue are pulled. However, Siriux XM said it will deliver more than
$300 million in 2009 EBITDA.

Mel Karmazin commented on its investment from Liberty Media, which
saved the company from bankruptcy. Karmazin said that the rate—roughly
15 percent— Sirius XM paid was fair given the debt market and the
Liberty financing “was a much better outcome” than the alternatives.

2009 will be a terrible year for auto sales and churn will increase.
Karmazin said merger synergies and better cost management will get the
company through the short term. But if auto sales pick up from 9
million units to 10 million units “the company will benefit
substantially.”

And finally a really interesting topic I totally overlooked:

The Circuit City bankruptcy hurt Sirius XM demand, said executives
since the now-dead retailer was a big sales channel for satellite
radio.

Hopefully we can get our hands on a beta version of the Sirius XM app in the near future.