Art Bell Quits Dark Matter

[SixWeekTenure(tm)]

Free programming. Additional subscribers. Plus it doesn't hurt their negotiation with other host as he techinically independent broadcaster.  Art has also agreed to be exclusive. There is a predicent for this with glen beck.

I'm assuming that their advertisements would run as is and that Dark Matter would only stream live on his website, no reruns or download links, giving fans an incentive to subscribe (at least an internet only sub) to gain access to the backlog of show content. 

[Bigfoot]

Free programming. Additional subscribers. Plus it doesn't hurt their negotiation with other host as he techinically independent broadcaster.  Art has also agreed to be exclusive. There is a predicent for this with glen beck.

It's not exactly "free" considering all the money they've already spent on him. 

Also, they'd be crazy to take that deal based on the promise of additional subscribers.  If the show's free, who cares?  People already torrent the shit out of old shows and it's not like DM programs aren't up on youtube as soon as they're over. 

The only thing SXM has going for it re: hosting DM is the exclusivity of airing live show.

[Eddie Coyle]

The Night Gallery they're playing tonight was directed by Spielberg. Guest stars include Al Lewis and Tom Bosley. Retro heaven, baby.

     Between that and Charlie's Angels on Cozi...I may never leave the parlor.

     Which would actually be just another day for me.

[nooryisawesome]

I'm assuming that their advertisements would run as is and that Dark Matter would only stream live on his website, no reruns or download links, giving fans an incentive to subscribe (at least an internet only sub) to gain access to the backlog of show content.

Yeah I think it's workable. But I still think sirius passes.

But we need to call sirius and push for art.

[nooryisawesome]

It's not exactly "free" considering all the money they've already spent on him. 


The only thing SXM has going for it re: hosting DM is the exclusivity of airing live show.

Sunk cost my friend

[jazmunda]

Here I am sitting at work at 5:40pm listening to a police scanner half a world away. I could have gone home half an hour ago.

[Surmo]

I would keep Sirius as well, it works well working late at the office (when I get to call into the show in my cavernous conference room with an echo and while on a potato).  And I told that to Sirius today, thanks to a number someone posted here a few hours ago.  I told them I would keep my subscription for now, pending a "re-signing" of Art Bell, but would cancel next week if it did not happen.

[nooryisawesome]

It's not exactly "free" considering all the money they've already spent on him. 

Also, they'd be crazy to take that deal based on the promise of additional subscribers.  If the show's free, who cares?  People already torrent the shit out of old shows and it's not like DM programs aren't up on youtube as soon as they're over. 

The only thing SXM has going for it re: hosting DM is the exclusivity of airing live show.

No ones going to stream the show in their vehicle either. Most listeners I would guess are on the road, so sirius would get that.

[nooryisawesome]

Here I am sitting at work at 5:40pm listening to a police scanner half a world away. I could have gone home half an hour ago.

Dude go home.

[phrodo]

Is it verified they built him a studio? As in, they built one in Pahrump?

Yes SXM built him a studio in a double-wide on his property near his house. It's likely still got the wheels on it though... 

[SomeVelvetMorning]

This has probably already been reported and linked but I will post it anyway:

ART BELL IN TALKS WITH SIRIUS RADIO TO BECOME 'INDEPENDENT BROADCASTER'

.................

The amazing part of Art Bell's venture is that it would be a complete overhaul to Sirius XM's current business model. A free stream, and a host not being paid, but yet something with Sirius technology backing up the entire affair, is a cutting edge take on satellite radio.

Bell promises nothing, but simply says negotiations are happening.

Throughout the night tonight, ARTBELL.COM webmaster Keith Rowland has been testing a stream to see if users were able to get the audio to work--it seems to have been favorable during the test period.. Rowland appears to be using an ICECAST server, and the stats are available here on peak listening.

It's worth noting that several people who tried quitting Sirius were given a free extra month, 'just in case' there were changes with DARK MATTER--and maybe those changes are now becoming known.

http://www.horrorreport.com/2013/11/art-bell-in-talks-with-sirius-radio-to.html

[jazmunda]

I've got paid up Sirius credit for another 6 months so I am in it for the long haul. If Art comes back and it gets close to the end of my subscription I will still take out another 6 months even though it will be free on the website. I haven't gotten very used to the Pause, Rewind and Fast Forward (to catch up when behind) features of the app. As I listen at work I occasionally have to work (surprise surprise) and the pause feature allows me not to miss a beat.

[Bigfoot]

No ones going to stream the show in their vehicle either. Most listeners I would guess are on the road, so sirius would get that.

See. That's the issue.  Most listeners are listening live and on the road, I would agree.  So why the hell would Bell throw this hissyfit, threatening to quit, over some bullshit online player issue?

It's throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

[Nighthawk]

Is it verified they built him a studio? As in, they built one in Pahrump?

Have you been listening since the 16th? He said that yes they indeed did build him a studio over the air a number of times. There are even pictures circulating. It is in his guest house so as not to disturb his daughter. He did not want it in the room his old studio was. It is also mentioned in every article that reported on Art's return.

[nooryisawesome]

See. That's the issue.  Most listeners are listening live and on the road, I would agree.  So why the hell would Bell throw this hissyfit, threatening to quit, over some bullshit online player issue?

It's throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Read his post. He wants a mix of callers at home and people going 70 mph on the road.

[zeebo]

Dont know but it appears he is stoked that Art is gone AND that he is back lol

It's kinda like Schrodinger's Cat - it depends when you look whether he's outraged or ecstatic.

[shell88]

I posted some contact info on the Art Bell thread a couple of days ago.
Anyone who would like to email Sirius, here are a couple of emails:

Kenny Curtis  (Senior Director, Entertainment Programming)
Kenny.Curtis@siriusxm.com

You can also email:  customercare@siriusxm.com
And if you would like to call:
Listener Care:  1-866-528-7474  or 1-866-635-2349

The current top executives:

James E. Meyer  (Chief Executive Officer)
(if anyone has an email address for Mr. Meyer, please post)

Scott Greenstein  (President and Chief Content Officer)
email:  Scott.Greenstein@siriusxm.com


If anyone knows other relevant contact emails, please post.

The scott.greenstein@sirius.com address appears to be undeliverable.

[SixWeekTenure(tm)]

I'm keeping my SiriusXM subscription regardless if this new deal works out and have zero plans to stream Dark Matter from Art's website because of my current issues with my internet provider. There's something about driving at night, hearing Art Bell's voice. With satellite, I can get him way out in the sticks too - love it. Now we just need him to actually do the show! 

[Catsmile]

Here I am sitting at work at 5:40pm listening to a police scanner half a world away. I could have gone home half an hour ago.

Dude, go push your girl on the swing.
She won't want to be seen with dad soon enough, enjoy it while you can.

[WhiteCrow]

Thanks for the levity, Wenck! It has been a very witty and welcome respite.

Roswells... Thanks very funny

[jazmunda]

As I live overseas I don't have access to Sirius via a radio in the car. If I was living in the US I would definitely get one but I have found that streaming the app from my phone through the bluetooth in my car and listening on the car stereo is fantastic. Luckily my phone is paid for by my company and I have 9GB of data a month so cellular data usage is not an issue.

[tertiaryimam]

A suggested mind experiment:

At the bottom of every hour, light a candle and place it on the altar you normally have reserved for Azazel, Yug-Sothoth and Lilithu. Then, print out a small picture of bell and place it by the candle, allowing the light of the candle to illuminate his face.

Then, sit quietly before the image, calming yourself and centering your energies. Then recite this prayer in Latin:

O di boni, malum est, et di, humiles preces nostras audite!

Sit Sirius audire Bell Cornelius postulavit votis concedere atque libens!

Fac cito di deaeque terra ventus et aer; Ne moreris!

In nomine Azazel, Yug-Sothoth, Lilithu et Mastema dea caeca, ita fiat!

Then concentrate for a few moments imagining the Sirius executives all being moved to inexplicably moved to tears, their hearts warming, regret rising, and visualize them texting eachother with shit like, "I got a change of <heart symbol> bout bell. wat say yu?" "yeah, dude. i was all wrong. ^^" etcetera

Do this every waking hour you're not at work. We can do this folks. We know we can.

[tertiaryimam]

Have you been listening since the 16th? He said that yes they indeed did build him a studio over the air a number of times. There are even pictures circulating. It is in his guest house so as not to disturb his daughter. He did not want it in the room his old studio was. It is also mentioned in every article that reported on Art's return.

Yeah I've been listening but this somehow slipped my attention. Holy shit. This makes it a lot worse. Damn.

[jazmunda]

Dude, go push your girl on the swing.
She won't want to be seen with dad soon enough, enjoy it while you can.

Ssshhhhh. I'm waiting until they have finished dinner. That is crazy time in my house. Don't tell my wife. I get home in time to give them a bath and put them to bed. Then it's me time. That means we watch whatever my wife wants to watch on TV.

[FlagstaffChris]

I have told Sirius/XM I can go on the air as soon as tomorrow if they wish. Do not get to excited yet. It is now up to them.
As you can see we are ready to do exactly what we said we would do. We are also prepared to deliver to as many as want
it. So, the ball is now in their court. Keith knows what he is doing. Paul is ready and I am ready. All we need is the go ahead
from Sirius.

                                                                                                                                            Art

I started listening to Art back in 1996 or so, and have never stopped listening. Except, of course, when he would mysteriously disappear from the air. I tried listening to the various hosts who attempted to replace him, but I usually never made it through a full show. I probably only listened to George Noorey once, and I don't think I even made it through the whole show. It just wasn't the same, and wasn't worth my time. Every once in a while, I'd look up Art's wikipedia page to see if there was anything new going on with him.

I kind of always have new cars, and they always come with a "free" subscription to SiriusXM and I happened to hit Art's wikipedia page right before he lit the fuse on Dark Matter. I've listened to every show, usually on the Sirius archives because it's more flexible. It streams to my car's Bluetooth stereo no problem over 3G, 4G, LTE, and there's no problem there. I also really like how there are no commercials on the archived shows. In all the thousands of hours I've spent listening, I've never attempted to call into the show, so listening live has never really been an issue for me.

Tonight I was surprised to see that the archive for Monday had Richard Hoagland on again -- I wasn't ready for more RCH yet. Then I realized it was a repeat so I checked artbell.com and was totally deflated to see the news. I wasn't just deflated, but baffled as well. I was vaguely familiar with bellgab.com so I came over here to see what was up. Holy mother of fuck -- this thread is on page 159! I started reading... And reading... And reading... LAS air traffic control chirping away in the background.

Many of the posts tonight have been ridiculously lame. Some of the bullshit that people post -- the unnecessarily nasty, cruel, and mostly just STUPID comments were frustrating to wade through. There was a lot of good stuff between the stuff posted by what Art used to refer to as "oven scrapings."

Art is a smart dude, and he has his reasons. None of us know what's going on in the back channel conversations. We don't know what's in his contract. We don't know what crap they've dished out to him.  I have no idea if him and SiriusXM will be able to work things out, but I stand by him in his decision because I know that he must have good reason. Because I didn't listen live when streaming from XM, I never experienced any problems streaming archived shows. But whatever. Who cares.

The oven scrapings who post here seem to not be able to grasp the fact that this is Art's business, his life, and his career. I admire and respect him for making the choices that he feels are best for him and his career; not for blabbering imbecilic twats who sling feces at him anonymously on an internet forum like moneys. If you don't like what he's doing, or the choices he's making, go listen to some other radio show! Blah blah blah. This story is as old as the internet.

I wanted to post this just to give a shout out to Art from a 17 year listener who would be happy to pay a subscription fee, renew my SiriusXM subscription, or anything else that it took to listen. I came across Phil Hendrie a while back out of LAX and LOVED his show. He would impersonate Art's whole show and have on Captain Brigadier General Jamison and just RAGE. When he went off the air, I paid to subscribe to his podcast. No problem.

I can't imagine what it must feel like to read the garbage that people are posting about Art. I, for one, will stand by Art and support whatever venue he ends up with. I don't see a lot of hope in holding a big corporation like Sirius hostage to demands, but who knows. It could happen. I hope it happens. The logistics and commercial viability of a free stream to non-subscribers seems like it will be a big problem, but for now, I'm very hopeful that they'll be able to work it out.

Rosswells to you, Art... When you go back on the air, I'm going to listen live and call you. I've got some stories to tell, but more than anything, I just want to call and be a part of the show. You're awesome, man -- keep the faith! I'm sure that there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of listeners just like me who have never called, posted, or otherwise communicated with you but still feel like you're family.

[Nighthawk]

Read his post. He wants a mix of callers at home and people going 70 mph on the road.

Yes I believe that anyone that has not already. Should go back and search Art's user name and read all the posts he has made here to inform us of what is going on. Many of the questions folks have are already answered there.

[TheGrimCreeper1]

A suggested mind experiment:

At the bottom of every hour, light a candle and place it on the altar you normally have reserved for Azazel, Yug-Sothoth and Lilithu. Then, print out a small picture of bell and place it by the candle, allowing the light of the candle to illuminate his face.

Then, sit quietly before the image, calming yourself and centering your energies. Then recite this prayer in Latin:

O di boni, malum est, et di, humiles preces nostras audite!

Sit Sirius audire Bell Cornelius postulavit votis concedere atque libens!

Fac cito di deaeque terra ventus et aer; Ne moreris!

In nomine Azazel, Yug-Sothoth, Lilithu et Mastema dea caeca, ita fiat!

Then concentrate for a few moments imagining the Sirius executives all being moved to inexplicably moved to tears, their hearts warming, regret rising, and visualize them texting eachother with shit like, "I got a change of <heart symbol> bout bell. wat say yu?" "yeah, dude. i was all wrong. ^^" etcetera

Do this every waking hour you're not at work. We can do this folks. We know we can.

Can't I just braid my armpit hair instead?

[Surmo]

jazz:  No need to whisper.  If that is your ritual at your home, your wife knows all about it.  She does get control of the TV all night.  In my experience the woman always sets the agenda at home.

[SixWeekTenure(tm)]

If streaming is allowed on his website and there are still "...Is it me?", poor sound quality callers that never make a point - then where should the blame fall?

[SaucyRossy]

Producer Paul, have you and Art listened the stuff people have posted from opie and Anthony talking about how horrible the streaming quality is for their listeners and how when their contract is up they might do a podcast?