Art Bell Quits Dark Matter

[Colorado ESQ]

Here's my two cents:

I think Art genuinely wanted to return, enjoyed it for the first few episodes, but soon remembered how much work it is to produce and maintain a quality radio program. Whether or not he made unrealistic demands of Sirius XM to get released from his contract, only Art knows. But now that it's over, I think he's relieved to be free of the burden. Art can say he explored streaming options and hide behind the non-compete clause to deflect widespread criticism from his fans. /End of Zeta talk

I sadly have to agree with you. By not even trying to fight the noncompete or hire a lawyer to address it Art is showing his true position by his actions, regardless of what he says. He could get out of the NC, in fact a podcast probably is not even considered to be in the sphere of commercial competition. He just does not want to do it no matter what he says.

[jazmunda]

Thanks for that but I think you forgot to wait for his response before posting.

You just gave away the whole strategy. What have you done?

[pepsiguy]

YOU need painkiller ?
I just spilled some hot minestrone soup on my leg.
Lots of screaming and it hurt like hell. Hopefully it won't blister.
Next thing you know, I'll drop the turkey I've got cooking in the oven on my dick.
OWWWW !

Show off!

[SixWeekTenure(tm)]

[Surmo]

And I spent two hours earlier today going over the damn thread, drawing out factual points and issues, and was going to offer my legal services (for whatever good they are) to Art or Paul to challenge this No Competition ("NC") clause.  Depending on the facts behind the scene, the NC may be beatable in the forum of public opinion.  I do not admittedly know all the facts, who does, but there are hints it may be beatable based on the ongoing stream problem from the beginning, the offer to be an independent contractor by Art, Sirius' refusal or silence on both issues, and then offering the same basic deal to Noory - who they were secretly negotiating with through this entire process according to that bastion of honesty, George Noory.  Also, Art wrote he was off the air by mutual agreement - that may have legal ramifications, depending on what EXACTLY went down, for the word "mutual" implies Sirius was involved in Art's show going off the air. Plus, Art's show overlapped with Noory's on many nights during this secret negotation, which the two parties (Sirius and Premiere) were well aware of. Should a NC clause remain in effect when one party was actively working against you? The claim can be made, at least enough to get into court and let public opinion start to take hold.

There would also have been an actual plan on how to wage a publicity war, since that would have been what really would win a case like this, as well as hints for others to do a class action lawsuit.  The reality of it is any option like that, though "legal," are really an excuse to do a publicity battle with Sirius until they suffered enough to release Art from the NC clause.

Only one problem (well, many of them, but only one insurrmountable one).....Art would have to be on board, and he is clearly not.  While I understand that from a man of 68, without him leading the fight and doing what his attorney(s) say, the effort is useless.

I am going to hurt Sirius how I can, and more importantly Premiere even more, and George "Lying Sack of Shit" Noory even more than that.  The man and his show (that piece of shit is no longer Art's creation) both have no personal or corporate integrity.  I will complain everywhere I can, email Sirius every way I can (and already have), and let them know.  It means nothing now, but it might in the future.  Then I will do the same with Premiere, but also contact all their advertisers and let them know everything I can to get them to listen - mainly tell them that I will never buy their products again if the situation remains.  Ever.

This may well be Don Quixote tilting at wind mills, but hey, I've done it in the past with great personal satisfaction, and I will do it again in this instance.  Art is the artist, and not a politician or a businessman; Noory is the exact opposite.  Snoory may win now, but I refuse to acknowledge him as the winner long term, and will conduct my own personal war against the man and all that he stands for.  And I encourage you all to do the same.  I hope SaucyRossy does good work on a video to get the word out, for the man is a professional! Falkie also has a good idea, buying stock in these companies, to have a voice, and I may buy the minimum amount myself for that reason.

Lastly, I found the people who called Art a liar when he talked about things going on behind the scene to be reprehensible.  They post here, against Art?  I do criticize Art for having no business acumen, but to call him a liar?  While I am a big believer of free speech, and have never called for anyone to be banned (and am not now), I specifically am calling out Uncle Duke, malachi.martini (great name though) and littlechris. You three, at least, should Man-up (their genders are unclear)and apologize for that claim, which was clearly wrong.  You three were flat out wrong, and while I may have missed something in 65 pages of reading, I did not see you apologize for being so flat-out wrong.  Do that, or I (at least) will ostracize you.

Sorry, a lot of venting here mixed in with a few ideas.  Many of which have been said in one form or another in the last 65 pages I read today (I need a better life), so I do not claim credit for them all.  I dont know about you, but I feel much better.

[tertiaryimam]

K I've read every post on this thread over the past week.  Yes,  I seriously have no life.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

The only bright spot in my stupid meaningless life was Art and DM the last six weeks.  Now it's been ripped from my soul.   Jeez 

God Art.  I'll sic my fat ass cat on you.   Then feed him some pizza rolls.

Hi mesomel.

You know, your cat might not have weight issues if you fed it something a bit more substantial than pizza rolls. When I had a cat I'd feed it only lean cuts of organic pheasant and on holidays I'd let it have an organic buffaloe burger with just a touch of hollandaise sauce. Buffaloe is far leaner than normal beef and its worlds of nutritional substantiability away from pizza rolls.

Just a friendly suggestion.

[morphiaflow]

Thanks for that but I think you forgot to wait for his response before posting.

You just gave away the whole strategy. What have you done?

I know. I've ruined it all. I suck. But not as bad as Dave does.

[malachi.martini]

[MV/Liberace!]

Yeah, cos radio stations like committing commercial suicide. Why would they spend lots of dosh getting a show up and running to deliberately kill it six weeks later?

you've apparently never worked in radio.

[McPhallus]

Art Bell to me on Facebook:

I am considering my legal options

Doesn't that contradict what he posted here earlier?

[PathoJen]

I AM DEVASTATED!! AGAIN.

[tertiaryimam]

Thanks for that but I think you forgot to wait for his response before posting.

You just gave away the whole strategy. What have you done?

To muddy the waters a bit, art told me on face book that he thought Julianne Moore did a terrible job in Hannibal. Her performance was wooden and uninspiring. He thought Hopkins did ok, but the story line was dreadful and the whole ordeal left him feeling like he'd wasted 2 hours of his life.

/keepartbellprivatemessagesprivategoddamnitunlesshesaysitsoktopostthem

[Kolchak]

Doesn't that contradict what he posted here earlier?

Yep.

[whatatrip]

Content aside, are Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony putting on "junk shows" because of this streaming issue? They seem to be getting along just fine.

If people want to listen to satellite radio, the most reliable option will always be purchasing a satellite radio receiver. The show came in just fine for me. Nothing was "destroyed" until the plug was pulled.

Stern's show is in prime "driving" time so there are millions of cars on the road at that time and that is Stern's audience. Sirius is great for commuters and those that spend a lot of time driving. There are not many on the road 7-11pst, 10-2 est. That time slot is prime internet time.

Granted there are some truckers out there at all hours of the night but not nearly the numbers that comprise the commuter listeners.

[SciFiAuthor]

This is just speculation on my part, same as yours, but perhaps they're not dropping the non-compete because Art angered management with the way he handled his exit from Dark Matter. I'm sure they're puzzled that Art didn't request to be an independent broadcaster from the beginning and avoid any issues with the SiriusXM web player/app, but I suppose hindsight is 20/20. It's difficult to have a fully formed opinion when we still don't know the entire story but it's ludicrous to suggest the company is in league with Premiere and are holding Art to his non-compete in order to benefit Coast to Coast AM.

I don't know that the non-compete really has a purpose in this case other than being a standard part of a contract in that industry. SXM doesn't really have a competitor in the first place and it sits apart from broadcast as an industry in it's own right.

Premiere has a motive to keep Bell off the air and out of any potential deal with Cumulus. As such, of I were Premiere's CEO and I was in a deal to sell a show to SXM, I could certainly sweeten the pot to ensure that a certain contract was upheld. We'll never know if that was the case or not, but it's a hell of a lot more likely than some executives sitting in an office taking sour grapes revenge on a host for leaving due to lack of delivery of promised infrastructure.

[Kolchak]

There are not many on the road 7-11pst, 10-2 est. That time slot is prime internet time.

Or, you know, relaxing in the living room with a satellite radio receiver.

[Coz]

Well... ok it's done.

So... what now? Turn the site back into a bastion of snoory attack? Keep it setup as bellgab and let it fester to the point that it's irrelevant?

Really? What is our future?

[urbie88]

Stern's show is in prime "driving" time so there are millions of cars on the road at that time and that is Stern's audience. Sirius is great for commuters and those that spend a lot of time driving. There are not many on the road 7-11pst, 10-2 est. That time slot is prime internet time.

Granted there are some truckers out there at all hours of the night but not nearly the numbers that comprise the commuter listeners.

I stream stern every day throughout they day. I pause, rewind, restart and almost never get an error. I stepped away for an hour and came back to a 1001 error. Oh we'll, it timed out after an hour on pause. Big deal!!

[SixWeekTenure(tm)]

Doesn't that contradict what he posted here earlier?

Stay tuned...

[Falkie2013]

Well...technically isn't he only competing if he broadcasts for profit? Can a NC clause keep you from doing a free broadcast---that relies on recurring donations for streaming capabilities? Mooks do it all the time.

OK, Art. How about not being cryptic for a change and just tell us EXACTLY what restrictions you have and do NOT have in your NO compete clause with Sirius ?

I could think of one sneaky way to get around this.
Everyone on Bellgab starts their own podcast and we all interview Art and have call ins every day for the next 2 years and discuss the interview over and over.
Since podcasts usually don't make any money and the only one's I've heard that have advertising are the poker ones, they probably wouldn't compete.

Hmm, now there's an idea.
Art Bells All In Poker site from Pahrump.
Nevada is ramping up online intrastate poker and Art could editorialize on his own poker site.
And poker wouldn't compete with radio would it ?

[McPhallus]

Kind of sounds like Art is placating an urgent fan--seeing that shot makes me even more dubious.  Only real action and results would stop me from saying BULL.  Again words are cheap.

I agree.  Sounds a bit perfunctory.

[urbie88]

Live at the Bunny Ranch with your host, Art Bell

[morphiaflow]

Not going to argue here. If I made an error in judgment it was for the sincerest of reasons and I'll apologize and feel awful about it (I kind of already do). But I refuse to believe it will have a serious negative impact on whatever his next actions may be or swing the pendulum one way or the other. My only intent was to shore up a little bit of light in this sea of negativity. I've largely ignored those with the negative voices and refused to be baited by them, and I'll continue to do so. Art has my loyalty and support no matter what, and regardless of what the rest of you think about him or his actions. Hurl whatever insults my way you wish. So be it and amen.

[Walks_At_Night]

Well... ok it's done.

So... what now? Turn the site back into a bastion of snoory attack? Keep it setup as bellgab and let it fester to the point that it's irrelevant?

Really? What is our future?

LewisGab?    RenseGab?  ParacastGab?  SiegelGab?  God help us!!!!!!

[PathoJen]

I cannot believe Art would be ok with Sirius picking up coast 2 coast. I suppose he would have no control over it, but that almost sounds like a revenge move on SXM's part.

[morphiaflow]

LewisGab?    RenseGab?  ParacastGab?  SiegelGab?  God help us!!!!!!

KnappGab.

[Heather Wade]

RageGab

DramaGab

Can'tTakeThisAnymoreGab

PleaseGetArtBackOnAirGab

[SixWeekTenure(tm)]

All in favor of CozGab according the poll.

[UnscreenedCaller]

Not going to argue here. If I made an error in judgment it was for the sincerest of reasons and I'll apologize and feel awful about it (I kind of already do). But I refuse to believe it will have a serious negative impact on whatever his next actions may be or swing the pendulum one way or the other. My only intent was to shore up a little bit of light in this sea of negativity. I've largely ignored those with the negative voices and refused to be baited by them, and I'll continue to do so. Art has my loyalty and support no matter what, and regardless of what the rest of you think about him or his actions. Hurl whatever insults my way you wish. So be it and amen.

I wouldn't worry about it, morphiaflow. Art's message wasn't preceded by a "Shhhh, don't tell anyone but here's my secret plan... "

I'm being only half facetious. I think it's a given that any little nugget from Art would be shared, and he knows that.

[urbie88]

Can we all just call in to snorry and spam him in c2c tonight?