By Relmor Demitrius -
Sirius XM Radio’s (Nasdaq:SIRI) Howard Stern has made his reputation being a rebel and outside celebrity circles. Howard Stern’s own Stuttering John made famous this concept as his whole intent upon interviewing celebrities was to mock them and make fun of them for thinking they are big shots or if they do something stupid. Howard Stern is now what created his legacy. A loud mouthed cry baby celebrity whose ego has grown out of control. Ironic? It sure is considering the source. Once you make 500 million dollars you lose touch with your fan base and have nothing in common. Once you sue your employer for being “under appreciated” as you currently sit as the highest paid celebrity talent TV or Radio contract in existence, you are a hypocrite. Does he deserve the money he thinks he has coming in his lawsuit? Maybe. Irrelevant. By taking his case to his public and on his radio show he discredits his entire career of being outside the influence of money and the joy of his job is obviously gone. He is more concerned with what he is owed and his reputation than the product he is producing. No one likes to hear a millionaire complain about money and respect. No one.
Am I being harsh on Howard Stern? Howard Stern from 1990 would have ripped the Howard Stern of today and would agree with my assessment. If I didn’t mention who it was and told Howard Stern his own story, Jackie and Fred would be bashing this celebrity with meanness only they could bring in the day. Howard Stern would have been leading the charge as well. Once again, it’s not the lawsuit that bothers me here, that’s another story. Although I am familiar with the case and don’t feel it has any validity and side with the company on this issue, if he feels he is owed the money than he should do what he has to do. What I don’t appreciate is bringing it up on the air and making it a court of public opinion. It is unprofessional. He re-signed with the company in good faith well after he knew Sirius XM’s position on this issue. To allow his attitude to hinder his show and distract it from being entertainment is not fulfilling his contractual obligation nor is he being respectful to this CURRENT contract, which has nothing to do with this issue.
Howard Stern claims that XM subscribers that never listened to Howard Stern once in their entire existence, from 2001 to 2010, should be counted as subs that he helped acquire and is legally allowed to count them toward Sirius sub totals in determining subscriber bonuses in his contract from 2004. This is due to the merger of course in 2008. It was mentioned that if XM subscribers were offered his content they should be added as subscribers. Best of was offered, and less than 1 million people signed up for it a full year after it was offered. Best of did not only include Howard Stern too. It also included another very popular and desired content stream XM fans had never enjoyed, the NFL. Not to mention other programming. So let’s assume even 500,000 (very high) signed up for Howard Stern exclusively. That means over 10 million XM subscribers declined his content. No thank you. Howard Stern still thinks he morally deserves these to count, clearly the language of the contract disagrees. Logic disagrees, morality disagrees, and I believe the company is legally not obligated to pay him a bonus on those former XM subscribers as well. To even argue this on his own show makes him what he has despised the most all these years. I personally think Howard Stern’s popularity is waning and he knows it deep down. I am sure this scares him in some ways. His ego, in my own opinion, could never handle the fact that Sirius XM no longer needs his services. The company is better off with a happy employee and a better attitude from Howard as he sits on his throne in the studio, but it is not necessary. Howard Stern will never be offered another contract by Sirius XM satellite radio in all likelyhood, unless he decides to keep working beyond this new contract and is agreeable to make around what he deserves, probably in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 million a year now. The younger generation are not a huge fanbase. He is slowly becoming out of touch with reality and the younger fan. Stern does not appear to generate new fans anymore. As his fans drift off and pursue new interests, lose interest in his show, or find other programming on Sirius XM that may be more agreeable, his value will continue to wane as the years go by.
To Stern’s great career goes a Charlie Sheen ending. Like Charlie Sheen, Howard has left reality behind. Obviously hasn’t melted down yet, but like Sheen a memorable ending can distort a legacy of work. What will Howard be remembered for? Yes Howard, you were very important to satellite radio during the early years, especially Sirius. I would argue less than most people believe, as XM fans never needed you to compell them to subscribe. XM has from day 1 of its launch to now always had more subscribers. This alone is proof that Howard doesn’t deserve the money he is alledging he is entitled to. Contract aside, if Howard and his agent were clever and they win their case to make those subscribers count, good for them, but don’t ask your fan base to care. Your original money was more than sufficient to have you never think anyone disrespects you. That concept is ridiculous to me. That is why you were paid 500 million dollars in loans and stockholder dreams that were never fulfilled.
Disclosure: Long SIRI
euh there is no ‘Charlie Sheen ending’..only in your bitter, judgmental, pathetic, bashing mind.
Sheen will be alright and find new projects.
As for Stern, can’t say i care but neither he is ‘ending’, you seem to be the only one who end or maybe never ‘begin’..
Waaaaaaaa….. for someone who doesn’t like him you seem to pay a lot of attention to him. Like cable, you can choose not to pay for the content. Not sure what you issue is, you are just rehashing old arguments. Can you come up with a more original argument?
Jon P
HS is a jerk. He may get more money but mainly he’s a fraud.
I agree, the “king of all media”‘s popularity and relevance has declined over the last few years. Notwithstanding, his influence still [strongly] reverberates through shareholders and investors, which; in the end, is the only thing that should concern a self-proclaimed “king-of-all-trades” investment website.
Matthew…are you a former OR current fan? Have you ever heard the show? The only person he as ever been relevant to is HIS FANS. Name another personality that commands an audience of his size? Is it Anderson Cooper for you (ON TV)? His audience rarely approaches 700,000 (in a country of 300MIL+ where virtually everyone has cable access. Is it Lawrence O’Donnell? He can barely capture 200,000 viewers. Both of these relevant figures only have to capture an audience for 1 HOUR/night! Howard has a 4 HOUR captive audience that is looped in all time-zones…and by the way…he HAS an actual opinion on RELEVANT subject matter.
Wake up Dumb Dumb. Howard is simply too evolved for you.
Have been a HUGE Stern fan for many years, but find this lawsuit to be RIDICULOUS! It’s a money grab. It’s likely more about his agent Buchwald looking to cash in and talking Howard into this suit. “Hey Howard, let’s at least give it a shot…SIRI will likely try to settle this dumb suit and throw you (us) some more money”. Howard was brain washed and is clueless on this one. SIRI severely overpayed him on the 1st contract, but he may have been worth it back then. The 2nd contract was absurd. However, he continues to whine about lack of respect and the executives cashing in. HELLO HOWARD— you were paid CASH and LOTS of it to compensate for the valueless stock (which you also received)!!! No one received the level of compensation that you did. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
This isn’t just a reply to you, but to the author of the article as well. With what evidence/what information are you basing your claim that he was overpaid in his original contract? You realize that he was given $100 million per year that was to pay his salary, the salary of all the shows employees, and the vast majority of the equipment/operating costs of the show, so it’s actually not publicly known exactly how much of that entire $500 million Stern actually took himself as a salary, but you knew that right? Oh wait let me guess, you were clueless on that one… Additionally, as I asked originally, how are you justifying your claims of the “absurd[ity]” of his contract? Have you had access to any of the reports detailing the income the Stern show ACTUALLY brings in? Info about number of subscribers, subscriber retention, equipment purchases, vendor contracts, etc…? I’m going to go out on a limb and say no, and go further and say that you literally made these claims based on your opinion and nothing else. When you accuse someone of being essentially greedy and nitpicking about dollars, you need to have a clue about what you’re talking about. You have no idea whether or not he has been justly compensated or not, just because a number sounds big to us doesn’t mean it’s fair. If howard brought in $100 in revenue, for example, to Sirius, and received 10 cents in compensation, would you consider that fair? Probably not, right? Without seeing the actual numbers, using the criteria I mentioned above, there is absolutely no logical way for you to evaluate the merits of his contract, or whether not his claims are justified. If you were Howard, and Sirius brought in $10 billion in revenue, and if your show accounted for $8 billion of that income but were only paid $1 million, wouldn’t you have something to say about that? Of course you would; Even though a million bucks sounds like a lot of money to most people, in that scenario it’s not NEARLY enough. Again, just because dollar amounts are large doesn’t mean it’s fair. I’m not saying that Howard is right, or that he is necessarily justified in his claims, but based on being a long-time fan and respecting Howard for his intelligence and honesty, I have to believe there is at least some legitimacy to his claims. Bottom line, do some research and try and at least sound like you know what you’re talking about before making such outrageous claims.
Since you wrote a long reply and took the time, Ill respond. Thank you for your comments first of all.
However…
Most of your comments arent accurate to my article. In fact very few if any. Ill go 1 by 1, just this once since your concerns seem to be typical.
#1. I dont think you read the article.
#2. I never said HS was over paid. Never. Not once.
#3. I never said his new contract or old was “unfair”. I said he was paid enough to not be considered “disrespected”. Wouldnt you agree? I also said if he felt he was robbed money he should do what he thinks necessary. So ur comments are wrong again.
I said just dont expect ur fans to care or anyone else. They dont. Trust me. Millionaires get no sympathy on respect issues.
#4. I never once called HS greedy, you put that word in my mouth for me. I didnt say he was greedy. I said he was whiney, cry baby. HUGE DIFFERENCE. Next….
#5.”Bottom line, do some research and try and at least sound like you know what you’re talking about before making such outrageous claims.”
Sorry but the last one you asked for it….
My response to ur last sentence is, read the article, have valid points before you bother writing a long response. None of your points were my points in the article. Here is the article topics.
1. HS being a hypocrite.
2. HS bringing a millionaire cry baby case to his fans.
3. Losing passion for his career, and putting his ego over reality.
Those are my topics. Nothing what you mentioned.
Dude, read my first sentence where I mentioned that I’m also addressing the author in my response, but that it was generally directed to the previous comment. You should take some of your own advice and actually read before you comment. Yes, I’m addressing some of your points, but in general I’m addressing the comment that I replied to, as well as the other similar comments.
well what would hs done if they couldnt renew his contract would those subs have counted then ???? his contract was with sirius and that contract ended or was he guaranteed subs even if he didnt continue??? his new contract is not with sirius . its with sxm. and i also think the strategy by the co, not to change names untill he signed . i bet its a total different co. his contract was sighned to. this round . so sirius is not sxm . he has no case . weve been over this alot but how could he make a case that the xm subs are his through PERFORMANCE. he didnt get them through performance. just like he wouldnt take credit for the bankruptcy. if he had not signed a new contract to stay on the air. he would not have any subs, his contract ended i believe when sirius ended is why they never changed the name untill, and he was signed with sxm not sirius . his contract ended. unless im mistaken and he had a lifetime contract, and i guess you could make a case for whoever was the surviving co. but either way his contract ended……
Great article Relmor. Could not have said it any better. An article like this has been needed.
Years ago I found myself listening to Howard from time to time. Then, a few months back (just before the lawsuit), I started tuning in again for a little while. As soon as I found out about the lawsuit, I never turned to his station again.
I agree that it is about the story, and not about the lawsuit and whether or not he is owned more money (which I do not believe he is).
As far as wanting to count subscribers who have never listed to his show? I do not know about you, but if I felt I was truly some this great gift to so many people out there, then at the very least I would not find the need to benefit off of those who did not feel I was. Have some integrity for heaven sake Howard. Just pathetic!
And to go into a contract in good faith, all the while knowing your intentions of filing a lawsuit once your new contract has been executed. And to then bring these issues to the air. Just pathetic as well. So weak, so sad.
I am (and have been) confident that if he was cut that the revenue generated from not paying him would outweigh the loss of revenue generated from the loss of subscribers. I am just not convinced that a large percentage of subscribers would leave. Not at this point. Not with all of the other great content. But unfortunately a new 5 year contract was just recently signed, so we may never know.
At any rate, due to his recent behavior he is now lost at least one listener. And while that may not mean much to him, that may change while he continues to burn his bridges.
and i guarantee this article will most definately be picked up by seeking alpo nothin against you rel but you know why hahhahahahahhahahahhahahahahahhahahahahhahah
Howard Stern has become a parody of all the things he once was. With his celebutard wife he curries favor of any celebrity that might invite them to a party or let his wife walk a red carpet. The show is currently on an 18 day break with no original programming on his channels to replace it. Instead they offer a replay of last years Christmas special. He has become lazy, arrogant and elitist and the comedic value of his show has dropped off the cliff. In his effort to keep all the money for himself he has chosen not to fill the third chair on the show, which was traditionally filled with a comedian. As a result the funny is gone and all that’s left is two very wealthy, out of touch, old people complaining about how rough their life of luxury is.
Stop following every move Howard makes. You’re like a jealous school boy.
Not sure if this has been discussed yet, but I wonder if management has given any thought to fire HS. Maybe a year down the road they realize signing HS was a mistake…they could fire him for publicly dissing the company, etc.
If any of you were listening to Howard’s show with any real intent on discovering his view of this issue, you would find a couple of things to be true.
1. Howard has been relatively unwilling to speak in any great detail about the specifics of his dispute with Sirius XM. We know that he claims that money is owed to him, and that the money owed is directly related to the number of subscribers that Sirius reached. That number, according to Howard, has been reached. However, throughout all of it, his comments have been, for Howard, insanely calm and non inflammatory. Lacking in any real detail, probably out of respect for the company that he seems to actually like, he has given us a window into what is going on in his life, and isn’t that what we always loved about Howard in the first place?
2. Howards view of this issue is that, yes, not every subscriber from XM that was brought into the fold is a Howard Stern listener, but if it were not for what Howard Stern was able to do with the dying Sirius brand, the merger between Sirius and XM would never have happened. Howard feels he is directly responsible for the total number of combined Sirius and XM subscribers, now under the SiriusXM umbrella, because he brought in millions of his own subscribers, and through 5 hard years of work, making news, and bringing in even more subscribers, Sirius was able to build themselves up enough to take over XM.
I don’t claim to know the knitty gritty of these numbers, but I highly doubt that Howard would be unaware of them himself, and based on his personality, from what I have heard from 15+ years of listening, I doubt that he would enter into a legal suit that he had no chance of winning and no right to expect to win.
“However, throughout all of it, his comments have been, for Howard, insanely calm and non inflammatory. Lacking in any real detail, probably out of respect for the company ”
What show have you been listening to? His screaming and yelling has been almost a daily tirade. Check marksfriggin.com for show rundowns and you’ll see.
It’s obvious this dude doesn’t listen to the show, and it’s obvious all you ****** saying negative things aren’t listening to the show. It’s rather ignorant to comment on something you know nothing about.
I’ve been listening for almost 20 years now. Most of us that can step back and see what is happening are just writing the truth. Care for another Kool-Aid?
Sad really when a person is a true capitalist and those who cannot share the wealth try and tear the person down. If you don’t like him don’t pay the money for the service, it is as simple as that. As for a money grab, I don’t know about you morons but I expect to get what is coming to me. You are all to quick to take his inventory. You sound like the same losers as the loser that wrote the article. So suck on it!
Sirius takes a portion from my pocket every month because of Howard and only Howard.
No Howard – no Sirius – no merger. Pay the man.
You’re a dope……nice nickname by the way, sounds familiar
How exactly did sirius acquire 20 million subscribers ?
Do you really think Sirius/XM could merge without the Howard Stern Show?
Please. Pay the man what he is owed.
Great article and so very true. Of course you may be inundated with hate messages. Those are the “sheep”. The ones that drank the Kool-Aid. Howard is, in a way, more popular than ever. With celebrities fawning over him, feuds ending, and the Hampton’s mansion, his fame is in the spotlight more than ever. However, while his fans now may be high profile, they are low in numbers. Gone are the millions of working class citizens that can’t tolerate his money tirades while they are digging ditches, replacing roofs, and getting shot at overseas. Check the internet- forums all over are filling with bashers and not of the hating type. Once loyal fans have just had it.
I’m a construction sales manager, we provide radios equipped with Sirius to all of our trucks and crews. They’re all blue collar, all hard working and all listen to Stern only all day long. Gotta love people like you who don’t understand intelligent entertainment so they make up their own “facts” to justify their confusion. Go read your USA Today genius.
Yes, hes still the best radio on radio.
It’s not about who “deserves” what. It’s about the terminology of a contract, a contract that clearly works in Siriusxm’s favor.
Everyone who negotiated Howard’s first deal, and “led him around like the messiah” no longer works there!
Looks like the “whack pack” of old is responding to your article. I guess they have nothing better to do these day’s… since their god “Howard” really doesn’t do much live radio anymore. Your article is 100% correct. He was worth $30 to $40 mil. MAX with the FIRST contract. The second deal, well, I really don’t understand how it even got done.
Howard was in syndication for over a decade in multiple–MAJOR–markets. He had two best-selling books and a MOVIE that grossed nearly $100MIL (at a time when that number was HUGE). Howard has been wealthy for years (remember, HE IS A RADIO GUY). It is easy to determine that you don’t listen to the show…perhaps he is too intelligent and enlightened for you?
correct, had. Lots of hads, and a long time agos in HS’s resume. Yes.
And you’re basing your numbers on…? Can you direct me to the source(s) you used to come up with your claim on his value and the contract he negotiated?
I have been an avid listener of Howard Stern for two decades. To categorize him as ‘irrelevant’ is naive and juvenile. If Howard isn’t relevant, who is? Since his migration to Sirius, I can honestly say I listen to his continually-looped daily show at a percentage that approaches 98%. What other draw is there? The music stations play dated, non-cutting edge tracks. The other ‘talk’ content is mundane and lame. When a major pop-culture event unfurls, Howard Stern has been on the fore the first interviews. This year alone, his interviews have been the SOURCE for major networks and news outlets. He is smart, intriguing, and is the reason I subscribe. He is the sole reason Sirius exists today. That is fact. I would assume that you feel Oprah (paid $50MIL/year) is relevant? She rarely goes on the air! …BTW, this is coming from a gay, software co. founder, and former Wall Street executive.
Are you saying that Howard never complained about his contract on terrestrial radio? My goodness man it’s obvious you don’t listen to him. Every 5 years his contract is up and every 5 years for the past 25 years he’s said he’s underpaid.
Stern continued to ambush celebrities for as long as he could and then they wouldn’t come on his show anymore. Now he is friends with them and they come on again and he still asks them questions that you wont hear anywhere else. I love following Stern through his life. If he didn’t change through all the years and experiences in his life like we all do, then he wouldn’t be the real person we’ve always respected and enjoyed. He is forced to sue Sirius because they made literally billions off of him and wont even pay him what they promised. This, once again, is a real person doing what we all would do. Maybe you let your employer treat you like a bitch but personally, I’m glad he’s not a pussy like you.
It’s obvious king-none is a glenn beck/ dr Phil fan – an uptight, closeted extreme right-winger who can’t stand the irreverence of someone like George Carlin or Bill Maher. I love hearing the personal thoughts and feelings of Stern, it’s what turned me on to him 20yrs ago. I more than anyone despise millionaires who complain about anything…except Stern. He has made me laugh and brought humor to my life when all I see in our society are deceitful, greedy politicians and corporations who’s ONLY purpose in life is profit. I’m curious as to what TV or Radio personality King-none listens to on his own time. He’s got to be a big Rush Limbaugh fan, has to be. If I want to be bullshi**ed and have smoke blown up my a$$ I’ll make sure to listen to King-None, George Bush Jr. or Oprah.
Well written. Howard Stern, in my opinion, has truly become the King Of All Douche Bags!
Finally, someone has the strength to tell it like it is. I got three Sirius subscriptions for the show and dropped them all last month. The show is not only not funny now, but annoying.
Fred, Sal and Richard are OK but not enough to warrant $35/month. And even Robin has said on the show that she would rather listen to her own music, i pod.
Meglo-maniacal Stern has lost the edge and jumped the shark. SNORE.
These are facts:
Howard ripped off everything he knows from Steve Dahl, VERBATIM. Dial a date, you name it.
If it wasn’t for the underpaid talents of Jackie Martling and Billy West, Howard would have been off the air in the 80′s.
Now that Artie is gone, we see what Howard really is, a boring, lying, emasculated rip-off artist. You couldn’t pay ME to listen to his drivel and his mindless idiot wife.