Chipotle's Problems

Strategic Initiatives 

SiriusXM over the years has battled several different types of issues both internally and externally when it comes to the effectiveness of its brand and its products. With the company’s rich history of battles in the courtroom over antitrust laws to almost filing for bankruptcy, it has been overshadowed by the growing competitive landscape that has cultivated in recent years. The  eading market share in the audio entertainment industry once dominated by SiriusXM has  eventually been trifled by a series of stiff competition by platforms designed for mobility and  flexibility. While making notable acquisitions like Pandora, has subsided its decline in subscriptions, however, the lack of drive to innovate its platform to meet or exceed its competitors is the source of the company’s problems.  

External Environment Analysis 

Plagued by a number of different potential sources of problems, the focus will primarily be on the potential substitutes and the paradigm shift that has taken shape in the market space for the company.  

Threat of Substitutes 

While the company may not have a direct substitute from a technological or patent aspect, the company does, however, face the uncertainty of entertainment consumption from sources that initially were not prevalent in SiriusXM’s inception period. The audio entertainment industry is perpetually evolving and changing both from a business model perspective as well as a media consumption outlet. During the initial years of SiriusXM, the subscription service model was relatively new to consumers. The idea that a monthly subscription for any service at a premium cost for exclusive listening in the car was novel and somewhat geared towards a niche audience.  As stated in the 10-K, SiriusXM Holdings, the company publicly acknowledges how competition could potentially harm the financial condition and longevity of its market share in the space: 

- “Rapid technological and industry changes and new entrants could adversely impact our services.” 

- “We face substantial competition and that competition is likely to increase over time.” - “Our ability to profitably attract and retain subscribers as our marketing efforts reach more price-sensitive consumers is uncertain.” 

While these statements provide internal and external acknowledgment of how the company needs to adapt to the ever-growing industry, its competitors are making it easier for consumers to switch to a business model that revolves around the service-based industry that can be flexible in nature. For example, Spotify provides consumers with similar content consumption methods like podcasts, catered radio stations based on pre-selected preferences, and search engine optimizations for weekly playlists geared towards the user’s tastes.  

Paradigm Shift 

Through the years SiriusXM has seen audio entertainment has taken a transformative measure in the methods by which users consume content. This can come in the form of either podcasts, talk shows, radio stations, integrated video within streaming services, and talent acquisitions. However these offerings are made available through a plethora of devices made available for convenience purposes. For example, Spotify, Apple Music, and Prime Music are available on not only phones, but hardware peripherals such as smart speakers, built-in TVs, and  other devices. This gives the consumer options to consume their content on the subscription of their choosing on the devices they possess. There is an evident paradigm shift in the methodologies  by which technology companies are imposing a cheaper subscription model bundled with other  services as a means to lure consumers away from a singular product offering solution in which  SiriusXM has recently started to understand. They are leveraging their acquisition of Pandora to bundle services already offered with a SiriusXM All Access package which incorporates the streaming service as a part of their already existing subscription with a new tier in pricing. With the hopes of combining the two services, SiriusXM can appeal to both a younger and older demographic in both the automaker’s segment as well as a streaming services side. Fundamental shifts in the way the company performs both holistically and dynamically will determine  SiriusXM’s longevity in the crowded space of audio entertainment. 

Internal Operations 

SiriusXM internally has undergone a series of business model modifications as well as leadership changes to explore the idea that it can acquire talent internally as well as increase revenue through subscription growth. The current business model from SiriusXM revolves around a fixed monthly subscription tier-based package. Pandora, on the other hand, provides customers with a free of charge base package in hopes of land and expand/upsell methodology to consumers. 

Acquisition of Pandora 

With Pandora as a part of the SiriusXM portfolio, leadership was in a number of ways realigned to appeal to shareholders with the idea of a singular leader for both platforms post acquisition. Roger Lynch who was named CEO of Pandora in September 2017 was removed shortly after the takeover by the stockholders of Pandora Media. With the ousting, this led for James Meyers to take the helm over both businesses. On top of Roger leaving, several other top executives from the company also transitioned out including the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer, and general counsel (Spangler, 2019). In an interview with Jim Meyer, his intention initially was to be hands-off with Pandora in terms of the Product roadmap, however  a year after the acquisition he wants to ensure that there is a cross-pollination between offerings  capitalizing on the IP that has been built by both platforms. 

Culture 

As discussed earlier, the company culture is predicated upon employee testimonials from different sites such as Glassdoor or Comparably, but also their main site discloses a diverse personal viewpoint of current employees. There is a discrepancy between how the company is perceived versus the actual true nature of current and former employee satisfaction. On their website, it is denoted that the company SiriusXM “stands for a workplace that is Sensational, Innovative, Realistic, Interesting, Unique and Special.” (Diversity, 2020) On top of that, their employees say they have an exceptional team with experienced individuals who deliver through determination and dedication. These are quotes from the company’s website directly, however it is a stark contrast when viewing the external company and job review sites. Glassdoor reviews have stated that the culture and upper management lack diversity and a work-life balance. The ideology and theme denoted in most of the reviews hark upon an ‘old-school’ mentality when conducting business both from a product and financial perspective.  

Products 

From a product roadmap standpoint, SiriusXM has tried to leverage its assets such as the acquisition of Pandora to align with its core products seamlessly. In addition, their stake in 

SoundCloud has also provided an avenue of leveraging up and coming private artists to be showcased in other platforms with the hopes of capitalizing on playback royalties. As Jim Meyer eloquently states: "We admire SoundCloud's loyal and growing audience, its offering for creators, and its reputation and popularity in global music communities. We believe this is another opportunity to continue creating value for SiriusXM stockholders by investing in expanding digital audio platforms." (SoundCloud, 2020) With the combination of both platforms, the product roadmap has been an ever-evolving piece of SiriusXM’s core DNA. The strategic moves they make are to edge closer to their competition and provide revenue streams that are expanding  beyond their core products.