XM/Sirius Merger Gets FCC Chairman's Approval

The proposed merger of satellite radio giants XM and Sirius inched toward approval as the FCC chairman said he would likely allow the $5 billion deal in exchange for several concessions. FFC chair Kevin Martin has requested the companies turn over 24 channels to noncommercial and minority programming. Martin also requested that the two companies have a three-year price freeze for customers, which would affect the duo's plans for the "a la carte" (or pay-per-channel) subscription the companies expected to roll out three months after the merger. The FCC's recommendation for approval sets up a final vote to see whether the merger will finally go through after more than a year of scrutiny.

• 
  MUSIC Exclusive Live Chat With Linkin Park and Incubus
• 
  MOVIES & TV Peter Travers: 'The Avengers' Has it All
• 
  POLITICS Matt Taibbi: Jon Corzine Is the Original Zimmerman
• 
  VIDEOS Exclusive Premiere: Tenacious D's 'Tinnitus'

Song Stories

“Baby Got Back”

Sir Mix-a-Lot | 1992

While watching a Budweiser commercial during the Super Bowl, Sir Mix-a-Lot thought the skinny female models in the ad didn’t represent reality. So he wrote this ode to ample bottoms, featuring its famous to-the-point lyric: “I like big butts and I cannot lie.” MTV banished the video, featuring shaking booties and sexually suggestive fruit, to 9 p.m. or later. “I thought my career was over,” he told Rolling Stone. “Then I called Rick Rubin, and I told him the video was banned, and he was like, 'Great!' We sold another 2 million records.”

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter