BPM (Sirius XM)

BPM
Broadcast area United States
Canada
Slogan America's Dance Hits
Frequency Sirius XM Radio 51
Dish Network 6051
First air date September 25, 2001
Format Dance Hits
Class Satellite Radio Station
Owner Sirius XM Radio
Website SiriusXM: BPM

BPM ("Beats Per Minute") is one of four Dance/Electronic music satellite channels offered by Sirius XM Radio, operating on XM channel 51[1] (previously 81), Sirius channel 51[2] (previously 36, where it replaced The Beat on November 12, 2008) and Dish Network channel 6051. DirecTV carried this channel on channel 859 until February 9, 2010. On May 5, 2011, BPM can now be heard on channel 51 for both services and Dish Network 6051.

Regular programming

BPM is presented in a Top 40 radio style. Its original program director was Blake Lawrence (known on-air as "Maxwell House"), who headed the channel until he left XM for New York's WQCD in 2004. BPM's original format, from 2001 through 2005, was current mainstream dance; in 2006 it made a slight shift toward the pop mainstream. However, in March 2009, its emphasis changed dramatically to focus primarily on remixed top-40 music, 90's dance cuts and select songs that date to the early 1980s, a similar format to the former Sirius channel, "The Beat". With the launch of the new retro Dance channel Utopia, BPM has phased out the recurrents and gold product in order to focus on current product. BPM is commercial-free and has on-air DJs.

Programming blocks

Mondays

Tuesdays

Wednesdays

Thursdays

Fridays

Saturdays

Sundays

Specialty programs

Mixshows

Air BPM (Formerly Air 81) - A three-hour block of DJ sets by BPM Resident DJs on Friday nights presented in the format of an imaginary flight across America from east to west. Each hour features a different DJ from a different city. Each hour the "flight" "touches down" in a new city and the next DJ plays.

This popular show has been methodically hacked down to its current three hours from its original 8 hours (9pm ET to 5am ET). Brian Howe, Kill Tha DJ, Marcus McBride, Jamie J Sanchez, Mark D and Chris The Greek were the first DJs dropped. Joe Bermudez and Mike Rizzo were then let go from the Air BPM lineup in April/May 2009 and in July 2009, Scotty Boy and Nathan Scott were discontinued. This program is no longer aired.

Former shows

In addition, Matt Darey's Nocturnal (a popular worldwide dance music show) aired as part of the "D.U.I." block.

Melle Mel came aboard as a replacement for DJ Smooth. Prior to the DUI show, DJ Smooth was one of the DJs who played the Rotation mix sets, from October 2002 to December 2005.

The BEAT Morning Show was added on January 15, 2009, after the merger of BPM on November 12, 2008, with many subscribers upset about the new channel and music programming. The show was removed from the line-up just three months later, with no reason.

Criticism

As noted above, in March 2009, the emphasis changed dramatically to focus on remixed top-40 music, taking the playlist from the now-defunct Sirius 36 The Beat. Most of the older dance content is now on The Strobe. Immediately afterward, there was major public backlash, notably on the station's Facebook page and other fan pages on the web. Many hardcore dance/club fans were alienated by the music favored by the small minority to whom the channel was trying to appeal. After many months of BPM "crying wolf" about changes coming, on June 16, 2009, the channel's pure dance origins temporarily returned. The station announced that it had expanded the playlist to include the entire channel library from 2001 to the present. Shortly afterward on June 30, 2009, program director Skyy left the company. Management of the station shifted to Mike Abrams (who has been with XM since 2004) and Geronimo, former program director of the defunct pre-acquisition Sirius dance channel, "The Beat", known for its heavy focus on mainstream top-40 remixes and tracks from the 90s and 80s.

On January 15, 2009, "The Beat Morning Show with Geronimo" made its debut. Geronimo was heard on The Beat during its run on Sirius, and the show feature music that was heard on The Beat previous to the combination of the two services. As of June 13, 2009, "The Beat Morning Show" is no longer used on air or listed in the program guide.

Many subscribers had expressed their displeasure with the "Bagatelle Brunch" that aired on Saturday afternoons. An overwhelming number of comments on the station's Facebook fan page have complained that the allegedly live broadcast from a nightclub is poorly mixed, with excessive crowd noise and music that is entirely inappropriate for what is supposed to be a dance station. As of October 12, 2009, BPM dropped the weekday 1pm "Best of Bagatelle Brunch" from the schedule. As of February 5, 2011, due to subscriber backlash, the show has been canceled.

Awards

BPM was twice the recipient of the annual International Dance Music Awards' "Best Satellite Dance Channel" award (for calendar years 2004 and 2005). This is notable for the fact that the award was presented only twice and because the public votes on the awards. BPM was the favorite of the other XM dance cluster channels nominated - "The Move" and "The System" - as well as the dance channels on former competitor Sirius.

BPM has been nominated for a radio award in each of the subsequent IDMAs for years 2006 through 2014 but has not won since 2005.

Other broadcast platforms

BPM was included in almost every XM cross-promotion previous to the 2008 acquisition and was heard by subscribers to DirecTV Satellite TV (ch. 859), and on two U.S. airlines: JetBlue and AirTran Airways, and on supported devices by users of AT&T Mobility, Sprint (for Sirius users) and Alltel wireless.

References

  1. ↑ "XM Channel Lineup" (PDF). 2011-05-02. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  2. ↑ "Sirius Channel Lineup" (PDF). 2011-05-02. Retrieved 2011-05-04.

External links