Art Bell's Current Status

[tacticalparamedic]

After searching through the threads here I became tired of having to hop from thread to thread to try following the latest status with Art and the show so I decided to create this. I wanted to have a single entry that we could all go to to keep up with the status of the show, Art, and the ongoing battle between Sirius/XM and Art's N.C.  I have been a fan or Art since his first interview with John Lear in 1992.  I have followed this forum for quite a while and finally joined a year or two ago.  This is my first official thread I have posted here so I hope I am placing it in the right spot.  My intentions are to have anyone with real information on the status of Art and/or the show to keep us updated so again everyone can keep watch here rather than having to hop from thread to thread and decifer what is fact or faked by those trolls looking to stir up the community.  I hope this helps out all those here who truly want to see Art and his show return quickly and triumphantly.

[georgesucks]

Thanks for starting this thread.

[lonevoice]

After searching through the threads here I became tired of having to hop from thread to thread to try following the latest status with Art and the show so I decided to create this. I wanted to have a single entry that we could all go to to keep up with the status of the show, Art, and the ongoing battle between Sirius/XM and Art's N.C. 

It was tried, it didn't work:

http://bellgab.com/index.php?topic=5157.0

[TheMan WhoFell ToEarth]

Art Bell's current status:  Lost in the desert.

[jazmunda]

I find that the best, most reliable, if not cryptic source of information is usually from the man himself.

http://bellgab.com/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=2136

https://www.facebook.com/art.bell.716?ref=ts&fref=ts

[DanTSX]

Someone needs to volunteer to go through his trash and analyze his habits

[jambo101]

I have been a fan or Art since his first interview with John Lear in 1992. 

I too have listened to Art since the beginning,He made working on the night shift in a factory bearable,it was a sad day when he left , Noory just never exhibited the passion that Art brought to the show, Noory came/comes off as just someone just doing a job/going through the motions.
I was ecstatic when i heard Art was returning with the Dark Matter Show and listened every night. what a disappointment to discover the show had been cancelled due seemingly by bureaucratic bs.
You'd think the powers that be would have acknowledged Arts making of the entire Coast to Coast radio show and if Art wanted to come back to radio Noory should have been shown the door and Art reinstated back to the show he created.
Art you are just too good to be relegated to the sidelines,Hope to hear you back sometime soon..

[tacticalparamedic]

Posted today by Art:

Hi there everybody. Well it is a sad day for me indeed. I got a call from the Manager I have been working
with since the start of all this and the answer was NO. The further answer was they do intend to hold me
to a NC. This Manager is a good guy and what decisions that were made, were made above his head.

I did contact a Lawyer who I will not identify unless he wants to be known but I can proudly tell you he is
one of you! He was willing to proceed and felt we had a good chance to win BUT it is expensive and as any
of you know who have ever gone down that road know, it takes a long time. So if my health holds I will see
you in less than two Years.

Below is a copy of my last email to Sirius/XM minus the name of the Manager to who it was sent:

First, you may recall I said to you that I thought you would not get much of a bump from putting Coast on, was I right?
Have you actually listened to that show? Have you REALLY listened? You put him on 104 which was I guess a nice way
to get back at me, but that guy is a joke. How many people rushed to put any money down to listen to Coast on 104? I
bet nobody, all this plus they are doing what I asked for and more!

1. I said what I would like is to be back on but wanted to stream for free, but leave the value added stuff to Sirius/XM
   you said no. As it stands now I presume the streaming still does not work properly and will not, till at best August or
   so. You said this was a good idea for me but not Sirius. I disagree, if we develop millions of listener's, in what World
   is that bad for Sirius in any way? If you can charge BIG bucks per commercial minute.....Broadcasting 101, it's a good thing.

2. We talked about one day with streaming, I asked about other days, you said we could talk about that, we never did.

3. As it stands now people MUST pay about $180.00 a Year if they want to hear Art Bell, why not allow listeners the option of JUST
    streaming my show for a lesser fee? It could be pro rated, IF it just worked properly.

4. I said I would be willing to buy the Studio gear for whatever you paid if I could be released from my Non Compete, I have not yet
    heard a answer to that one, though you did once say you would not let me go, you sent me a reply saying you would consider it.

5. I can wait out the remaining time, then stream, which it looks like I will be doing at 70 Years of age.

I just for the life of me can not see why everything with Sirius/XM has to be lumped together in a Business model that works for non
  commercial music just fine, but lumps Talk Radio in with it. I understand why it works for Howard, he had little choice unless he
  wanted to keep paying fines. I don't know about Dr. Laura.

Two things I can tell you about me, every time I crack the mike I put 110% into it, it takes a lot of work and I am willing to give my time
and energy happily but not if I have no way to grow the audience. I have millions of people waiting for a way to hear me and they would pay
something to do so, but asking them to become subs for $180.00 bucks a Year with a service that does not work well will not get them there.

The other thing is Coast, I will not share time with them. I thought hard about that, and there is no way I would rejoin under any conditions
while you carry them. The reason I came back on is because that show is a insult to the entire field, not to mention at least 45% of it is
commercial or breaks of some sort while the rest is just plain bad Radio.

I truly enjoyed working with you and everybody else at Sirius/XM and wish there was a way to work this out. I understand you think the way
forward is exclusive content and perhaps you are right but in my opinion the World will pass you very shortly while trying to hold on to this
model. It really already is. Nobody tried to stop all the Pirates, every one of my shows was and is available for download the next day, great
for the guy who doesn't want to pay but not so great for the Talk Host who wants the live calls, how does this make sense???

                                                                                                                                              Art

So, there it is. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank all of you for so much support. I wish it had worked out
in some way but there were forces at work that I never thought about, I am just a talking head........

[tacticalparamedic]

Oh but what a wonderful gift it would be to have Sirius/XM let Art out of his non-compete.  Who knows, Christmas is a time for miracles....  Happy Holidays to everyone here on the forum.

[jambo101]

 Is this a world wide non compete contract? if not he could always come up to Canadfa and do his show.. eh!

[Morgus]

Is this a world wide non compete contract? if not he could always come up to Canadfa and do his show.. eh!

Sirius has subscriptions that covers USA and Canada.
However, maybe Art could move back to the Philippines however and broadcast from there, outside of Sirius/XM's area?

[Heather Wade]

Sirius has subscriptions that covers USA and Canada.
However, maybe Art could move back to the Philippines however and broadcast from there, outside of Sirius/XM's area?

A sound theory, but, damn lawyers might have closed that loophole.  They know he has a dual-citizenship.  Don't they?  Idk... I wish you were right, though, Morgus.

[laserjock]

If *I* could live in the Philippines, I'd go!  My loved ones are there, in Cebu.  Art had thought about moving to Cebu at one time.  Cebu city is nicer than Manila, it's also a big city, but has quaint qualities, the people are very kind and will share the shirt off of their back with you.  I love their lilting way of talking, too.  The poverty is gut wrenching, but the people there have grace.

Art IS probably considering moving back there, at least part time, but transitioning from Desert to Hot tropics (very dry to VERY moist) is difficult.  And with the brownouts that occur there, AC can't be run nonstop (brownouts are almost daily in some parts there).

My wife there got an electric bill that was bizarrely high and I told her to contest it (show only has a small and old CRT TV, 3 CFL light bulbs, a tablet, and cellphones, very little to use power) her bill was 3 times mine and I run computers 24/7 here in Connecticut.  They rep came to their hut and he said the bill WAS high, but blamed her house wiring.  WTF?  How is wiring wasting electricity?  I am a trained electronics and other sciences technician and I know of no way (I also used to work for an electrician) that this could be true.  I suspect the power company is scamming her.

[tacticalparamedic]

If I remember correctly Art said the NC covered all forms of broadcast no matter where it was from or how it was broadcast.  I am quite sure their lawyers took into account his dual citizenship. 

[NoodleheadSux]

I've been lurking for a while and basically after all this nonsense I could care less if Art returns.  Good thing I never bought a radio or a subscription, and I had ZERO problems listening online on my free trial.  No wonder Sirius won't respond to Art after that rambling email he sent.

PS: Noory still sucks. 

[Sambo]

So, in brief, what is Art's status?

Is there anyway to listen to him at least once a week? A pirate podcast perhaps? YouTube is flooded with episodes of coast to coast. Sometimes multiple uploads within 48 hours of a show.  Couldn't Art do a podcast and somehow absolve himself of liability by the public taking control of said podcast?

[onan]

So, in brief, what is Art's status?

Is there anyway to listen to him at least once a week? A pirate podcast perhaps? YouTube is flooded with episodes of coast to coast. Sometimes multiple uploads within 48 hours of a show.  Couldn't Art do a podcast and somehow absolve himself of liability by the public taking control of said podcast?

Anything is possible. But that also opens up the possibility of a legal suit against him. I wouldn't take the chance.

It is quite confusing. I take Art at his word when he said "Trust me guys, I will do everything within my power to do a show" (paraphrased but think it is close). At the same time it is hard to balance his statement that he would fight the NC and then quickly report he was not going to fight it. Since I don't wear his shoes, I can't do anything more than speculate. And there is probably so much more that I don't know than I do... Bleh, I want him doing a show too. doesn't look like anytime soon. I have been wrong before.

[thexfile]

Art nailed his old scrotum to a bad contract. 

[PB the Deplorable]

Art nailed his old scrotum to a bad contract. 

When a person needs a lawyer, they should get one.

All Art had to do was tell Sirius he's sign a non-compete that covered only satellite radio.  Or for 1 year only to cover the advertising and equipment they put into having him.  Or a buyout.  Or none at all. 

Art had already developed his 'brand', so it wasn't like Sirius was going to make him a household name, then when he became famous he'd leave for more money somewhere else. 

A good attorney would have pointed all this out and more and either narrowed or eliminated the NC.  If not, Art would have likely been more aware and reconsidered going with them.  Unless his heart was never really into it.

[Sambo]

He should just record shows and fileshare them. At his age I wouldn't care about legalities n such. Anyhow I'm not him

[onan]

He should just record shows and fileshare them. At his age I wouldn't care about legalities n such. Anyhow I'm not him

I don't think Art is all that different than most of us. It's easy to say one wouldn't care about legalities. I can tell you from experience, even when I knew I was completely in the right I didn't sleep well for weeks while "authorities" dug through my professional and personal life. And no matter how sure one is there is always doubt things will go your way.

Should Art have gotten legal advice? hell yeah. I can make guesses as to why he didn't, but no sure answer. Kind of pointless now to cover old ground.

[Sambo]

Art should go pirate and Sirus should market Art as if he's gone rogue and Sirus has to steal his pirates and pirate them on Sirus as per contractual commitments... lol

[Morgus]

He should just record shows and fileshare them. At his age I wouldn't care about legalities n such. Anyhow I'm not him

Nah, Art said he cares about live callers, not some pre-recorded interview like most podcasts do.
Thats why he quit from Sirius/XM because they wouldn't help in improving their streaming that made it difficult for him to get lots of good live callers for his show.

[jambo101]

If I remember correctly Art said the NC covered all forms of broadcast no matter where it was from or how it was broadcast.  I am quite sure their lawyers took into account his dual citizenship.

While i can see benefits for some to have a Non Compete contract i'm wondering what the motivation is to sign such a contract as in this case why would Art sign such a contract that basically terminates his desires to return to the airwaves..

[Yorkshire pud]

While i can see benefits for some to have a Non Compete contract i'm wondering what the motivation is to sign such a contract as in this case why would Art sign such a contract that basically terminates his desires to return to the airwaves..

Stupidity?

[Juan]

Non-competes are standard in the broadcasting industry.  You either sign one or you don't work.  Perhaps if Art had gotten a lawyer, they could have negotiated different terms, but I'll bet the non-compete would have remained in some form.  OTOH, at the beginning Art would have intended to fulfill his contract, so the non-compete would have been meaningless. 

[Yorkshire pud]

Non-competes are standard in the broadcasting industry.  You either sign one or you don't work.  Perhaps if Art had gotten a lawyer, they could have negotiated different terms, but I'll bet the non-compete would have remained in some form.  OTOH, at the beginning Art would have intended to fulfill his contract, so the non-compete would have been meaningless.

Not sure about that; if it were, then TV and radio hosts would never work again! In the Uk we have DJ's and presenters changing allegiances all the time.

Here's my take FWIW.

Sirius came along and offered AB a job...conditionally. They knew that his name would potentially bring in the money; but then so did he, and his ambitions/ego outweighed his forward thinking or ability to secure the gig. He MUST have known what he was signing up to, before he went on air, or he was derelict in his attention, which was it? Either way he has no justifiable complaint against Sirius. Sure they may have tied him up and smoked him like a kipper, but he knew that could happen. Or should have.

[Sambo]

I dont think non competes are all that strong when you've created a name for yourself long before entering in to one and it's the only means of livelihood you know.

It usually has teeth in the case of using that company's trade secrets as a springboard to starting your own business or sharing with a competitor

If Art went rogue Sirius would try to put an injunction on him. If he already has lawyers working for him ahhhhhhh blah lol

[Juan]

Non-competes are usually market specific.  If you work in a particular city, you couldn't go to work for another station in the same city without a waiting period.   Anchors, hosts and presenters can switch stations that way if they are willing to be off the air for a few months.  National radio (and TV) hosts sign a national (or international) non-compete as they have a national or international market.  That's probably what Art signed.   

[Sambo]

Pardon me, but I think you should be holding more than one firearm in your profile pic