Muzak is bankrupt and Sirius XM just might be

Muzak, the kings of elevator music and innocuous background shopping ambience have filed for bankruptcy protection. They are allegedly carrying debt of between $100-500 million and are in hock to the major record labels. That’s bad news for companies who are seeing their revenue increasingly siphoned off by illegal downloads.

Meanwhile the combined Sirius XM is awash in such enormous debt, reportedly around $3.25 billion according to the New York Times, that they are exploring a bankruptcy filing of their own. These difficulties may force the satellite radio giant to jettison such top dollar talent as Howard Stern and Martha Stewart.

Adding to Sirius XM’s woes is the sorrowful state of the automobile industry, as many potential subscribers are new car buyers and car sales are at 27-year lows. Digital media company EchoStar is a major holder of Sirius XM’s debt, making them a possible takeover target.