XM went public with no satellites in space and no paying customers. The Washington company had won one of two federal licenses to broadcast radio from orbit, and it planned to sell drivers more than a hundred channels for a monthly fee. In October 1999 American radio was free, local and full of ads, and nobody had ever paid for it. XM was asking investors to fund rockets, satellites and new car radios on the bet that people would.

Two Satellites Named Rock and Roll

XM began in 1992 inside American Mobile Satellite and won its broadcast license in a 1997 federal auction. The plan needed huge sums up front: satellites, ground repeaters in cities and chips for a new kind of receiver. Automakers were the key partners, since most listening happens in cars. In 2001 XM launched two satellites, named Rock and Roll, and turned on its service that fall.

Rivals Become One

XM priced its IPO at $12 a share in October 1999 on Nasdaq. Its only rival, Sirius Satellite Radio, raced it for subscribers, and both spent heavily on talent and car deals. XM signed up millions of listeners but lost money for years. In 2007 the two companies agreed to merge, and regulators approved the deal in July 2008. The combined company, Sirius XM, still broadcasts today.

Cover: A Cuckoo Against the Moon, Utagawa Hiroshige. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a bird singing against the moon (radio from the sky).