SiriusXM
Cancellation is Not an Option
$23B
Value Extracted
5
Key Initiatives
SiriusXM is the satellite-radio company that built deliberate friction into cancellation and stacked a separate music-royalty fee onto advertised prices. In November 2024 a New York court found its cancellation flow violated federal law. EnshitifAi assigns SiriusXM an Extraction Index of $23B, anchored to documented cancellation and fee practices.
The Story
SiriusXM noticed customers wanted to cancel. We helped them design a cancellation process so frustrating that many just give up and keep paying. For those who escape, we beam ads directly to their car's infotainment system anyway.
Common Questions
Is SiriusXM enshittified?
Yes. After New York Attorney General Letitia James sued in December 2023, a New York State Supreme Court justice ruled in November 2024 that SiriusXM's cancellation process violated the federal Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act, citing routing customers into lengthy phone calls with retention agents. By EnshitifAi's reckoning it is a textbook case of exit-friction extraction.
What dark patterns does SiriusXM use?
Cancellation friction (no simple online cancel; an average phone cancellation around 11.5 minutes routed through retention specialists), and a separately disclosed U.S. Music Royalty Fee that added roughly 21.4% on top of advertised music-plan prices at checkout. A Washington class action alleges this fee was effectively hidden, since no other music service charges a separate royalty surcharge.
When did SiriusXM start enshittifying its pricing and fees?
The pattern was already documented by 2023-2024. SiriusXM raised audio-plan rates effective March 4, 2025, and the U.S. Music Royalty Fee on a Platinum plan around $23.99 per month added about $5.13 to the bill before the fee was later adjusted to 19.98% in February 2026. EnshitifAi treats the layered fee-and-rate increases as the core extraction story.
Does SiriusXM make it hard to cancel?
A court said effectively yes. The November 2024 New York ruling found SiriusXM steered subscribers away from a simple online cancellation toward drawn-out agent interactions; the company said it would comply with the FTC's click-to-cancel rule when it took effect on January 14, 2025. EnshitifAi scores this exit-friction design as a defining enshittification move.
Key Achievements
- 1
Created 30-minute minimum phone wait for cancellation (no online option)
- 2
Trained retention specialists in psychological manipulation techniques
- 3
Implemented zombie billing that continues after 'successful' cancellation
- 4
Designed mailer campaigns targeting former customers indefinitely
- 5
Partnered with automakers to beam ads to vehicles even without subscription
EnshitifAi showed us that the customer journey doesn't end at cancellation.
Retention Team
Department of Customer Persistence
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