Back in February when Marc Maron began broadcasting in LA after “Morning Sedition” was ignominiously dumped from the national Air America lineup, I immediately signed up for his podcasts through their Premium service. I signed up for six months, at about $5/month, although it seemed likely to me that the whole thing would die an early death. The new show suffered from the lack of Mark Riley — the touchstone with reality for “Morning Sedition” — as well as the larger writing and production staff, but it was still a better fit for me than the rest of the AAR lineup.
“The Marc Maron Show” only lasted until July. With its end (about two months before the end of my subscription), I assumed that the limited AAR Premium service I’d subscribed to would also end. Au contraire! In fact, a charge for $49.95 — the cost of full Premium service for six months — was on my latest VISA statement. Not only did the only show I really cared about listening to get cancelled before the subscription I bought to podcast the show ran out, but AAR decided to change the terms of my subscription and charge me 40% more than I’d ever agreed to pay them in the first place.
That’s progressive! (And yes, I’m already disputing it with my credit card company and AAR, I just think it’s an incredibly bone-headed way to run a company.)