Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Related Party Transactions

v3.21.2
Related Party Transactions
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]  
Related Party Transactions Related Party Transactions 
In the normal course of business, we enter into transactions with related parties such as Sirius XM Canada and SoundCloud.

Liberty Media
As of September 30, 2021, Liberty Media beneficially owned, directly and indirectly, approximately 79% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. Liberty Media has three of its executives and one of its directors on our board of directors.  Gregory B. Maffei, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Media, is the Chairman of our board of directors.

Sirius XM Canada
Sirius XM holds a 70% equity interest and 33% voting interest in Sirius XM Canada, a privately held corporation. We own 591 shares of preferred stock of Sirius XM Canada, which has a liquidation preference of one Canadian dollar per share. Sirius XM also made a loan to Sirius XM Canada in the aggregate amount of $131. The loan is denominated in Canadian dollars and is considered a long-term investment with any unrealized gains or losses reported within Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, Sirius XM Canada repaid $2 and $11 of the principal amount of the loan, respectively.
Sirius XM has a Services Agreement and an Advisory Services Agreement with Sirius XM Canada. Each agreement has a thirty-year term. Pursuant to the Services Agreement, Sirius XM Canada currently pays Sirius XM 25% of its gross revenues on a monthly basis, and pursuant to the Advisory Services Agreement, Sirius XM Canada pays Sirius XM 5% of its gross revenues on a monthly basis.
Sirius XM Canada is accounted for as an equity method investment, and its results are not consolidated in our unaudited consolidated financial statements. Sirius XM Canada does not meet the requirements for consolidation as we do not have the ability to direct the most significant activities that impact Sirius XM Canada's economic performance.
Our related party long-term assets as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 included the carrying value of our investment balance in Sirius XM Canada of $338 and $332, respectively, and, as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, also included $121 and $123, respectively, for the long-term value of the outstanding loan to Sirius XM Canada.

Sirius XM Canada paid gross dividends to us of less than $1 during each of the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, and $1 during each of the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020.  Dividends are first recorded as a reduction to our investment balance in Sirius XM Canada to the extent a balance exists and then as Other (expense) income for any remaining portion.
We recorded revenue from Sirius XM Canada as Other revenue in our unaudited consolidated statements of comprehensive income of $25 for each of the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, and $76 and $73 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

SoundCloud
In February 2020, Sirius XM completed a $75 investment in SoundCloud's Series G Membership Units ("Series G Units"). The Series G Units are convertible at the option of the holders at any time into shares of ordinary membership units of SoundCloud at a ratio of one ordinary membership unit for each Series G Unit. The investment in SoundCloud is accounted for as an equity method investment which is recorded in Related party long-term assets in our unaudited consolidated balance sheets. Sirius XM has appointed two individuals to serve on SoundCloud's nine-member board of managers. Sirius XM's share of SoundCloud's net (loss) income was $(1) and less than $1 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $(1) for each of the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, which was recorded in Other income (expense) in our unaudited consolidated statement of comprehensive income.
In addition to our investment in SoundCloud, Pandora has an agreement with SoundCloud to be its exclusive US ad sales representative. Through this arrangement, Pandora offers advertisers the ability to execute campaigns in the US across the Pandora and SoundCloud listening platforms. We recorded revenue share expense of $15 and $13 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $42 and $36 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We also had related party liabilities of $19 as of September 30, 2021 related to this agreement.