Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Related Party Transactions

v3.22.2
Related Party Transactions
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
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 June 30, 2022, Liberty Media beneficially owned, directly and indirectly, approximately 82% 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.
On February 1, 2021, Holdings entered into a tax sharing agreement with Liberty Media governing the allocation of consolidated U.S. income tax liabilities and setting forth agreements with respect to other tax matters. The tax sharing agreement was negotiated and approved by a special committee of Holdings’ board of directors, all of whom are independent of Liberty Media. Refer to Note 16 for more information regarding the tax sharing agreement.

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 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.
On March 15, 2022, Sirius XM and Sirius XM Canada entered into an amended and restated services and distribution agreement. The amended and restated services and distribution agreement modified the existing Services Agreement and terminated the existing Advisory Agreement, each dated as of May 25, 2017, between Sirius XM and Sirius XM Canada. Pursuant to the amended and restated services and distribution agreement, the fee payable by Sirius XM Canada to Sirius XM was modified from a fixed percentage of revenue to a variable fee, based on a target operating profit for Sirius XM Canada. Such variable fee is expected to be evaluated annually based on comparable companies. In accordance with the amended and restated services and distribution agreement, the fee is payable on a monthly basis, in arrears, beginning January 1, 2022.
In May 2017, Sirius XM extended a loan to Sirius XM Canada in the principal amount of $131. In connection with the execution of the amended and restated services and distribution agreement, Sirius XM forgave $113 in principal amount of such loan to Sirius XM Canada, leaving an outstanding principal amount of $8 on such loan. The principal amount that was forgiven by Sirius XM was considered satisfied and as contributed capital from Sirius XM.
Our related party long-term assets as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 included the carrying value of our investment balance in Sirius XM Canada of $448 and $334, respectively, and, as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, also included $8 and $120, 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 the three months ended June 30, 2021. No dividends were paid during the three months ended June 30, 2022. During the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, Sirius XM Canada paid gross dividends to us of less than $1 and $1, respectively.  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 $28 and $26 during the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and $55 and $50 during the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
SoundCloud
We have an investment in SoundCloud which is accounted for as an equity method investment and 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 $(2) and $1 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and $(3) and $1 for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, which was recorded in Other (expense) income in our unaudited consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
In addition to our investment in SoundCloud, Pandora has an agreement with SoundCloud to be its exclusive ad sales representative in the US and certain European countries. Through this arrangement, Pandora offers advertisers the ability to execute campaigns across the Pandora and SoundCloud platforms. We recorded revenue share expense related to this agreement of $14 for each of the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, and $27 for each of the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021. We also had related party liabilities of $18 and $24 as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, related to this agreement.