After announcing a partnership with Drake in July 2019, SiriusXM launched “Sound 42” on Thursday evening.
Taking its name from the artist’s OVO Sound record label, the channel debuted at 10:30pm last night with a new episode of Drake’s “OVO Sound Radio” show that previously aired on Apple Music’s Beats 1 channel from 2015-2018. The show led into the debut of music from his new EP at midnight.
SiriusXM signed Drake in July 2019 to what it called the largest agreement it and subsidiary Pandora have executed with a major recording artist. The deal was set to include the dedicated station, curated music and collaborations with Drake and other creative talent.
SiriusXM’s channel listing describes the new channel as “The vision of multi-platinum recording artist and OVO Sound Co-founder Drake. A radio experience reflecting his interests in music and culture from all walks of life. Expect boundary-pushing hip hop and R&B alongside global vibes from the Caribbean, Latin America, The U.K. and beyond. The channel’s flagship show is OVO Sound Radio a weekly, “musical art gallery” hosted and curated by OVO Co-Founder Oliver El-Khatib.”
The only official word of the channel launch came a little over an hour ahead of time via a tweet from Drake himself.
Going live tonight at 10:30pm EST with the return of OVO Sound Radio and the launch of our 24 hour station SOUND 42 a new experience on @SIRIUSXM ???? https://t.co/QXlDN8OiwW pic.twitter.com/gYPut193tB
— Drizzy (@Drake) March 5, 2021
