OVO Sound: Difference between revisions

OVO Sound
Parent company	Warner
Founded	2012; 12 years ago (2012)
Founder	Drake 40 Oliver El-Khatib
Status	Active
Distributor(s)	Warner Records (In the US) Warner Music Group (Worldwide) Republic Records (for Drake)
Genre	Hip Hop R&B
Country of origin	Canada
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Official website	www.ovosound.com

OVO Sound (also known simply as OVO) is a Toronto-based Canadian record label, founded in 2012 by hip hop artist Drake, producer 40, and Oliver El-Khatib.^[1] It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Warner Music Group's Warner Records, except for Drake's albums, which are distributed by Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group.

The label represents acts including Drake, PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, Roy Woods, Young Jonii, OB O'Brien, Dvsn, Plaza, Baka Not Nice, Popcaan and Smiley. In-house producers include 40, Boi-1da, DJ Prince , Nineteen85, Mike Zombie, T-Minus, and Future The Prince.

The label's roots can be traced back to 2006, when Drake's first official mixtape, Room for Improvement, was released under the unofficial record label "All Things Fresh" which eventually became "October's Very Own". Drake later raised the profile of the label by prominently featuring OVO throughout his music, regularly mentioning the label in songs and on stage, as well as promoting OVO merchandise.^{[citation needed]}

The record label was officially founded in 2012 by Drake and long-time collaborators Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib following the success of Drake's third studio album Nothing Was the Same. According to Billboard, Drake signed a partnership deal with Warner Records similar to that of Rick Ross' record company. Though Ross is signed as a solo artist to Epic, the artists on Ross' Maybach Music Group label are signed to Atlantic Records, former partners with Warner.^{[citation needed]}

Drake was signed as a solo artist to Republic Records through Young Money and Cash Money for nine years. Drake's 2018 release Scorpion was his last project under Young Money/Cash Money.^[2] On the other hand, the artists Drake signs to OVO Sound through Warner have their content distributed through the latter.^[3][4]

Upon founding the label in 2012, Drake and 40 signed frequent collaborators Boi-1da, T-Minus, Mike Zombie to the label as in-house producers (the latter two are the only active signees in the label to come outside of Canada).^[5] In April 2013, it was reported that Drake was close to signing the label's first recording artist, PartyNextDoor, which he ended up revealing shortly thereafter.^[6] In August 2013, Drake announced that he signed Toronto music duo Majid Jordan to OVO Sound.^[7] OB O'Brien and iLoveMakonnen would soon sign in 2014, with the latter being the first non-Canadian act and second non-Canadian signee after to Mike Zombie. Makonnen would eventually leave OVO Sound in April 2016, wishing to pursue his interests as a solo artist with Warner. Canadian rap artist Roy Woods and R&B duo Dvsn, composed of singer Daniel Daley and producer Nineteen85, soon joined the label in 2015 and 2016, with each act releasing an EP and studio album respectively.^{[8][9][10][11]} In 2021, Canadian rap artist Smiley was signed to the label.^[12][13]

OVO Sound Radio was a radio program that aired on Beats 1, fortnightly on Saturdays. The show primarily aired newer material, with at least one song premiering in each broadcast. The show's initial airing was on July 11, 2015, and it was hosted by Drake and Oliver El-Khatib. The show is notable for debuting hit Drake singles, such as platinum-selling "Hotline Bling", and chart-topping "One Dance". The show ended on October 27, 2018. On March 4, 2021, Drake announced that he and Oliver would debut their new 24 hour radio station, "SOUND42" on Sirius XM featuring the return of OVO Sound Radio that same night.^[15]

OVO Clothing was launched in 2011.^[16] The series of clothing began with a series of collaborations between Roots Canada and OVO, which produced several parkas, jackets and other collaborations. In 2013, merchandise for the OVO figurehead included collaborations with the Toronto Raptors, which coincided with Drake becoming the franchise's Global Ambassador. OVO has since morphed into a clothing line in itself, releasing a slew of clothes during every season of the year. T-shirts, sweatshirts, varsity jackets, baseball hats, and knit beanies are seasonal installations. OVO Clothing oversaw the opening of the first OVO store for the brand's clothing in downtown Toronto, opening on December 6, 2014.^[17] Exactly a year after the opening in Toronto, OVO stores expanded to the United States, opening a flagship store in Los Angeles, California. Its New York store opened in December 2016 on Bond Street, and its Chicago store in August 2019 on Walton Street in Gold Coast. OVO also opened its first location in Vancouver in December 2018.^[18] Other OVO collaborations have included Canada Goose, and Air Jordan.

Its pre-2016 collection was composed of basketball shorts, OVO jerseys, track jackets, and baggy hoodies.^[19]

On November 9, 2020, it was revealed via the OVO Clothing Instagram account that NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky would be a model for the Fall and Winter 2020 collection.^[20] Gretzky and OVO Clothing founder Drake are both proud natives of southern Ontario, Canada. Also featured in the collection was former Canadian Olympian Ross Rebagliati,^[21] who won a gold medal in Giant Slalom Snowboarding in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

• Official website