SiriusXM satellite radio has launched an exclusive 24-hour Prince channel on its lineup in the wake of the music superstar's shocking death this past week. Fans are clamoring for a taste of the purple pop star as downloads of his songs and albums are set to send Prince's greatest hits album to the top of the charts, with the "Purple Rain" soundtrack right behind it.
The sad and surprising death of Prince has led to a huge demand for his music, and as we recently reported, fans that subscribe to the biggest music streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music, are out of luck as the only streamer legally permitted to stream most of Prince's catalog is Tidal.
Terrestrial radio stations are doing their best to fill the gap, as local broadcast radio channels across the United States have been featuring Prince nonstop on their playlists since the superstar's demise. New York's WKTU, the iconic rhythmic dance station that's been around since Prince ascended to the throne of pop star, held a Prince tribute weekend with mini mixes of his most popular songs, and the city's legendary urban station WBLS has been playing Prince tunes day and night as well.
SiriusXM satellite radio has actually done terrestrial radio one better by devoting an entire station just to the music of Prince.
"Prince's passing is tragic and a true loss for music fans around the world. To honor his legacy and his incredible body of work, SiriusXM will create a special channel that will be devoted to his artistic genius," stated Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of SiriusXM. The station, known as The Prince Tribute Channel, can be heard on channel 50 both online and via the SiriusXM app through April 29.
Prince fans who want their music on demand and don't subscribe to Tidal have no alternative but to purchase individual songs and albums for download, and so far they are doing so in droves. In fact, Prince's greatest hits album The Very Best Of Prince is set to debut at the top of the Billboard Top 200 album chart dated May 7, with the soundtrack from Prince's hit movie Purple Rain taking the No. 2 spot.
That achievement is all the more impressive because it includes only one day of downloads of Prince's music, April 21, the day of his passing. All subsequent downloads of his music will be featured on the following week's chart, which seems destined to place Prince at the top slot once again as fans continue to mourn his death.
