SiriusXM Makes New Channel For Virtual Ultra Music Festival Experience

SiriusXM announced it will launch a new radio channel featuring artists that would have performed at Ultra Music Festival. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Miami’s infamous electronic dance music festival was postponed to March 2021.

The new channel, called Ultra Virtual Audio Festival, is set to go live this Friday, March 20, featuring new DJ sets from Afrojack, Martin Garrix, Major Lazer and others. Beyond these exclusive sets, the channel will also play previous performances from Ultra, including sets by Kygo, The Chainsmokers, Marshmello, and others. This broadcast will be available on SiriusXM’s channel 52 and will air through Monday, March 23. This is airing the same weekend the festival would have been.

Scott Greenstein, the President and Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM, said, “With the postponement of beloved events, necessary changes in people’s everyday life, and need for social distancing, we know our listeners are seeking a sense of community more than ever. To encourage that, we are pleased to be working with Ultra Music Festival to provide our listeners with this virtual audio festival featuring the diverse lineup of artists the UMF delivers year after year, as well as exclusive, fresh, new sets from some of the biggest names in dance music.”

In the first week of March, the City of Miami issued Ultra a directive to postpone the festival following the declaration of a public health emergency by the Florida Governor. This year would have been Ultra’s 22nd year running. Of those years, SiriusXM has broadcasted performances from Ultra for the past 15 years. This year, however, they won’t broadcast from the festival but for the festival.

In accordance with measures and bans that aim to prevent the spread of COVID-19 via social distancing, nearly all music events and festivals have been cancelled. Beyond Ultra Music Festival, others that have been cancelled include Coachella, SXSW, Dreamville Festival and many more. Various events and festivals with summer, fall, and winter dates have yet to officially announce being cancelled or postponed.