Drake is looking to expand the purview of his OVO Sound imprint with the announcement of a partnership with Todd Moscowitz’s Santa Anna Label Group.
OVO Sound, which Drake oversees alongside Noah “40” Shebib, Oliver El-Khatib and Mr. Morgan, will remain a standalone label distributor as part of the deal, while Santa Anna will provide A&R, production, finance and accounting, marketing and promotion, and artist and label services.
Drake has long tied the OVO brand—which stands for October’s Very Own—to his music, dating back to his early releases in 2006. He officially founded the independent label in 2012 as a subsidiary of Warner Records, where Moscowitz served as co-president and CEO from 2010 through 2013, and has released projects from Majid Jordan, Dvsn and Roy Woods. The deal comes in the wake of the announcement of OVO signee PartyNextDoor’s new album “P4,” slated for release in the first quarter of 2024.
Moscowitz, who got his start in the industry working under Lyor Cohen as head of Rush Communications, has had posts throughout his decades-long career at Violator, Def Jam and Asylum Records. After his tenure at Warner, he co-founded indie label 300 Entertainment and then, in 2016, established Cold Heat Records (later renamed Alamo Records) under Interscope. In early 2023, he partnered with Sony Music Entertainment to launch the artist and label services company Santa Anna with former Geffen Records GM Lee L’Heureux as president.
“OVO has always been about music first. Together with Drake, 40, and Oliver, we’re excited to partner with like-minded people in Todd, Lee and the Santa Anna team,” says Mr. Morgan, president of OVO Sound. “We feel strongly that the combination of our teams will allow for both our current and future artists to flourish.”
“After 10 years, it’s exciting to reunite with Drake, Morgan, 40, Oliver and the OVO Sound team to collaborate on new ways to support their impressive roster of artists,” adds Moscowitz. “Together, I look forward to working with a best-in-class management team to develop opportunities to help scale their business and take their artistry to new heights.”
