Y2Kountry Has Moved Stations on SiriusXM, but What's Behind the Change?

Anyone who has subscribed to SiriusXM for long enough knows that part of the fun and challenge is the fact that they are always jostling the locations of your favorite stations. SiriusXM has been known to disappear a station or two in its day, either by moving it somewhere else or getting rid of it altogether.

The latest station this seems to have happened to is Y2Kountry, which is dedicated to playing country hits from the 2000s and 2010s, and used to be on Channel 57. Now that it's disappeared from that channel, many want to know what happened to it. Here's what we know.

Y2Kountry has moved from 57 to 79, where it will be broadcasting until May 31, according to Sirius's website. The move is temporary, though, and is designed only to make room for Morgan Wallen Radio, which is not at this time planned to be a permanent station. The move is designed to promote Morgan's upcoming album "I'm the Problem," which will be released on May 16.

According to reporting in Billboard, Morgan is curating the channel himself, and it will include deep dives into all 37 tracks on his new album as well as looks back at many of his previous songs, both hits and deep cuts. Morgan has apparently also curated a list of songs from other artists that broadly represent his influences, and will sprinkle in songs from them along with some from his friends.

The channel will also feature commentary from Morgan as well as behind-the-scenes stories about the making of his new album. On May 16, the day of the album's release, the channel will feature album playback as well as check-ins with Morgan's fans at Wallen's bar, This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen, as well as commentary from Morgan himself about the album and each track on it.

Although Morgan Wallen Radio might become a permanent station eventually, for now, the plan is for it to be a limited event tied to his new album. It's slotting in at 57 in part because Sirius probably assumes that the people who listen to Y2Kountry might also be interested in Morgan's music. Y2Kountry will likely return to Channel 57 starting in June, unless it gets supplanted by something else.

Oftentimes, Sirius makes these kinds of channel moves explicitly because it thinks a new channel deserves the spot occupied by an old one. In this case, though, the change is tied to a limited-time event, which means that fans of the original station will just have to deal with the change for a single month.

It might be an inconvenience, especially if you're not already a fan of Morgan Wallen. The goal is likely to make some new Morgan fans, though, and to do so in a demographic that is already primed to like his music. Whether the maneuver will work or not is up to listeners of Y2Kountry.