STUDIO 21 Hip-Hop Radio Station Announces Closure
The hip-hop radio station STUDIO 21, part of the European Media Group, has announced it will cease broadcasting after nine years on air.
Jul 27, 2026 0
The radio station was aimed at a youth audience.
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The owners of radio station STUDIO 21 decided to close it after 9 years of operation. The station was known as a platform for hip-hop music.
Now the radio station is publishing nostalgic photos and posts about the project«s work.
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On July 20, the station published a farewell post on its Telegram channel. In it, they thank listeners and warn that they will cease broadcasting «in the near future.»
The station«s broadcasts often featured star guests.
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«We just had vibes and warmth. We never went by strategies. Everything by instinct, by the call of the heart, as the soul felt — and it worked out. Everything here was about love,» — the station summed up.
Studio 21 is a youth radio station dedicated to hip-hop culture and part of the European Media Group (EMG). Broadcasting began on December 22, 2017 in Tolyatti, and from 2018 the station went federal — on the frequencies of the former Sport FM. The station«s slogan is «Wave of Street Culture.»
The broadcast schedule included music blocks, interviews with artists, podcasts and themed shows; the hosts interacted a lot and actively with listeners. On air, the station focused on Russian and foreign hip-hop music, avoiding pop and rock compositions.
MSK1.RU contacted Vasily Sovkov, who once worked at STUDIO 21 as program director. He said he does not know the exact reasons for the station«s closure — but shared his thoughts about it.
Thus, he called the main difference of STUDIO 21 from other stations its very philosophy.
«The radio frequency is one of the brand«s assets that influenced the industry by creating resonant information occasions. Yes, it»s the only radio station where you can hear hip-hop, but that is not enough for comparison,» Sovkov emphasized in a conversation with MSK1.RU.
In his opinion, the founders of the station wanted not just to fill an empty niche in the market — but to fulfill a cultural task.
«Here, an idea is at the forefront. Not because the niche is empty, but because such a project is needed in Russia. It is necessary. It would be strange if it were absent,» Sovkov is confident. «Hip-hop culture and «the streets» were in the shadows. STUDIO 21 brought this culture to the surface. I see a stormy reaction from the media to this news [about the station«s closure]. I think everything worked out.»
He knows nothing about the team«s subsequent plans. They themselves have not reported on this either.
Read also: why small business in Russia is on the verge of extinction. In the first quarter, 193,000 enterprises closed in the country. We also looked into why small Russian companies no longer want to play «in the white» — and go into the shadows.
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