Red Bull Music Academy and Red Bull Radio are to close later this year after Red Bull decided to end its association with consultation company Yadastar.
As Resident Advisor reports, both RBMA and Red Bull Radio will officially end on October 31 of this year. Employees of both organisations were notified of the decision last week.
Both entities were run by Red Bull, with consulting firm Yadastar managing the creative arm of each project.
Red Bull Music, which exists separately from RBMA and Red Bull Radio, will continue.
Red Bull provided a statement to Resident Advisor on the decision, saying: "After 20 years of supporting artists worldwide with its music program in a rapidly changing world, Red Bull will maintain its purpose of providing a global platform to promote creativity – but it is changing the means of delivery.
"Red Bull will be moving away from a strongly centralized approach, will gradually phase out the existing structure and will implement a new setup which empowers existing Red Bull country teams and utilizes local expertise. Red Bull will continue to explore new ways to support promising and cutting-edge artists wherever they may be."
Yadastar shared its own statement, attributed to RBMA co-founders Torsten Schmidt and Many Ameri, this morning, writing: "We have had the privilege to work with some of the brightest and most talented people in the world. So, we want to use this opportunity to thank all of the people who have made this journey possible."
You can read that statement in full here.
Schmidt and Ameri co-founded RBMA in 1998 and have since hosted various events, lectures and workshops, while the website also served as an online music publication. RBMA offered budding producers, DJs and other music industry figures a chance to work for free in various studio locations, giving them access to equipment in the process. Amongst those who have given lectures at annual RBMA events are Holly Herndon, Brian Eno, Jeff Mills, Ben UFO, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu and Iggy Pop.
Alumni of RBMA over the years include Nina Kraviz, Mumdance, Marie Davidson, Flying Lotus, Objekt and Hudson Mohawke.
Red Bull and Yadastar have not yet specified how many jobs will be lost as a result of the decision to close down RBMA and Red Bull Radio.
