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Business

Red Bull Music Academy, Red Bull Radio to Shut Down

By Marc Schneider
4/3/2019
By Marc Schneider
4/3/2019
Red Bull Music
PYMCA/Avalon/UIG via Getty Images

Questlove performs a live show at VEGA Copenhagen as part of Vanguard Festival 2014 afterparty organized by Red Bull Music Academy.

Energy drink maker Red Bull is ending its partnership with consultancy company Yadastar, which oversaw the Red Bull Music Academy and its associated entities, including a radio station, event and festival series and online publication. As a result, RBMA and Red Bull Radio will cease operations in their current forms as of late October, Yadastar announced on Wednesday.

"We have had the privilege to work with some of the brightest and most talented people in the world," Yadastar's founders Many Ameri and Torsten Schmidt said in a statement via Twitter.

The Germany-based company is credited with developing and launching the Red Bull Music Academy in 1998, spurring programming, workshops, festivals, radio studios, signature events and other programming in 60-plus countries. Yadastar also handled RBMA communications and editorial offices.

In a statement to Resident Advisor, a Red Bull spokesperson said the company would be "changing the means of delivery" for its creative programming, trading a centralized approach via Yadastar for a "new setup which empowers existing Red Bull country teams and utilizes local expertise."

Whether that means the ultimate end for Red Bull's foray into radio and other types of music-focused projects Yadastar oversaw remains to be seen. A Red Bull spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"We want to thank Red Bull for the opportunity and all its employees who have support and realized music projects with u in local markets the world over," Ameri and Schmidt added in their statement (below). "We know many of you have joined the company because you believe in the values we have all held up high. We are looking forward to seeing where you will take it from here."

By Marc Schneider
4/3/2019

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