Red Bull Records is shutting down after nearly two decades, Billboard has confirmed.
“After 18 years of operation, Red Bull Records globally will be winding down by the close of the year,” a Red Bull spokesperson tells Billboard. The news was first reported by Hits Daily Double.
Related
Launched in 2007 by Red Bull energy drink founder Dietrich Mateschitz and operating out of offices in Los Angeles and London, Red Bull Records was led by managing director Greg Hammer and distributed through Sony’s The Orchard. Over the years, the label has seen success with artists including Los Angeles rock band AWOLNATION, Scottish alt-rockers Twin Atlantic, Ohio metalcore band Beartooth, and Grammy-nominated rapper Blxst, who was named Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Year in 2022. Over the years, it also formed joint ventures with label imprints such as Mind of a Genius, Blxst’s EVGLE and WondaGurl’s Wonderchild. In 2008, it launched a publishing division, repping songwriters and producers including Eric Aukstikalnis, Charlie Shuffler, LordQuest, Kofi, Caleb Shomo and Aaron Bruno.
Red Bull Records’ current roster includes Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., Maryland rapper Joony, London R&B singer James Vickery, U.K. pop artist Morgan and emerging country singer-songwriter Pynk Beard, who signed with the label in August.
In October 2019, Red Bull shuttered its other major music ventures, Red Bull Music Academy and Red Bull Radio. Red Bull Music Academy, which catered to emerging artists, launched in 1998 and spearheaded programming, workshops, festivals, radio studios and more in more than 60 countries.
