As far as I can recall, I've had exactly one sip of RED BULL in my life and I neither liked it nor disliked it, and then, having sated my extremely mild curiosity, I resumed my life of neither consuming nor thinking about energy drinks. I have, on the other hand, attended a variety of Red Bull-sponsored concerts, read and watched countless stories and videos on the RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY's invaluable online platform, and have been continually amazed by the caliber of artists—and the kind of artists—who have gone through the actual academy part of the academy. Experimental, adventurous, avant-garde, interesting. As far as I'm concerned, Red Bull is a music brand, same as, say, PITCHFORK or LIVE NATION or COACHELLA, and it's far less pop-facing than any of them. How exactly this benefits the company has been a source of both speculation and wonder over the years; for many of us, it elicits all sorts of goodwill and thanks even as we ignore the company's commercial product. But it's a very, very good music brand. A very, very good brand that's about to get a lot smaller with Wednesday's news that it will shutter the Academy and the associated RED BULL RADIO on Oct. 31. Red Bull and YADASTAR, a consulting firm that has run the Academy since its founding 21 years ago, are parting ways. The energy drink company says it will continue supporting "promising and cutting-edge artists" through music festivals and other activities, but "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." The electronic and hip-hop communities, who have been central to the Academy's improbable mission, spent less time trying to parse that vague promise than they spent accepting the significance of the loss and saying their goodbyes. "They have been a starting point for many of our artists," the label BRAINFEEDER tweeted. "The shows, recordings, lectures were fundamental to the current independent musical landscape." Indie publicist JUDY MILLER SILVERMAN (who's a friend) wrote, "It will greatly impact left of center musicians & all sectors of the music community as this beautiful benefactor fades." "Life changing," Academy graduate NINA KRAVIZ wrote in a public FACEBOOK post. The Academy has been a haven for music journalism via its RBMA DAILY website and various spaces beyond; it published a daily print newspaper (edited by my friend PIOTR ORLOV) during a monthlong run in New York in 2013. A haven for music education, too, through its immense library of lectures and master classes. Will all of this be archived or will it disappear without even a cloud of smoke come October? Is it Red Bull's responsibility to make sure the archiving is done? (Short answer: Yes. Full argument coming soon, as Red Bull is far from the only corporate owner with the power to make years of online content disappear just like that.) The other question on a lot of musicians' and journalists' minds right now: Who, if anyone, will fill this hole? What other brand has the money, time and left-of-center heart to commit to the future dreams of the next Nina Kraviz or FLYING LOTUS or OBJEKT or all of us? And if not a brand, then who, or what?... IHEARTMEDIA prepping for possible IPO... INTERNET ARCHIVE recovers some lost MYSPACE songs... YG is pushing back a surprise album he was planning to drop next week out of respect for his late friend NIPSEY HUSSLE... RIP JIM RISSMILLER.