Caffeine and music are about to compose another duet.
Red Bull, the energy drink, wants to follow Starbucks’ lead and get into the branded record label business, The Post has learned.
According to several sources close to the situation, Red Bull’s music endeavors, which include sinking millions of dollars into a recently constructed recording studio in Santa Monica, Calif., are all part of the company’s plans to launch a branded record label by year’s end.
“They want to at least put something out digitally, and maybe physically [under their own brand] by the end of the year,” said a music industry executive with knowledge of Red Bull’s plans.
Other sources said the energy drink thinks its brand can fill a void with the young male demographic and has been giving free studio time to a number of alternative indie rock bands in the hopes of initially signing three or four of them to the label.
“They see a wide-open lane for rock,” said one source who has used Red Bull’s studio. “They are a lifestyle-based brand that does a lot with snowboarders, skaters, the young Hollywood set, so they think they could have success breaking rock bands.”
Sources said Red Bull’s studio is being run by former Universal A&R rep Greg Hammer, who’s also handling marketing through his Grace Marketing company. Sources also said Matt Pinfield, former VJ for MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball,” and a woman named Heaven MacPherson are also involved in the project, though they were unsure in what capacity.
A spokeswoman for Red Bull said that the company “has been actively supporting music and musicians for over 15 years” with projects such as Red Bull Music Academy and Red Bull Music Labs. She confirmed that Red Bull is providing artists with free studio time, but denied that it was being done with any strings attached.
As for the record label itself, the spokeswoman said she couldn’t comment on rumor and speculation.
But one sign that the record label might be more than just rumor could be gleaned from the fact that Red Bull is constructing a Web site called Red Bull Records and has set up e-mail addresses for employees ending in redbullrecords.com
Sources said Red Bull is treating the label as more than just a vanity project and plans to put real money behind the effort. Indeed, part of the reason why a firm launch date hasn’t been set yet is because the company is still trying to work through the business model and wants to be extra cautious about its costs given the slowdown in the overall economy.
For instance, sources said there is still some debate as to whether Red Bull would seek distribution through a major label or try to leverage the distribution of its drink product to set up in-store displays and kiosks much in the same way that Starbucks does in its stores. peter.lauria@nypost.com