The public portion of its program is a festival of concerts, art installations, club nights and lectures by influential figures in contemporary music.
[2] Twice daily, participants attend lectures by guest speakers who range from composers, producers,[13] sound engineers and technological pioneers, to rappers[14] and industry professionals.
Notable former participants include Aloe Blacc, Branko of Buraka Som Sistema, Bahrainian oud player Hasan Hujairi, Juan Son, Natalia Lafourcade, Nina Kraviz, Sevdaliza, Hudson Mohawke, David Eriksson of Teenage Engineering, Blackcoffee, Tokimonsta, Flying Lotus, Evian Christ, Teri Gender Bender, Salva and Andreya Triana.
The Academy also publishes an annual double-CD compilation of music produced at the respective last edition titled "Various Assets – Not for Sale".
Since 2004, those compilations have featured original music from more than 300 artists, including Dorian Concept, Flying Lotus, Lusine, Theo Parrish, Aloe Blacc, Mark Pritchard, XXXchange, Om’Mas Keith of Sa-Ra, Illuminated faces, Tony Allen, Mr Hudson, Dennis Coffey, Hudson Mohawke, DJ Zinc, Wally Badarou, Benga, Phonte, Jake One, Steve Spacek of Spacek and Natalia Lafourcade.
Many tours, local events and major festival bookings are pulled from the roster of past Red Bull Music Academy participants.
In 1997, beverage manufacturer Red Bull approached Yadastar about implementing some method of fostering discourse about underground dance culture.