Takeover Magazine 1st issue april 15th 2016 | Page 40

VIBE IS DEAD AGAIN
VIBE magazine is a wrap, again. The long-running urban music magazine has been shuttered by
Spin Media in the wake of a round of layoffs.
Reports Capital New York:
Spin Media Group eliminated 19 positions on Tuesday, C.E.O. Stephen Blackwell told Capital in a
phone interview.
Blackwell told Capital that Tuesday’s “reduction in force” affected about 14 percent of the
company’s 127 staff members—mostly in the video, photo, and sales departments.
Some of the layoffs, he added, were due to the decision to end the print edition of Vibe, which the
company acquired last year.
When Spin Media initially acquired VIBE in 2013, the plan was to shutter the print edition.
However, the once monthly VIBE magazine still published on quarterly schedule (down from a bimonthly schedule), with editorial staff doing double duty for the thriving Vibe.com.
However, Blackwell is committing to online, not print.
“When I look at what was going on here prior to my tenure, I think that some of the resources…if
we’re directing resources toward print, that intrinsically means that we’re directing resources
away from digital. I’m here to commit to directing all of our resources toward the digital side of
Vibe,” he said.
Although Vibe is quite literally going out of print, the brand will survive, and Blackwell said that he
is committed to growing its digital presence. Currently, he said, Vibe receives six to seven million
unique visitors per month and has a combined 1.4 million followers on Facebook and Twitter.
VIBE has been here before. Back in 2009, the magazine folded but was revived month later with
current Editor-In-Chief, Jermaine Hall, in charge.
Recently, Jhene Aiko and Mack Wilds, August Alsina & Ed Sheeran covered VIBE’s Summer
Issue. VIBE was founded in 1992 by Quincy Jones.
- See more at: http://hiphopwired.com/2014/09/11/vibe-magazine-dead/
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