BREAKING: Vibe Magazine Closing Down
Continuing an unfortunate trend in print publishing, Vibe Magazine is closing its doors after sixteen years of publication.
Vibe magazine, the urban-music magazine founded in 1993 by Quincy Jones, is the latest victim of the media recession. A source with knowledge of the situation tells DailyFinance that the staff has learned the magazine is ceasing publication, and an assistant in the office of editor in chief Danyel Smith confirmed the news. No further information was immediately available. A call to Vibe Media CEO Steve Aaron was not immediately returned, nor was a message left for Smith.
Vibe enjoyed significant success in the late ’90s and early part of this decade as hip hop and R&B became the nation’s predominant forms of pop music. But in recent years the title has fallen on hard times under its new owner, the Wicks Group, which bought it in 2006. In February, it reduced its circulation and publishing frequency, cut salaries and moved employees to a four-day workweek to save money.
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Comments (11)
It’s a sad thing to see all of the things that are happening. But everything happens for a reason.Let’s just move forward and WELCOME THE NEW VIBRATIONS LIFE HAS TO OFFER. Peace & Blessings Thebee7
This is crazy. Remember when they told us King was closing down, but they announced it on April Fool’s Day, the same day they said Chrysler or GM was leaving? I had the same feeling towards both of them including this one. “Is this some kind of JOKE?” But looking at it, we are going through a crisis now. It’s like the internet,MsJones,MissInfo,and Williams are all the blackgossip(ers) we need. They have everything first anyway…nosey asses…LOL.. But I will miss Vibe though. One of my favorite. I’m mad as hell I just sent them my $20 and now they’re leaving. Do I get a refund?
AWWW THAT’S SAD
I DID THAT 2@COCOACUTE
MY WALLS WERE LITERALLY COVERED IN PICS OF MUSICIANS
Like with every other print publication their are times for change and as someone else said here Vibe didn’t deal with change they ignored it and it swallowed them.
Online media has become the go to source for by the minute news for years now where was Vibe didn’t care to use this outlet as it should have been.
Maybe this will be a wake-up call to all Black publications to integrate new tech into their marketing strategies sooner rather than later.
Sittin on the fence of change doesn’t make it go away.
thats wack! this is the only magazine i read yo! wtf 1st MJ now this….its getting super real out here yo
wow…i remember getting mad pictures out of vibe magazine and putting them on my wall in middle and high school!
This was posted on another blog back when eminem made a come back… duh.
Hearing this news just re-enforces the ever evolving tragedy within Black Media.
A publication of this stature and size was guilty of one thing, not keeping up with the changing media platforms. Even with the recession and declining print media ad spend, Vibe was in a unique position to capitalize on its broad base, however, like many of their counterparts, they chose a different path. A path that did not expand its reach beyond their print borders to other platforms enabling them to re-connect with life long readers and encourage new subscriber base.
It was sad when Vibe was sold to a private equity firm and its even more sad to hear that they are going to cease operations. A movement has to start now or Black Media as we know it may become extinct.
In my opinion next on the clock is Radio One unfortunately, they are burden with a heavy debt load, variety of media outlets that are bleeding red, and a struggling TV Network joint venture. When Radio one had access to some free capital they chose to buy Blackplanet.com instead of paying down their debt. Poor decision making such as this examples shows and a stock price under $1.00, it is now only a matter of time before the closed sign is turned on for them.
Vibe wasn’t my favorite magazine for Black American news, but it still was one of our sources. Dang, what’s next? If we keep losing our outlets for our voices, then we’re gonna be in really bad shap as far as expressing ourselves in print. The White media does not cover Black America with a honest and objective perspective, so the news about Vibe has me worried.
Vibe wasn’t my favorite magazine for Black American news, but it still was one of our sources. Dang, what’s next? If we keep losing our outlets for our voices, then we’re gonna be in really bad shape as far as expressing ourselves in print. The White media does not cover Black America with a honest and objective perspective, so the news about Vibe has me worried.
Damn black people, we are losing everything seriously. This world is becoming a huge mess seriously.