“Vibe” magazine announced it was shutting down operations yesterday, 16 years after Quincy Jones founded the urban music publication.
DailyFinance.com first reported the news and the New York Times later confirmed that Vibe spokeswoman Tracy Nguyen said the magazine was “closing immediately.”
Nguyen told the NYT she didn’t know how many people would be laid off with the closure.
RadRadar.com published a statement from Steve Aaron, former CEO of Vibe Media Group:
“The collapse of the capital markets has impacted us greatly. Over the past several months, we have actively pursued investment resources while working intensively with our bank to find a solution. But the deal market right now remains very poor and at the end of the day, the lack of investment resources to restructure the huge debt on our small company has made this outcome become a reality.
“The print advertising collapse hit Vibe hard, especially as key ad categories like automotive and fashion, which represented the bulk of our top 10 advertisers, have stopped advertising or gone out of business.”
Jones and Time Warner created Vibe in 1992. The Wicks Group then bought the publication in 2006. In February Wicks Group was forced to reduce its publishing frequency, cut salaries and cut hours to a four-day workweek, according to DailyFinance.com. The NYT wrote that in July Vibe was expected to cut its circulation from 800,000 to 600,000.
RapRadar.com reported Vibe’s last issue features Christina Milian and The-Dream on the cover but that it will not be available on newsstands. Former CCO/Editor-In-Chief Danyel Smith said the staff received the news as they were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue.
In March Blender magazine shut down after eight years. Its April issue with Kelly Clarkson on the cover was the publication’s last.
Click here for the DailyFinance.com article.
Click here for the New York Times article.
Click here for the RapRadar.com article.