VIBE Rips Its Pages For Good, Waves Flag In Print Battle

Renowned music publication VIBE has reportedly called it quits once again and will resort to turning into an online-only media platform.

According to reports, SpinMedia folded the historic publication this week.

Stephen Blackwell, SpinMedia’s CEO, said the cuts came mostly from the company’s video, photo, and sales divisions. On Monday, the company let go of Tom Morrissy, its chief revenue officer, after only five months. The decision to fold Vibe comes almost exactly one year after SpinMedia’s previous CEO — Steve Hansen — announced he was resurrecting the title by printing four issues per year. (Media Bistro)

VIBE hasn’t fully thrown in the towel though according to this…

Despite the print coming to an end, VIBE will remain alive digitally.

Blackwell said vibe.com will continue as a digital-only publication. “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,” he told Capital New York. “I’m here to commit to directing all of our resources toward the digital side of Vibe.” (Media Bistro)

Back in June 2009, VIBE Magazine temporarily closed its operations.

Vibe, one of the nation’s leading popular music magazines, is closing immediately, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Word was broken early this afternoon by the Web site dailyfinance.com and spread to other music and media news sites. The spokeswoman, Tracy Nguyen, said the Vibe staff would be formally notified in a meeting at 2 p.m. She said she did not know how many people would be laid off as a result of the closure. (NY Times)

The renowned publication has remained a part of hip-hop culture for decades.

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. (Daily Finance)