By Alexis Stevens The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Vibe, the music magazine founded in 1993 by legendary producer Quincy Jones, is shutting its doors, Editor Danyel Smith told the staff Tuesday.
“We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news,” Smith wrote in a memo obtained by Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The magazine blames its failure on the sagging economy and the collapse of print advertising, a common woe of other print journalism products, according to Steve Aaron, former CEO of VIBE Media Group.
“There are very few magazines with the richness of history and breadth of talented visionaries who created the powerful lens in which VIBE viewed and shaped urban music and culture,” Aaron wrote in a separate memo to staff members.
Revenue growth from its web site, www.vibe.com, was not enough to offset the magazine’s losses, Aaron said.
“It’s a sad day for music, for hip hop in particular, and for the millions of readers and users who have loved and who continue to love the VIBE brand,” Smith said.
