Vibe Magazine Losing Print Edition After Being Sold To SpinMedia

[NelsonG]

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy

Vibe magazine has been purchased by SpinMedia. The NY Times reports, that SpinMedia, which also owns sites like Pitchfork, TMZ and Gawker, bought the rights to the legendary hip-hop publication as well as its related websites like Vibe.com and Vibevixen.com.

"It’s really exciting to add [Vibe] to SpinMedia’s collection of music properties and bring more digital DNA to the team and see what they can do," said Steve Hansen, SpinMedia’s chief executive.

SpinMedia has a reputation of shutting down print publications and moving content to online-only, as the company did with Spin magazine last year. When asked what the company would do with Vibe, Hansen said “We are still trying to find a print model that makes economic sense in the digital age" noting that they will more than likely shut down Vibe's print arm later this year.

Vibe was founded in 1992 by Quincy Jones and Time Warner and has been an instrumental magazine in hip-hop, with interviews including the late 2Pac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. With the new acquisition, members of the Vibe staff are expecting layoffs to follow.

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/04/25/vibe-magazine-losing-print-edition-after-being-sold-to-spinmedia/]View the full article[/url]