Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Vibe Magazine Folds

Former Chief Executive Officer of Vibe Media Group, Steven Aaron, announced today that Vibe Magazine has officially closed shop. Vibe was one of the last remaining largely circulated hip-hop and R&B focused monthly publication (the last being The Source). Vibe was just putting the final touches on their Michael Jackson tribute magazine when employees got the news.

"It is with a heavy heart that I share some tough news, VMG is closing down effective today, June 30 due to lack of additional financial investments. 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."

Vibe was founded in 1993 by Quincy Jones in partnership with Time Warner. It was purchased in 2005 by a private equity company called The Wicks Group. Another sign of the times and the demise of print media.

(via. KansasCityStar)