Another Mag Bites The Dust - R.I.P Vibe Magazine

It's another sad day within the publishing and Hip Hop and RnB scene, one of the leading US Urban music magazines, Vibe Magazine, founded by Quincy Jones in 1993, shut its doors today after 16 years in the business.



The closure was announced today on Twitter, as is most gossip, before it was officially announced to the world, and both fellow journalists and bloggers both Stateside and over here in the UK expressed their sadness in the magazine's closure. Staff were not aware that the magazine would be shutting down until this afternoon.
The only magazine's now left in the US that cater to Hip Hop and RnB music are The Source and XXL. Not too sure how long either of these magazines will still be on newsstands in this current economic climate.

With the final Vibe cover featuring The Dream and his fiance Christina Milian partially naked, that will NOT be available to buy the editor-in-chief, Danyel Smith, gave this announcement:

"On behalf the VIBE CONTENT staff (the best in this business), it is with great sadness, and with heads held high, that we leave the building today. We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news. It’s a tragic week in overall, but as the doors of VIBE Media Group close, on the eve of the magazine’s sixteenth anniversary, 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. We thank you, we have served you with joy, pride and excellence, and we will miss you. "
Danyel Smith
the former Chief Content Officer VIBE Media Group
& Editor in Chief, VIBE

With the closing of Vibe, journalists Stateside and especially over here in the UK are wondering what will happen to the exposure of 'Urban' artists and music. I for one will miss Vibe Magazine, I loved reading their latest issues especially on my flights from JFK back to London.

R.I.P Vibe Magazine

Source