SOUND OFF
A sadly familiar tune played out in New York Tuesday when Vibe, the urban music and lifestyle magazine, announced it would cease publishing effective immediately. The closure follows on the heels of the shuttering last year of snarky rock mag Blender and the migration of roots music periodical No Depression from dead trees to Web-only. Rolling Stone has shrunk, and Paste is valiantly keeping its head above water with donations from readers.
The death of Vibe, the highest-profile of the magazines covering the R&B and hip-hop scenes, is being attributed like all such recent woes to a decline in advertising. It’s important to note that, while Vibe had its detractors, the magazine was instrumental in legitimizing hip-hop to the mainstream, sharing shelf space with Rolling Stone and Spin. It often offered a fresher, closer-to-the-ground take on artists who had yet to reach mass audiences and provided a different perspective to fans who loved the music but weren’t always well-versed in its history.
It extensively covered music and issues that were sometimes marginalized in other publications. It also made waves with its coverage of the rise of gangsta rap and the possibly deadly East Coast versus West Coast beefs that arose within that scene. Already having a tough week with Michael Jackson’s death, Vibe founder Quincy Jones - who sold the magazine in 2006 - said earlier this week that he hopes to find a way to step back in and keep the magazine he started in 1993 alive, perhaps as an online venture.
SARAH RODMAN 