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Vibe(magazine)

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"VIBE" redirects here. For other uses, seeVibe (disambiguation).
Vibe
Cover of the April 2008 issue, featuringJanet Jackson
Editor-in-chiefDatwon Thomas
Former editors
Total circulation
(2006)		858,469[1]
FoundedSeptember 1993;31 years ago(1993-09)
Final issue2014 (print)
CompanyEldridge Industries
CountryUnited States
Based inNew York City,NY
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.vibe.com
ISSN1070-4701

Vibeis an American music and entertainmentmagazinefounded by producersDavid SalzmanandQuincy Jones.The publication predominantly featuresR&Bandhip hop musicartists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in the summer of 2009, it was purchased by the private equity investment fundInterMedia Partners,then issued bi-monthly with double covers and a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip hop culture. In 2014, the magazine discontinued its print version.[2]

The magazine features a broader range of interests than its closest competitorsThe SourceandXXL,which focus more narrowly on rap music, or the rock- and pop-centricRolling StoneandSpin.The May 1998Vibearticle "Racer X" by Ken Li is credited as the basis for the 2001 filmThe Fast and the Furiousand theresulting franchise.[3]

Publication history

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Quincy JoneslaunchedVibein 1993,[4]in partnership withTime Inc.Originally, the publication was calledVolumebefore co-founding editor,Scott Poulson-Bryantnamed itVibe.[5]Vibe was initially "founded with a test issue in 1992 by Time Warner." [4] Though hip hop mogulRussell Simmonswas rumored to be an initial partner, publisher Len Burnett revealed in a March 2007 interview that Simmons clashed with editor-in-chief Jonathan Van Meter. In May 1994, Meter resigned after Jones prevented the publication of the June/July 1994 issue featuringMadonnaonDennis Rodmanon the cover.[6][7]Meter's successors wereAlan Light,Danyel Smith,Emil Wilbekin,Mimi Valdes, and finally Danyel Smith again.[8]

Miller PublishingpurchasedVibein 1996, and shortly afterward boughtSpin.Aprivate equityfirm, Wicks Group, bought the magazine in 2006.[9]On June 30, 2009, it was announced thatVibewas ceasing publication immediately,[10]although according toEssence,Quincy Jones stated he would like to keep it alive online.

After shutting down, private equity investment fundInterMedia PartnersboughtVibemagazine. They addedUptownmagazine toVibe's parent company, Vibe Holdings.Ronald BurkleandMagic Johnsonlater invested in the company. Vibe Holdings merged withBlackBookMedia to form Vibe Media in 2012.[11]

On April 25, 2013 it was announced thatVibemagazine along with vibe.com and vibevixen.com had been sold toSpin Mediafor an undisclosed sum. Spin Media was thought likely to shut downVibe's print magazine by the end of 2013, which a representative stating: "We're still trying to find a print model that makes economic sense in the digital age."[12]Instead, they cut the magazine's frequency to quarterly.[13]

Founder ofVibe,Quincy Jones

In December 2016,Eldridge Industriesacquired SpinMedia via the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group for an undisclosed amount.[14]

Covers

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Vibemagazine was known for the creative direction of their covers.[15]R&B singerMary J. Bligerepeatedly was on the cover ofVibewith countless articles following her career. The trioTLCwas photographed for the cover in firefighters' gear, referencing the fact that memberLisa Lopesburned down the house of then-boyfriend andNFLstarAndre Rison.The first non-photograph cover ofVibewas an illustration of late singerAaliyahby well-known artist/illustrator Alvaro; this wasAaliyah's first appearance on the cover as well. Other famous cover subjects areTrey Songz,Brandy,Snoop Dogg,Mariah Carey,Beyoncé,Amerie,Jennifer Lopez,Keyshia Cole,Janet Jackson,Lil Wayne,The Fugees,Eminem,T.I.,R. Kelly,Michael Jackson(whom Quincy Jones' daughter Kidada had dressed in hip hop clothing, reportedly for the first and only time in the entertainer's career),Ciara,who also appeared on the cover numerous times and rap legendTupac Shakur's famous cover story in which he reveals important details about his non-fatal 1994 NYC shooting (two years before his death in Las Vegas, Nevada).[16]Electro-rapperKeshabecame the firstwhitefemale artist to appear on the cover as a solo act in October 2012.[17][18][19]

Content

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Featured segments included the back page list "20 Questions" ', theBoomshotscolumn aboutreggaeandCaribbean musicby Rob Kenner; "Revolutions" music reviews; "Vibe Confidential", a celebrity gossip column; and "Next", which profiled up-and-coming artists. The magazine also devoted several pages to photo spreads displaying high-end designer clothing as well as sportswear by urban labels such asRocawearandFubu.

Vibemade a consistent effort to feature models of all ethnicities in these pages. Former editor Emil Wilbikin was frequently credited with styling those pages and keeping fashion in the forefront of the magazine's identity during the early 2000s. Many clothing brands created or linked to hip hop celebrities, such asSean Combs'Sean John,Nelly'sApple Bottoms,andG-Unitby50 Centfound plenty of exposure inVibe's pages.

In the September 2003 issue commemorating ten years of publication, the magazine created different covers using black and white portraits of its most popular cover subjects. It also contained "The Vibe 100: The Juiciest People, Places and Things of the Year".

Many successful writers and editors contributed to the publication, includingAlan Light,Jeff Chang,Dream Hampton,Cheo Hodari Coker,Kevin Powell,Erica Kennedy,Sacha Jenkins, Noah Callahan-Bever andMiles Marshall Lewis.Mark Shawwas the magazine's art director.

Expanding the brand

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In addition to the magazine,Vibealso publishes books on hip hop culture. To celebrate the magazine's tenth anniversary, it publishedVX: Ten Years of Vibe Photography,which featured a bare-chested50 Centon the cover. The volume also includes photos ofAlicia Keys,RZAfrom theWu-Tang Clan,Eve,Chuck DofPublic Enemy,andRun-D.M.C.Works by prominent photographersAlbert Watson,Ellen von Unwerth,David LaChapelle,and Sante D'Orazio are among the 150 photographs in the hardcover edition.[citation needed]

Other books published under theVibebanner cover the history of hip hop, the women of hip hop, and rappersTupac ShakurandThe Notorious B.I.G.[citation needed]Additionally, the magazine published a spin-off publication,Vibe Vixen,from 2004 to 2007. Aimed atVibe's female multicultural demographic,Vibe Vixenincluded features on beauty, fashion, and female entertainers. R&B starletCiaraappeared on the inaugural issue's cover.[citation needed]

Spencer was fired in October 1997 and replaced by comedianSinbad,along withBig Boyas the in-house announcer.[citation needed]As was common practice for late-night talk shows (established byJohnny CarsonandMerv Griffin), it had a live band, led by keyboardist Greg Phillinganes; Jones worked with him during productions forMichael Jackson's albumsThrillerandOff The Wall.[citation needed]The program aired in first-run syndication until the summer of 1998, when it was canceled.[citation needed]The show was taped atCBS Television CityinLos Angeles.[citation needed]

Other platforms featuring theVibebrand areVibe Online,the magazine's online presence;Vibe On Demand,an on-demand network;VLN TV,an online video channel;Vibe Film;MVibe,a wireless content provider for hand-held devices as well as CD and DVD lines distributed under the same name; andThe Vibe Music Mixer,is available foriPhoneandiPad.[citation needed]

In May 2015,Vibeexpanded its brand by adding the digital extension,Vibe Viva.Vibe Vivais a space where Latinos can explore their rich history, and see what is driving Latin culture.[20]

In October 2019Vibeco-hosted Billboard's 2019 Hip Hop Power Players event in NYC.

Vibe Awards

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Beginning in 2003,Vibeproduced and aired its annual awards show onUPNthrough 2006, andVH1 Soulin 2007.

An incident occurred at the 2004Vibe Awardstaping at theSanta Monica Airporthangar, in whichG-UnitrapperYoung Buckstabbed 26-year-old Los Angeles native, Jimmy James Johnson after Johnson approachedDr. Dreunder the pretense of asking for an autograph, and then assaulted him.[21]Young Buck later pleaded no contest to a charge of "assault likely to produce great bodily harm," and was sentenced to three years' probation and 80 hours of community service.[22]

Other editions

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Vibe Vixenwas a magazine geared towards female readers ofVibemagazine that covered beauty, dating, entertainment, fashion, and societal issues for "urban minded females". The magazine was initially released in fall of 2004, and sales were considered successful enough for the magazine to be issued on a quarterly basis.Vibe Vixenfolded after its August/September 2007 issue due to low circulation.[23]Stars featured onVibe Vixen's covers included Ciara,Tracee Ellis Ross,Kimora Lee Simmons,Kelis,Lauren London,LaLa AnthonyandTia Mowry.

References

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  1. ^"DATA: Magazines by Circulation (for six months ended December 31, 2006)".Advertising Age.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  2. ^Sterne, Peter (September 11, 2014)."Spin Media lays off 19, kills Vibe print edition".Politico.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  3. ^Zakarin, Jordan (March 26, 2015)."Meet the Writer Who Made 'The Fast and the Furious' Possible".Yahoo! Movies.RetrievedMay 4,2020.
  4. ^"Top 10 Topics to Pitch to Music Magazines".Freelance Writing.21 July 2016.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.Vibe – a quarterly hip-hop music and entertainment magazine established in 1993.
  5. ^Dungca, Nicole (November 29, 2007)."39-year-old writer returns to hit the books".The Brown Daily Herald.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  6. ^Jones, Quincy (2001).Q: The autobiography of Quincy Jones.New York: Doubleday. p. 292.ISBN978-0-385-48896-9.
  7. ^"THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Vibe Magazine Editor Resigns".The New York Times.1994-05-03.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2022-04-25.
  8. ^Pasmore, John N. (March 4, 2007)."Hip Hop History: An Interview with Vibe Magazine Publisher Len Burnett".Fast Company.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  9. ^"The Wicks Group Announces Acquisition of VIBE, the Country's Leading Urban Youth Lifestyle Magazine"(Press release). New York, NY: Wicks Group.Business Wire.July 5, 2006.
  10. ^Bercovici, Jeff (June 30, 2009)."Vibe magazine shutting down".AOL Finance.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  11. ^Botelho, Stefanie (January 6, 2012)."Vibe Holdings to Merge with Access Network".Folio.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  12. ^Hunte, Justin (April 25, 2013)."Vibe Magazine Sold To SpinMedia".HipHopDX.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  13. ^McDermott, John (September 17, 2013)."SpinMedia Revives Vibe as Quarterly, Considers the Same for Spin".Advertising Age.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  14. ^Ariens, Chris (December 22, 2016)."Billboard Buys Spin and Vibe in a Quest to 'Own the Topic of Music Online'".Adweek.RetrievedNovember 14,2017.
  15. ^Srivastava, Vinita (January 1, 2012)."The Story of Vibe Magazine's TLC Cover: How it Helps to Explain Race, Representation and Resistance from Journalism 's Hip-hop Generation"(PDF).The International Journal of the Image.2(1). Common Ground: 57–66.doi:10.18848/2154-8560/CGP/v02i01/44247.ISSN2154-8560– viaRyerson University Library.Open access icon
  16. ^Douglas, Joanna (September 11, 2008)."When airbrushing goes too far: Vibe magazine digitally removes Ciara's clothes!".Shine.Yahoo!.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  17. ^Alexis, Nadeska (October 12, 2012)."Ke$ha Makes History, Proves She's 'Not A Train Wreck' In Vibe".MTV News.Archived fromthe originalon June 12, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  18. ^Romero, Angie (October 11, 2012)."Ke$ha Covers VIBE Magazine, Makes History As First Solo White Living Female To Do So".ABC News.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  19. ^Gayles, Contessa (October 11, 2012)."Kesha, VIBE Magazine: Singer Is First White Woman to Land on Cover".The Boombox.Townsquare Media.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  20. ^"Viva".Vibe.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  21. ^Moss, Corey (November 16, 2004)."Warrant Issued For Young Buck In Vibe Awards Stabbing".MTV News.Archived fromthe originalon June 6, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.
  22. ^Blankstein, Andrew (December 13, 2005)."Rapper Pleads No Contest in Assault Case".Los Angeles Times.
  23. ^Bell, Lauren (July 25, 2007)."VIBE Vixen folds".DMNews.Haymarket Media Group.RetrievedJanuary 31,2017.

[4]https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/arts/music/02vibe.html#:~:text=Founded%20with%20a%20test%20issue,culture%20in%20the%20late%201990s.

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