Vibe, the legendary Hip-Hop and R&B magazine that folded six weeks ago under a pile of debt, will be resurrected with a new approach — as a Web-focused publication with a greater emphasis on Vibe’s roots. A group led by the private-equity firm InterMedia Partners and InterMedia’s luxury magazine publisher, Uptown Media, has reached an agreement to acquire Vibe and its Web site. The new owners say they plan to relaunch Vibe.com in the next few weeks.
Ad pages at Vibe fell nearly 40% in the first half of this year, compared with a 28% decline for the magazine industry, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. In this environment, more publishers are reducing their focus on print (as they should), uncertain how much of the lost advertising might return as the economy recovers. The new owners of Vibe hope their emphasis on the online edition will help offset their risk.
They intend to bring out the print edition only at the end of the year and then publish it quarterly rather than monthly, possibly increasing the frequency after 2010. They declined to disclose the transaction’s financial terms.
