Quincy Jones Will Not Let Vibe Die
Today we learned that Vibe Magazine was folding. Now Vibe founder Quincy Jones is distraught over the news and determined to swoop in and save the magazine. How? "I'm'a take it online because print and all that stuff is over."
Jones created Vibe back in 1993 to showcase rap and R&B music in a voice that was younger and edgier than other publications existing at the time, hoping to appeal to young, urban music fans. In 2006 the magazine was purchased by the Wicks Media Group.
Jones spoke to Ebony Senior Editor Adrienne Samuels Gibbs this afternoon:
"I'm trying to buy my magazine back now," Jones told EbonyJet.com just moments ago during a telephone call to Jones' London abode. "They just messed my magazine all up, but I'm gonna get it back. You better believe it, I'm'a take it online because print and all that stuff is over."
Jones says that all publications must figure out how to live online. That's where he's going to take Vibe once he recovers from the death of his friend and protégé Michael Jackson.
"We gotta get into the 21st century you know," Jones said. " "Print and all that stuff is over, we gotta remember that. The Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Post Intelligencer. The Miami Herald. They're over the same way as the record business. We have got to get into this century."
While Jones sees an online-only presence as the future of VIBE, the magazine's Web site was already robust and, according to its CEO, profitable. Industry analysts say that without the burden of paying for the printed page, there might be a digital opportunity for VIBE if the brand's name and archives could be bought without having to assume the company's debt.
Under few circumstances would it be wise to ever bet against Quincy Jones and he certainly still seems to have an excellent grasp on things at age 76. Quincy Jones gets it, just as he always has.
