Vibe To Acquire Spin Magazine

Posted on June 6, 1997

Robert L. Miller, president of Miller Publishing Group, has announced that VIBE Ventures, publisher of the urban music and culture magazine VIBE, will acquire SPIN magazine. The pending acquisition of SPIN by VIBE Ventures will be facilitated by the creation of the Miller Publishing Group (MPG), which will own both of the music titles. MPG is a Los Angeles-based firm specializing in the management, development and acquisition of media properties. The firm is owned by Miller and Freeman Spogli & Co., Inc., a private equity capital firm with a strong interest in acquiring magazine properties.

Michael Hirschorn, a former editor at New York magazine, will be named as editor-in-chief of SPIN magazine, joining existing SPIN executive editor Craig Marks. Hirschorn, who also served as features editor of Esquire magazine, said, "In a publishing market that's increasingly filled with generic, paint-by-numbers magazines, SPIN has always demonstrated itself to be a refreshing alternative, a truly smart and exciting magazine that has never compromised its principles. My goal is to build on SPIN's excellence in music coverage and further extend coverage of the entire spectrum of youth culture."

"Music is one of the most powerful influences on young adults today," said Quincy Jones, founder and chairman of VIBE. "The prospect of these two magazines forming a definitive home for young adults is very exciting."

In just three years, VIBE has become the fastest-growing music magazine in history with a guaranteed circulation of more than 450,000. VIBE publishes ten times a year. SPIN, founded in 1985 by Bob Guccione, Jr., offers coverage of new rock n'roll. Now twelve years old, SPIN has grown steadily and currently boasts a guaranteed circulation of 500,000.

"VIBE Publisher John Rollins, former VP/Director of Advertising for SPIN, who has spearheaded VIBE's rapid growth, will advance both titles together with the same vision in his new role as Group Publisher," said Keith Clinkscales, president/CEO of VIBE Ventures. "Under his leadership we will effectively become the leading force in a market that speaks to young adults through music, the single most important component of youth culture."

"Besides its distinction as the nation's most respected rock n'roll magazine, our attraction to SPIN is due largely to the spirit that the title was founded on and continues to display; publishing on your own terms," said Miller. "This is the philosophy with which Bob Guccione, Jr. founded SPIN and we will endeavor to stay true to his vision. Both SPIN and VIBE have found success by sticking to their principles and publishing precisely the magazines they've wanted to. Together, they will be a force to be reckoned with."