History of VIBE magazine

Brief History: VIBE magazine was founded by Quincy Jones in 1993 which predominantly features Hip-Hop/R&B artists and actors. Originally the magazine had been called Volume before the co-founding editor gave it the current name of 'VIBE'. On June 30th 2009, VIBE announced it was ceasing publication immedeatley and only releasing articles online. After that, InterMedia Partners bought the magazine and now publish it every other month with double covers as well as a larger on-line presence. Currently the Magazine has approximately 863,000 readers.

VIBE is an R&B magazine which is mainly featured around R&B/ Pop artists so it would share both ideologies.

What is the typical content and typical reader: This Magazine usually has a certain amount of columns about reggae and Caribbean music because R&B originated from the Caribbean therefore the majority of the readers would be from that ethnic background. It also has a stereotypical gossip column called 'Vibe Confidential' and a 'Next' page which profiles and advertises upcoming artists in this industry. There are also numerous double page spreads which display high-end designer clothing on these singers/celebrities by urban labels such as 'Fubu' and 'Rocawear'. Many of these fashion labels are linked to the celebrities such as: Nelly's Apple Bottom Jeans and Sean Combs' Sean John. Because of the nature of the readers, this magazine highlights celebrities of an ethnic minority and portrays them in a good light which would appeal more to the target reader. I have found out through the American version of the NRS website that 71.3% of the readers are African-American which is why the magazine is relative tot heir interests and culture.


House style of the Magazine: The celebrity is always positioned in front of the masthead which suggests that they are the most important thing on the page even before the masthead title. Every issue always has a banner at the top of the page which tells you what is coming up in the magazine. I will use this idea in my magazine because I find this a very effective way of making people buy a magazine because when they are on sale in a shop,the first thing people look at is that banner and if they like what they see then they will buy it. They also have their sell lines and sub-headings down either side of the front page (like any other magazine) which outlines the celebrities faces which would make them stand out more.

Producer and Distribution: VIBE magazine is currently owned by InterMedia Partners which is private equity, this company also owns other media based companies such a radio stations. Their magazines are distributed to a variety of shops all over the USA but if you subscribe to a years worth of magazines (6 issues) then they make 'catchy' offers to keep you buying that magazine.

How are social groups represented in this magazine? 
The type of people that read this magazine would be interested in R&B music so stereotypically this would be 'street' people who like artists such as: Rihanna, Eminem, Beyonce etc. Therefore the people this has represented are commonly known as 'blingers' because they wear lots of 'bling' and noticeable jewellery as well as wearing designer labels show off their sense of fashion but they also have the ability to dress smart when neccessary. When creating my own magazine I will make sure that I always have my target audience- including their likes and dislikes- which would help boost the sales of my magazine if it went on sale to the public.