Case Study

Background Details• Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine which was founded by a producer

named Quincy Jones in 1933. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down in the Summer of 2009, Vibe was purchased by the private funders; InterMedia Partners and is now issued every-other month with double covers, with a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is largely aimed at young, urban followers of hip-hop culture.

• The magazine wanted to widen its success to featuring a broader range of interests than its closest competitors The Source and XXL which focus more towards rap music, or the rock & pop-centric Rolling Stone and Spin.

• Vibe was very well known for their creativity within their front covers.• Due to their success as a magazine in becoming such a well known brand, they

then went on to publish books on the history of RnB and hip-hop culture.• The name of the magazine; Vibe clearly connoted RnB/Hip-hop music as the word

vibe relates to music as it is a sound from music, and many of the readers of the magazine will understand this.

Background Details• In 2009, the magazine had huge success however it stopped selling paper

back issues of the magazine, yet there were no reasons for this, they appear to be unknown. This however did not stop the success of the magazine in any way, as Vibe has a website full of urban news and artist updates which readers could go online to keep up to date with it all.

• The producer of Vibe, Quincy Jones stated that he would like to keep Vibe alive online. The magazines have started selling paper back copies again though as Vibe was bought by InterMedia Partners, LP bought the magazine.

This was one of the first issues of Vibe magazine to be published.

The master head of this front cover of vibe still remains the same within today’s issues of vibe, although the colours might change the font is still the same.

The sell lines also still remain the same in the way there placed and what they feature such as the list of music artists which feature inside.

Most of the colours on the front of this cover are also still similar to most of today’s issues. The colours yellow, black, red and white all represent a typical RnB magazine.

The main image also represents a typical RnB singer who is well known, presenting typical RnB iconography.

Vibe Today

• Vibe today is currently one of the biggest RnB music magazines being published. Due to the magazine not being around for that long, all the features and forms of layout still remain the same. This magazine is issued monthly with approximately 75 pages full of entertainment and gossip from the RnB music industry. Vibe offers a subscription package which monthly costs $9.99 (£6.29)

• This magazine does not have a standard magazine layout as their ratio for images to articles is 60:40. They also do follow the traditional convention of having many sell lines on the front cover of the magazine, this is because the readers attention is aimed at the main artist on the font.

• Vibe also are very generous as they give and take donations from customers to the American Red Cross, showing there generosity to help others in need.

• To add to this Vibe are also selling their music magazine and giving 100% of their income the American Red Cross to help Hurricane Sandy Victims.

Inside Vibe

From looking at these two pieces from a Vibe magazine, They both feature large images of the main artist with the text around it, this is a common feature for Vibe as they repeat this in each their issues, creating a brand identity.

Both share similar colourings, through the uses of greys, blacks, white. These are colours in which Vibe use often portraying that these are colours which reflect an RnB genre.

Target Audience

• The magazine is aimed at 16-25 year olds, at both male and female.

• Vibe aspire to individuals with key interests in music, fashion, films and television.

• The magazine appeals to many loyal fans who have a passion for music as this is what the magazine features around.

• Fashion is also a key interest to the target audience, their image is very important to them and look to artists in the RnB industry for ideas.

The Content• Vibe is dedicated to urban RnB music, and include content based

around music whether it be interviews with artists from the genre, tour dates of artists, or just new information on artists music.

• Vibe also include information about American films, and provide interviews with actors/actresses from certain films.

• Regular featured artists within the magazine are Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, and drake.

• Within the magazine, the artists/celebrities that feature will reflect upon who the readership will be as for example readers to listen to Katherine Jenkins aren’t going to listen to an RnB music magazine as she or any other classical artists will not appear in the magazine.

The Style• Within Vibe, It offers a variety of Iconography from the RnB genre

featured in the magazine such as topless men, cars, jewellery, desirous and sexy women and many more.

• The magazine always offers a share amount of information and images keeping the reader satisfied with just the right quantity of both.

• Black, White and Grey are the common colours used throughout the magazine which creates a relaxed and calm tone for the readership.

• The fonts used are mainly repeated throughout the entirety of the magazine reinforcing the brand identity but also, the fonts often tend to appear in lower case again creating a relaxed, and inviting tone for the readers.

Some examples of front covers from Vibe

The colloquial language as it states ‘White Kicks’ and Ways To Dress Like A Man, Son! Create a more casual tone allowing the readers to feel more relaxed but also so they can create a relationship with the magazine through the use of the casual language used throughout.

The use of direct address allows the reader to feel more involved within the magazine, again creating a casual and personal tone.

The use of colours on this front cover are very calm and relaxed, exemplifying the mood of the magazine but also the mood and tone of RnB music as a genre.

Ownership• The magazine; Vibe was successfully launched by Quincy Jones, a

very successful musician. Quincy had previously partners with Time Inc, and in addition to that shared successful ownership with well known magazines such as NME, Fortune, InStyle and Marie Claire.

• In 1996 Miller Publishing bought the magazine, then not long after this bough Spin; another magazine.

• Later on, Magic Johnson and Ron Burkle invested in the company and merged with Blackbook media which then led to forming Vibe Media in the year of 2012.

• Both the owners have experience within the athletic field but neither have experience in music, however the pair have managed to create one of the most successful and memorable RnB/Hip-Hop music magazines.