Submitted by ZekielN on June 30, 2009 - 12:58pm.

Vibe, one of the nation’s leading popular urban music magazines, is closing immediately, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The New York Times reported that Vibe spokesperson Tracy Nguyen, said the Vibe staff would be formally notified in a meeting at 2 p.m. She said she did not know how many people would be laid off as a result of the closure.

This now leaves just one large-circulation magazine, The Source, focusing on hip-hop and R&B. The Source has also had financial troubles. It went through a bankruptcy and emerged under new ownership last year.

The rock-focused magazine, Blender, folded last year.

Cover for Final Issue

“The print advertising collapse hit Vibe hard, especially as key ad categories like automotive and fashion, which represented the bulk of our top 10 advertisers, have stopped advertising or gone out of business,” he wrote.

Sidenote***

The musician Quincy Jones and the company then called Time Warner created Vibe in 1992. The Wicks Group, a private equity firm, bought it in 2006. Vibe reported circulation of 818,000 in the second half of last year, a healthy figure, but like most magazines it suffered from falling advertising. It announced in February that in July, it would cut its rate base - the circulation promised to advertisers - from 800,000 to 600,000.

Click here for the original nytimes article.