Billboard-THR Acquires Spin, Vibe and Stereogum, Becomes World’s Largest Music Brand

The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group has purchased SpinMedia’s music assets Spin, Vibe and Stereogum. The deal will make the Media Group the world’s largest music brand by traffic, social reach and audience share, Billboard (of course) reports.

“Bringing in these historic brands under Billboard gives us the chance to serve passionate music audiences from rock to urban to pop in one massive portfolio,” said Janice Min, the Media Group’s co-president. “The power and scale of these combined, complementary digital assets gives us the ability to deliver even more ways to reach our audience through TV, video, live events, and social and online media.”

“In recent years, we set out to own the topic of music online, and the acquisition of these incredible music assets helps us do just that,” said the Media Group’s other co-president John Amato. “By making these storied brands part of our family, The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group will be able to fully capture the value of millennials and music, and continue to strengthen its leadership position in this critical arena.”

SpinMedia CEO Stephen Blackwell will be named Chief Strategy Officer of the newly acquired company, and will focus on revenue, digital growth and product. The new acquisition gives The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group an online audience of 45 million a month, and the group hopes that the move will strengthen its reach among millennials.

The brand projects that its revenue will increase to more than $100 million a year after the move, with two-thirds of that number coming from digital and video.