Subscribers to Spin Magazine got a letter in the mail yesterday informing them that it had ceased publication. Wasn't Spin already kind of dead? Yes! We knew this was coming when the struggling rag was put on hold over the summer. Now it's officially gone forever, and we couldn't be happier to see Spin be relevant again.
The Daily Swarm reports the letters arriving to Spin's last remaining adherents, informing them that the balance of their subscriptions will be fullfilled with—wait for it—issues of Car and Driver. Ew. Car and Driver, really? Here's the letter (and if you're interested, here's the official statement on the matter.):
Shortly after acquiring Spin over the summer, Buzzmedia did a round of layoffs and announced that there would be no November/December issue of Spin, while it figured out what the hell to do with the struggling property. But while the demise of Spin might have been sealed right then, Buzzmedia was downright cryptic about it. The statement from July,
Buzzmedia and Spin are committed to moving forward with print, but we are still determining exactly how print fits in with Spin's multiple distribution points and growth initiatives. While we are early in this process, we have concluded that Spin's print offering will change after the September/October issue and we will not publish a November/December issue. Spin will continue to be led by a strong staff with deep experience in both digital and print. We look forward to sharing what the print offering will be going forward.
If everybody didn't know Spin was dead right then, they should have. Buzzmedia's properties read like a list of the most important hip music blogs of all time: Brooklyn Vegan, Gorilla Vs. Bear, Idolator, and Stereogum. Where was a stodgy music rag going to fit into that mix? That nobody bothered to follow up after that final September/October issue showed up is all the proof you need.
Sad as we are to see the mainstream music monolith go the way of Newsweek and countless other magazines, this really is the best way for this type of information to be served. If music blogs have taught us anything it's that culture news and reviews should be read instantly when they're most relevant. General interest magazines like Spin and Rolling Stone just can't keep up with the speed and niche expertise of blogs.
For all the successes over 27 years, Spin spent the last decade one-step behind the story, and its voice was too general for anybody to really care. At the same time, Spin online has been getting constantly better—if you haven't, go check it out. [The Daily Swarm]