Quincy Jones declares plans to save Vibe Magazine

The music world has been far from immune to a failing economy, but one recent victim of the unwelcome downturn is about to be saved.

Yesterday, the once-popular hip-hop and urban culture magazine, Vibe, announced plans to shut down. But with no sign of a phone booth, or even his cape, iconic producer, Quincy Jones is now on a mission to save it from doom.

Having founded the shingle in 1993, Jones says he’s ‘dismayed’ by the way it’s been handled since he sold it in 2006. “They just messed my magazine all up,” he says sadly. “But I’m gonna get it back. You better believe it.”

Facing sales of under one million copies and withering debt, current owners, the Wicks Group slashed salaries and even changed to quarterly publishing in a bid to save money – but none of it helped. Chief bean-counter, Angela Zucconi, confirmed the mag’s closure late Tuesday, and said their fifty employees would be laid off at once.

And that’s when Q got the news.

The 76-year old guru is now deep in discussions to revive his creation, and has major plans to update its view, “We gotta get into the 21st century, you know?” Jones said. “Print and all that stuff is over. They’re over the same way as the record business. We have got to get into this century.”

Quincy is the same creative savant who turned ‘Bad’ and ‘Thriller.’ into disks without peer. If anyone can save Vibe, this is the man.