Spin, the alternative-music magazine founded in 1985, has fired its editor and publisher, part of a larger transformation that will expand the publication’s presence online.

On Friday the magazine, owned by Spin Media, laid off Doug Brod, the editor in chief, and Malcolm Campbell, its publisher since 2006, Mr. Brod said.

Steve Kandell, who has served as the magazine’s deputy editor, will become the new editor, the magazine said Monday. The new publisher will be Mike Albanese, who Spin credited with leading a recent expansion of the magazine’s advertising products in both print and digital.

Spin has struggled to remake itself and re-establish its alternative roots after a short-lived, mainstream makeover of the magazine in 2006 that put Beyoncé on the cover, a controversial move for a magazine that has prided itself on celebrating lesser-known acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Vampire Weekend. That change was made shortly after the McEvoy Group, the parent company of Spin Media, bought Spin from Miller Publishing for $5 million. McEvoy, based in San Francisco, also owns Chronicle Books.

Spin has been posting a complete digital edition of the magazine since 2008, and it is expected to further develop its online presence through apps.

For the second half of 2010, Spin had an average circulation of 474,000 copies a month, 94 percent by subscription, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The magazine announced three other management changes on Monday. Jeff Rogers will join in the newly created role of digital general manager. Devin Pedzwater will become the the overall brand creative director. And Charles Aaron, the longtime music editor, will become the editorial director.