Music publications Spin and Stereogum will no longer be a part of Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media Group, parent company Valence Media announced today (Jan. 16). Spin has been acquired by Next Management Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in digital media. This past year, Spin's audience has grown over 40%, and the site successfully rebranded, bringing the iconic black and white logo from Spin's inception in 1985 back. And artists such as Billie Eilish, Charli XCX and Ty Dolla Sign have graced recent covers. Next Management Partners will assume all assets and has engaged the current team to continue publishing. “We are thrilled to acquire this legendary music brand and excited to invest in the future success of Spin,” said Next Management Partners CEO Jimmy Hutcheson. “We hope to continue to honor Spin’s heritage of serving up the best and most comprehensive music coverage spanning many genres and delighting audiences with the next big acts in music. Next Management Partners recognizes the explosive growth in music streaming on platforms like Spotify and new artists breaking on social networks like TikTok and YouTube. Since its inception in 1985, Spin has always been a go-to source for music aficionados everywhere. Given the strong heritage and success of the Spin brand, we are excited about being a part of Spin’s next chapter and what the future holds. We will have more exciting announcements soon about our growth plans, new hires, and future investments. We couldn't be more thrilled to apply our digital media expertise to this property.”

As for Stereogum, an agreement has been reached with the leadership of the publication to buy the brand back, with founder and editor-in-chief Scott Lapatine remaining at the helm. Lapatine will also become CEO. “It’s been a privilege to watch Stereogum grow over the past 18 years — the site saw record traffic in 2019 — and I’m thrilled about our next chapter as an independent, music-only publication. Also, launching later this year, a robust new user experience will be sure to delight and infuriate Stereogum’s dedicated commentariat in equal measure," Lapatine said. Spin and Stereogum were acquired by Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media group in December of 2016. Vibe, which was also part of the 2016 deal, will remain with the company.