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Spin, Vibe & Stereogum sold to Billboard/Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, which is part of Prometheus Global Media, announced today that they have acquired Spinmedia music sites SPIN, Vibe and Stereogum (UPDAT: and Death and Taxes), which they say makes them “the world’s largest music brand.” From Billboard‘s announcement:

“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 Media Group 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.”

“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 Media Group co-president Janice Min. “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.”

Will Spinmedia, who sold off Idolator, Buzznet and PureVolume earlier this year to a new company called Hive Media but still owns sites like Celebuzz and The Frisky, still be called Spinmedia without SPIN? We shall see.

UPDATE: NY Post reports that, “A deal by SpinMedia’s owner, M/C Partners, to sell off its few remaining celebrity sites, including Celebuzz, The Frisky and The Superficial, could come as early as Friday, sources tell Media Ink.”

All of these sites (even Stereogum which our good friend Scott Lapatine sold to somebody else before it was sold to Buzzmedia/Spinmedia), have changed hands before, so this is nothing new for them.

This news also comes a little over a year after Pitchfork sold to Conde Nast, and less than a year after the less known news that Impose sold to a Kansas City, MO company called Answer Media.

(and in case you’re wondering, BrooklynVegan, whose ads used to be sold by Spinmedia but are now sold by media/radio company Townsquare Media, is still 100% independent).

UPDATE/CORRECTION: AdWeek and Film Journal International (and other publications that aren’t Billboard and Hollywood Reporter) are no longer are no longer owned by Prometheus Global Media. They were recently sold.