Spin, Stereogum Sold Again

Three years after they were acquired, music sites Spin and Stereogum will no longer be a part of Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media Group, parent company Valence Media has announced.

Spin has been acquired by Next Management Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in digital media, while Stereogum will reportedly be sold back to its founder and editor-in-chief Scott Lapatine who will also become CEO.

Next Management Partners CEO Jimmy Hutcheson, said:

“We are thrilled to acquire this legendary music brand and excited to invest in the future success of Spin. 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.”

Stereogum founder Scott Lapatine said:

“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.”

Spin and Stereogum were originally acquired by Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media Group in December of 2016.