What to know
- Recently, Live Nation and Veeps (a ticketing and streaming company founded by the Madden brothers) laid off almost every employee at music publications, BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver, and Goldmine.
- This has been devastating to the alternative and punk music scenes as these publications were significant to underground music culture.
- Music writers Allie Gregory and Hugh Carter say while these layoffs are devastating, they’re not that surprising, especially when large companies buy out independent publications.
The music journalism world was recently upended after Live Nation and Veeps laid off almost everyone at alternative music publications BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver, and Goldmine.
Music publicist Jacob Daneman broke the news on X, calling the mass layoffs “Utterly unceremonious and moronic actions by Veeps.” At BrooklynVegan especially, every single employee except its founder Dave Levine was let go.
Founded in 2017 by Joel and Benji Madden of the pop-punk band Good Charlotte — who performed at RBC Amphitheatre last Thursday — Veeps is an online ticketing and streaming platform. Entertainment company Live Nation bought a majority stake in the company in 2021.
As publications, BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver, and Goldmine have been incredibly influential in shaping the punk, alternative, and indie music scenes for more than two decades. BrooklynVegan and Alternative Press were two outlets that heavily championed pop-punk artists and bred high-profile writers like Andrew Sacher, Annie Zaleski, and Anne Zanes.
Allie Gregory is the Managing Editor of Exclaim! Magazine, a Toronto-based independent music, arts and culture outlet with a dedicated national audience. While disappointed, she’s not surprised by the mass layoffs. She says despite journalists fighting tooth and nail, this is just how it is when corporations acquire independent media.
“Despite music journalists’ valiant efforts, the writing has been on the wall — at least in the US — for some time, especially given the acquisition and subsequent gutting of Pitchfork by GQ a few years ago,” Gregory tells Now Toronto.
“Corporate-owned media will always be filtered out once its overlords come to realize how undervalued and thus unprofitable it can be. Independent media is where it’s at — it drives culture and makes life worth living — despite its built-in challenges.”
Hugh Carter is the founder of Turn & Work, a Toronto independent online publication that pushes forward meaningful discourse on music and literary works. Like Gregory, he’s heartbroken, but not surprised when he heard about the layoffs.
“It’s the standard playbook,” he tells Now Toronto. “The large company buys the small one with promises of investment and growth, then when the honeymoon is over, reverses course and destroys it.”
Significant loss to underground music culture
For people who have experienced layoffs in the volatile post-COVID job market, being laid off probably doesn’t seem like the end of the world, but for music writers, it’s another example of the continued gutting of independent journalism.
Gregory says the cleaning house at BrooklynVegan in particular will be a significant loss to underground music culture.
“There is no one covering the underground like they did in their respective corner of the world. BrooklynVegan gave independent artists their dues. That void will not be filled any time soon,” she explains.
Carter says he still has old print copies of Alternative Press, and along with BrooklynVegan, they were sites he frequented for years. The layoffs come as Live Nation recently announced over $500 million dollars of operating income in the last quarter alone.
“These outlets are a rounding error for the owners,” he exclaims.
With generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) seemingly taking over across numerous industries, Gregory fears music fans will eventually be left with “whatever can make the most money via the least overhead costs.”
“I fear that will result in fewer instruments, technical ability and training, talent, artistry and passion getting their deserved spotlight,” she admits.
“Additionally, our humanity, as determined by the living, breathing arts we create, is dwindling at the cost of environmental stability. Independent music journalism is generated by the capacity of the inimitable human mind.”
Despite the anger and heartbreak, Carter wants to remind music lovers that the local scene is still “alive and awesome.”
“There’s still a thriving culture of independent music writers out there. It’s easier than ever to start your own music outlet. The local scene is alive and awesome. Support small venues!”
