In Japan, amass has reported the initial news, but it hasn't become a major topic yet. However, a very serious situation is currently unfolding in the overseas music media industry.
According to reports from multiple media outlets, on August 4th, large-scale personnel reductions were implemented at four long-standing American music media outlets: BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver, and Goldmine. It is reported that almost all staff members—including editors, photographers, and SNS managers (excluding a few, such as founders)—have lost their jobs. (The exact numbers have not yet been announced.)
Japanese metal fans are likely familiar with Revolver, and these media outlets have long played a crucial role in the indie music scene. They were the ones who actually went to live houses, introduced artists, and recorded the heat of the scene. For fans, they were an essential way to discover artists, and for artists, they were the driving force behind energetic touring.
Why Were They Fired All at Once?
The parent company of these four outlets is Veeps, a live-streaming company. Veeps became a subsidiary of Live Nation, the world's largest concert promoter, in 2021, and reportedly acquired the four media outlets between 2024 and 2025.
In short, the situation appears to be: "A subsidiary of the world's largest concert promoter acquired media outlets covering the genres they handle, and about a year and a half later, fired the staff who write the articles."
The site domains are still active, and the vast archives of past articles remain. They have readers built up over many years. However, there may no longer be anyone left to write new articles...
According to the CKORD article "BrooklynVegan Layoffs: What Happens When the Promoter Owns the Press," for the parent company, the value of the media is the 'readers and archives (= a platform to sell tickets),' and the 'people who conduct interviews and write articles' were likely cut first as a cost center.
The Disappearance of 'Middle-Tier' Media
Music media worldwide is facing an existential crisis. Label promotion budgets are shifting toward SNS and its advertisements, and many magazines have been forced to close.
According to the aforementioned CKORD article, online music media is currently polarizing.
It's either major media that only covers 'already trending topics' to gain traffic and ad revenue, or small independent media supported directly by readers.
The media outlets that suffered mass layoffs this time existed between those two. They had the resources to send professional photographers to 200-capacity live houses, while their writers were deeply immersed in the local scene. This "middle-tier" of media is becoming economically unviable due to complex reasons such as the decline in traffic caused by the spread of AI search and the collapse of the advertising model. As a result, they are acquired by large corporations and then stripped of their most important functions: "reporting and criticism."
The Significance of DIY Media
We, Prog Project, are what you would call 'small independent media,' but we haven't reached the point of being 'supported directly by readers' and are currently operating almost entirely as volunteers.
Since the beginning of this year, we have started small monetization attempts, but paid note articles are rarely purchased, and we struggle immensely every time to increase views on YouTube and podcasts.
We operate solely on the motivation of 'wanting to hear this person's story' and 'wanting to spread this music to everyone.'
Conversely, because we are in an independent position and do not receive financial support from anyone, we are completely free to write only what we want to write and interview only the people we want to talk to.
Seeing this news, I certainly felt once again that there is meaning in the existence of entities like ours. A place where passion and context, unaffected by traffic or algorithms, can be preserved in words. As 'independent chroniclers,' we hope to contribute even a little to the development of the music scene.
*Reference Articles:
・Big cuts at BrooklynVegan and other Veeps-owned music publications
・BrooklynVegan Layoffs: What Happens When the Promoter Owns the Press
*We, Prog Project, are active as a media outlet exploring the background of current "progressive" music. If you like, please check the links below and we would be very happy if you could follow us or subscribe to our channel 🙏
📺YouTube
http://youtube.com/c/progproject
📒note
http://instagram.com/prog_project/
🔗Link Collection
