Significant layoffs have hit four US music publications owned by Veeps, the livestreaming company majority-owned by Live Nation, raising concerns about the future of independent music journalism and its knock-on effects for the live sector.
Nearly all staff at BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver and Goldmine appear to have been let go. The cuts have drawn attention to the ownership structure behind the titles.
Veeps, co-founded by Good Charlotte’s Joe and Benji Madden and now majority-owned by Live Nation, lists all four publications as brands on its website. Privacy-policy pages for the individual sites point to Live Nation as the contact. The acquisitions were made quietly; sister company MDDN purchased Alternative Press in 2020, a deal that was later reported by local media in Cleveland.
At the time of writing, neither Veeps nor Live Nation had issued an official comment on the layoffs or the future of the publications.
The layoffs occur as specialist music websites face an existential crisis driven by artificial intelligence (AI) search overviews and algorithm updates that erode referral traffic. Shifts in online advertising spending had already strained the economics of music journalism.
BrooklynVegan and Alternative Press have long served as discovery engines for underground scenes and artists, who in turn support the grassroots live circuit. The loss of trusted, human-curated press for independent music could have repercussions for the wider live sector, including Live Nation.
