paidContent.org reports that music/social network site, Buzznet, has just purchased Idolator from Gawker Media. This comes on the heels of the recent full acquisition of Stereogum at the end of March.
I must admit, these acquisitions have caught me off guard. Last I checked, Buzznet was an emo-kid saturated Myspace wannabe. Idolator and Stereogum, though, are two of the (if not the most) most visited and credible music blogs on the internet. Having those two sites under your wing immediately makes you a major player in the online music content realm.
Buzznet insists that full editorial control will be retained by Idolator founder, Maura Johnston, and that the move will only provide more resources for the Idolator team. One always has to take such statements with a huge lick of salt though. Rarely does a parent company not exert it’s influence over an acquisition in some manner. The fact that one of Buzznet’s key investors is Interscope Records does not exactly inspire confidence either.
As long as both Stereogum and Idolator maintain their unique identities, I don’t see a huge drop off in quality or readerships. But it’s going to be mighty tempting down the line for Buzznet to tweak their breadwinners to better suit the conglomerate’s needs, rather than the individual blogs’ needs. It’s a fine line that all media groups need to walk.
Something tells me I shouldn’t be holding my breath on this one though.
Read the press release [biz.yahoo.com]