As of today, the Invisible Oranges metal blog will be run by Brooklyn Vegan. So says a statement published today at the IO site by its founder and still-owner Cosmo Lee.
According to the statement, Lee’s move was prompted by the decision of Aaron Lariviere to step down as IO’s editor and the fact that “no successors to Aaron were readily in sight”. Effective immediately, Brooklyn Vegan’s Fred Pessaro, who is responsible for BV’s metal content, will become IO’s editor-in-chief.
According to Lee, “The InvisibleOranges.com URL will stay intact” and “IO will remain a site dedicated to metal, as it should be.” However, the site will now combine Brooklyn Vegan’s own metal news content with IO’s editorial content.
From my perspective, this seems like a union that should work. Although metal has only been one part of Brooklyn Vegan’s focus, with indie rock commanding the lion’s share of the site’s musical attention, the metal content at BV has been excellent. And to get a sense of Fred Pessaro’s metal tastes, check out his personal year-end list here.
With BV’s financial backing and the synergies one might reasonably expect as a result of BV’s metal audience reach (which I would guess does not completely overlap with IO’s), IO’s audience should grow at the same time as its content expands.
Of course, it’s way too soon to see how the new editorial control will affect IO’s future direction, or the participation of its existing cadre of writers, but I’m hoping for the best and wishing the new IO nothing but success under this new arrangement.
Invisible Oranges was one of the first metal blogs I ever read on a regular basis, and although the time I now spend wet-nursing this site has cut down on how much time I can spend there (and elsewhere), it would have been painful to see it shut down — which was Lee’s original plan before the idea of a marriage with Brooklyn Vegan came to fruition.
To read Cosmo Lee’s statement in full, go HERE. And if you have reactions/thoughts about this development, please leave a comment. I’m curious whether others share my positive feelings about it — though I recognize that many of you just may not care one way or the other 🙂
2 Responses to “BROOKLYN VEGAN TAKES OVER INVISIBLE ORANGES”
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Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about this yet. On the one hand it’s great that IO didn’t just poof out of existence. But on the other I’m always wary about media consolidation, especially in metal. It’s hard enough to break in to these bigger blogs as it is. Granted IO still keeps some independence as a site, but still, same ownership.
Wow. I’m kind of surprised that the comments/readership seem generally receptive to the new move. There was much ass ravaging when Lee stepped down and the new editor started posting his content. Trying to please metalheads is an exercise in futility, but it looks like things will be off to a good start at least..