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Invisible Oranges
Invisible Oranges logo
Screenshot of Invisible Oranges' homepage
Type of site
Online magazine, music blog
Available inEnglish
FoundedSeptember 2006; 18 years ago (2006-09)
HeadquartersBrooklyn, New York,
United States
Country of originGermany
Area servedWorldwide
OwnerEnrique Abeyta
Founder(s)Cosmo Lee
Editor
  • Jon Rosenthal (editor-in-chief)
  • Ted Nubel (editor)
General managerDavid Levine
IndustryHeavy metal music
Parent
URLinvisibleoranges.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationNo
Launched6 October 2006; 18 years ago (2006-10-06)
Current statusActive

Invisible Oranges is an American online music magazine dedicated to heavy metal news, band interviews and album reviews. It was founded by Cosmo Lee in September 2006 shortly after emigrating from San Francisco, California, United States to Berlin, Germany.[1][2]

Invisible Oranges was acquired by American news company BrooklynVegan in January 2013, shifting its headquarters to Brooklyn, New York.[3] In July 2015, BrooklynVegan and its subsidiaries became affiliates of American mass media conglomerate Townsquare Media.[4][5] In January 2021, BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges were bought out by American digital media brand and e-commerce company Project M Group.[6][7]

History

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Background (2006–2012)

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Cosmo Lee started Invisible Oranges in September 2006 as a repository for his articles published by other magazines, such as PopMatters, Decibel, Stylus Magazine, and Metal Injection.[2][8] Lee had recently moved from San Francisco, California to Berlin, Germany and published all of the articles in English.[2] The website's first article was a scathing review of Voodoocult's debut Jesus Killing Machine, published on October 6, 2006.[9][10]

On September 24, 2011, after five years of running the blog, Lee stepped down as editor-in-chief of Invisible Oranges, but retained ownership of the domain.[11][12] The announcement was made six months earlier, on March 21, 2011, at which time Lee invited new writers to apply as editors and contributors.[13][14] On August 26, 2011, Lee posted a second and final recruitment offer for editors, text editors, art directors, gatekeepers, calendar managers and writers.[15][16] It was at this time that Vanessa Salvia joined as text editor, Haku Chamberlin-Bee joined as a designer and others joined the team in positions offered by Lee.[17] Lee has since gone on to become associate director of direct response at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Michael Nelson replaced Lee as editor-in-chief in September 2011 and remained in that position for the next nine months. Aaron Lariviere replaced Nelson as editor-in-chief in May 2012 but only lasted a brief eight months. Nelson and Lariviere were both contributing writers at Stereogum during their time at Invisible Oranges.[18]

Acquisition by BrooklynVegan (2012–2015)

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In December 2012, Lariviere announced his departure from Invisible Oranges, leading Lee to consider shutting down the website. Instead, BrooklynVegan writer Fred Pessaro offered to take the editor-in-chief position at Invisible Oranges. On January 4, 2013, Invisible Oranges officially joined the BrooklynVegan family as its fourth blog, behind BrooklynVegan, BV Chicago and BV Austin.[3][19] Invisible Oranges' domain name was immediately transferred from Lee to BrooklynVegan's owner and founder David Levine.

Pessaro left Invisible Oranges after only nine months as editor-in-chief, in September 2013. He has since gone on to write for Noisey and Revolver.[20][21] Doug Moore (vocalist in death metal band Pyrrhon) replaced Pessaro in September 2013 as editor-in-chief.[22][23] Moore restructured the executive department, promoting Salvia to assistant editor, Wyatt Marshall to deputy editor and adding Kelly Kettering as director of promotions.[23][24] Moore, however, only remained editor-in-chief for eight months, and like many of his former editors-in-chief, has gone on to write for Stereogum.[25]

Ian Chainey replaced Moore as editor-in-chief in April 2014 for another short eight months.[26] Joseph Schafer replaced Chainey as editor-in-chief in November 2014 and honored that position for two years and eight months; the longest time an editor-in-chief remained in that position since Lee.[27][28] Wyatt Marshall left the deputy editor position in August 2014 but the role was not taken over by anyone else; Marshall also went on to write for Stereogum.[29][30]

Acquisition by Townsquare Media (2015–2021)

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In July 2015, BrooklynVegan and its three subsidiaries (Invisible Oranges, BV Chicago and BV Austin) became affiliates of American mass media conglomerate Townsquare Media, under its division Townsquare Music.[31][32][33] At the time, Townsquare Music also owned such webzines as Consequence of Sound, Hype Machine, Ultimate Classic Rock, Loudwire, Gorilla vs. Bear and Noisecreep.[31]

Salvia and Kettering both left Invisible Oranges in February 2017, at the same time as Ian Cory and Jon Rosenthal became executives.[17][34][35] Cory acted as co-editor-in-chief, simultaneously with Schafer, until the latter's departure in July 2017; while Rosenthal was promoted to associate editor.[36] Schafer went on to write for Decibel, Noisey, Bandcamp's Bandcamp Daily column, as well as co-host The Human Instrumentality podcast with Cory.[28][37]

Andrew Rothmund became copy editor in July 2017; he was later promoted to editor-in-chief in January 2019 when Cory departed after one year and eleven months in the position.[36][38] Rothmund has since become the third longest-running editor-in-chief of Invisible Oranges, behind Lee and Schafer, holding the position for two years and three months, until his departure in March 2021.[39] Rosenthal, who had been promoted to senior editor in February 2020, became editor-in-chief in March 2021, and writer Ted Nubel was promoted to editor.[40][41][42]

Acquisition by Project M Group (2021)

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In January 2021, BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges were bought out by American digital media brand and e-commerce company Project M Group (which had previously bought out other magazines like Revolver, The Hard Times, Metal Edge, Inked and Goldmine).[43][44] Project M Group founder Enrique Abeyta became the owner of Invisible Oranges but BrooklynVegan's founder David Levine stayed on as general manager. As part of the new partnership, BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges launched a new webstore selling vinyl records, band shirts and apparel, as well as toys and collectibles.[45] The stores are identical across BrooklynVegan, Invisible Oranges, Revolver, The Hard Times, Metal Edge, Inked and Goldmine, with content controlled and curated by Project M Group.[45][46][47]

References

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  1. ^ Sperry-Fromm, Rob (September 16, 2016). "Invisible Oranges turns 10, posting greatest hits". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Lee, Cosmo (March 15, 2012). "The Roots of Invisible Oranges". Cryogenic Husk. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Neilstein, Vince (January 4, 2013). "Brooklyn Vegan is Taking Over InvisibleOranges.com". MetalSucks. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  4. ^ "National Media & Premium Music Properties". Townsquare Media. September 20, 2015. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Yenicay, Claire (April 26, 2016). "Townsquare Announces Conference Call to Discuss First Quarter 2016 Results". Business Wire. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Welch, James (April 29, 2021). "Meet Project M's New Brand, BrooklynVegan". Wefunder. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Levine, David (January 4, 2021). "BrooklynVegan launches a record, shirt & toy store!". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  8. ^ "Invisible Oranges". Myspace. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on August 27, 2007. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  9. ^ Lee, Cosmo (October 6, 2006). "Voodoocult - Jesus Killing Machine". Invisible Oranges. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Invisible Oranges". Invisible Oranges. October 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ^ Lee, Cosmo (January 4, 2013). "Invisible Oranges unites with Brooklyn Vegan". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  12. ^ Schafer, Joseph (September 16, 2016). "Interview: Cosmo Lee (Invisible Oranges)". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  13. ^ Neilstein, Vince (March 23, 2011). "Invisible Oranges No More". MetalSucks. Archived from the original on March 25, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Lee, Cosmo (March 21, 2011). "Community, come together". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Archived from the original on March 25, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  15. ^ Smoljak, Kay (September 24, 2011). "Now it's time to say farewell... to Cosmo Lee". Enter the Goatlady. Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Lee, Cosmo (August 26, 2011). "Seeking good men and women". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Horsley, Jonathan (March 3, 2014). "Interview: Rick Duncan of Portland bass-and-drum duo Towers talks weird sounds, perfectionism and practice room magic". Decibel. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  18. ^ Islander (December 9, 2019). "Stereogum's List of the Best Metal Albums of 2019". No Clean Singing. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Islander (January 4, 2013). "Brooklyn Vegan Takes Over Invisible Oranges". No Clean Singing. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  20. ^ Pessaro, Fred (December 11, 2018). "Fred Pessaro's favorite albums of 2018". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  21. ^ Hill, Mike (September 7, 2016). "Podcast 118 : Fred Pessaro (CLRVYNT) & Justin Pearson (Retox / The Locust / Dead Cross / Head Wound City)". Everything Went Black Podcast. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  22. ^ Shotwell, James (February 10, 2014). "Blogger Spotlight: Doug Moore (Invisible Oranges)". Haulix Daily. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Contact". Invisible Oranges. September 28, 2013. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  24. ^ Norton, Justin (June 16, 2015). "The Deciblog Interview: Doug Moore (Pyrrhon)". Decibel. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  25. ^ "Doug Moore - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  26. ^ "Contact". Invisible Oranges. May 22, 2014. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  27. ^ "Contact". Invisible Oranges. November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 20, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  28. ^ a b Islander (January 12, 2021). "Joseph Schafer's Top Albums of 2020". No Clean Singing. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  29. ^ "Invisible Oranges presents East Village Radio special". BrooklynVegan. May 6, 2013. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  30. ^ "Listmania Continues: Stereogum's Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012". No Clean Singing. December 12, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  31. ^ a b "National Media & Premium Music Properties". Townsquare Media. September 20, 2015. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  32. ^ Levine, David (July 6, 2015). "About Us". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  33. ^ Pepple, Rolf (December 12, 2017). "Townsquare Media Rochester Is Hiring!". KROC-FM. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  34. ^ "Ulla – My Year 2013 In Review". Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  35. ^ "Outer Heaven shares "That Which Was Taken"". Ghettoblaster Magazine. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  36. ^ a b "Contact". Invisible Oranges. July 26, 2017. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  37. ^ "ABOUT — The Human Instrumentality Podcast". instrumentalitypod.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  38. ^ "Invisible Oranges Editor-In-Chief | Andrew Rothmund". Super Metal World. 2020-04-10. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  39. ^ "Dumb and Dumbest Podcast #162: Invisible Oranges' Andrew Rothmund on the State of Music Journalism". Ghost Cult Magazine. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  40. ^ "Contact". Invisible Oranges. February 18, 2020. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  41. ^ Julien, Alexandre (September 10, 2020). "Vision Eternel's For Farewell Of Nostalgia Premieres On Invisible Oranges". Abridged Pause Blog. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  42. ^ "Contact". Invisible Oranges. April 14, 2021. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  43. ^ Welch, James (April 29, 2021). "Meet Project M's New Brand, BrooklynVegan". Wefunder. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  44. ^ Concrete, Bob (August 3, 2021). "Project M Acquires Vinyl Plant". Concrete. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  45. ^ a b Levine, David (January 4, 2021). "BrooklynVegan launches a record, shirt & toy store!". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  46. ^ Krgin, Borivoj (May 1, 2017). "Revolver Magazine Sold To Digital Media Company Project M Group; Brand Relaunch Planned For This Fall". Blabbermouth. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  47. ^ Abeyta, Enrique. "Project M: #1 E-commerce platform for tattoo and heavy metal lifestyles". Project M on Wefunder. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
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