Battle For Control of Source Hip Hop Magazine

The long battle over Hip-Hop Music Magazine The Source may finally be over.
The state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the magazine’s investor, Black Enterprise/Greenwich Street Corporate Growth Partners, which last month took control of the magazine from its founder David Mays and its president, Ray “Benzino” Scott.

The Source has had problems with both circulation and advertising in recent years. (Including subscriptions supposedly signed up for through their internet site which never become subscriptions as we found out when we tried to sign up)

David Mays began losing his grip on the magazine after defaulting on an $18 million loan from Textron Financial Corp. last year. The court denied Mays’ demand that he be reinstated at the magazine, citing the Greenwich Street fund’s right to take control of The Source if he defaulted on his debt. That ruling opens the door for the Greenwich Street group to buy Mr. Mays’ shares in The Source, which now belongs to Textron. “He has the right to go to trial, but it would be a moot point by the time he did, because his shares will be gone,” said Jeremy Miller, the new chief executive of The Source. The magazine remains viable, according to Jeremy Miller. Its problems stemmed from mismanagement and from Mays’ and Benzino’s feuds with artists and record labels [especially the Eminem, Interscope/Shaddyville beef] that led to a widespread loss of advertising. “We’re on a mission to win back both readers and advertisers,” Mr. Miller said. “We’re going to cover the hip-hop scene from a neutral but still hard-hitting point of view.”