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Radio chain picks up pared-down AOL music sites

Townsquare Media Group buys country, hip-hop, and metal sites -- plus a comics page for good measure -- after AOL shelved them earlier this year

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials
  • Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)
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Joan E. Solsman

Radio conglomerate Townsquare Media Group is dusting off some AOL music Web sites, plus a popular comics page, that have been skeleton operations for weeks.

The company, which operates 242 radio stations and just as many accompanying Web sites, bought music assets The Boot, The BoomBox, and NoiseCreep, and is tacking on ComicsAlliance too. Terms were undisclosed.

AOL slashed the workforce at the music sites in April. The popular comics page also appeared to be put on the shelf.

CEO Steven Price, in a statement Monday, said the property will keep pushing Townsquare's growth and scale to entice advertisers.

Townsquare currently has about 52 million monthly unique U.S. visitors to its sites, which include Taste of Country, PopCrush, ScreenCrush, and Okayplayer.

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