Vox Media Will No Longer License Chorus, Its CMS Software

The digital media company Vox Media, which houses editorial titles including Vox, New York Magazine and Thrillist, is discontinuing its business of licensing its content management system, Chorus, to publishers, Adweek has learned.

Chorus, which has six clients currently, will no longer take on new customers and will not renew its existing contracts, according to a person familiar with the business. Current clients will have 18 months to migrate off of the platform.

“Vox Media has made the decision to wind down our Chorus SaaS business to better focus our company’s resources on supporting our industry-leading editorial brands, and where we see opportunities for immediate and long term growth,” said a spokesperson for Vox Media. 

“We are incredibly proud of what we built with the business, and are working closely with current customers of the SaaS business to migrate off of Chorus. Chorus will continue to power a number of our editorial brands, as well as partnerships.”

Vox Media developed Chorus to serve as its internal CMS in 2008 and began licensing it externally in July 2018, charging between six and seven-figure annual fees for use of the proprietary software. 

By licensing Chorus, Vox Media sought to create another line of recurring revenue and reduce its reliance on advertising. It joined a number of other publishers, including The Washington Post, in its attempt to use its engineering capabilities to create software-as-a-service products for the media industry.

But softening demand in the advertising ecosystem has forced publishers to reevaluate their business strategies, prompting layoffs and other measures intended to reduce expenses. On Wednesday, The Washington Post announced its plan to stop operating its advertising technology product, Zeus Prime, as a standalone business. 

The publisher has no plans to spin off Chorus or shutter the technology, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

Instead, Vox Media will continue to use the platform to support its owned and operated titles, but the decision to discontinue licensing will free up resources for the publisher to focus on higher return-on-investment initiatives.

The media company still operates a number of proprietary technology products, including its first-party platform Forte and its premium advertising marketplace Concert.