Charles Aaron Biography
Charles Aaron is a U.S. music journalist and editor, formerly for Spin magazine, where he worked for 23 years. He was born in Rockingham, North Carolina but resides in Durham, North Carolina.
Charles Aaron Age
Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, though his exact birth date and day are not known yet.
Charles Aaron Early Life|Charles Aaron Family
Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia. Information about his family is still under review.
He attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and graduated in 1985.
Charles Aaron Wife
He is married to his wife Tristin. Together they have a son. He and his family lived in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, but later moved to Durham, North Carolina, after leaving Spin magazine.
Charles Aaron Career
In 1985, after graduation, Aaron began his journalism career at AdWeek and Sassy magazines. Before working full-time for Spin magazine, he was a freelance music journalist at the magazine and for other publications like Rolling Stone, Village Voice, and Vibe.
In 1985, Spin, an alternative music magazine was launched. Aaron began as a contributor to Spin magazine around 1991 while the hip hop music genre was becoming popular with white audiences. In one article, he refers to himself as a “white hip-hopper” and says over time he wrote many articles for the magazine in appreciation of the genre.
In 1993, he wrote his first feature about Snoop Dogg’s father for the magazine and in 1996, he joined Spin magazine. He moved into his music editor roles with the magazine in 1998 and 2002. In 2011, Aaron was promoted to editorial director. BuzzMedia (now SpinMedia) took over the magazine 2011 making staff cuts and changes. That same year Spin transformed itself from 11 printed issues per year to a greater digital presence but with almost half the printed issues. In 2013, he became an editor at large and had his last issue with Spin magazine was on February 2014.
Notable works of journalism
The article “Remembering Notorious B.I.G.” was reprinted in the March 2010 issue of Spin, for which Aaron received an award.
On February 2014, on his last issue Spin reprinted what was considered some of his best music journalism, including “‘Sir Real'” from 1993 about Snoop Doggy Dogg.
As editorial director, Aaron managed the use of apps that would allow the audience to listen to artists while reading about them or to remix dance songs using app tools.
Awards
In 2000, Aaron and Sia Michel, both of Spin, were presented with the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for their coverage of Notorious B.I.G.’s career, which appeared in the magazine’s January 1998 issue.
In 2000, he won a National Arts Journalism Fellowship from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Later in 2012, The American Society of Magazine Editors named Spin’s tablet version a finalist or its Ellie Awards.
Influence
Amanda Petrusich, a music critic, says she was influenced by Aaron’s music journalism for Spin magazine.
In popular culture
Aaron was widely speculated to be the alleged author behind “The Rock Critical List”, which appeared online in February 1999. While he denied authorship and there was no credible evidence linking him to authorship, the list was believed to have been written by an insider.
Currently, he is a contributing writer for MTV News.
Charles Aaron Net Worth
He is a music journalist and editor whose net worth is still under review.
Charles Aaron Spin Magazine
He was the music editor of ‘Spin’ magazine for 10 years, then later served as editorial director of SpinMedia. He now lives and writes in Durham, North Carolina.