Rolling Stone Magazine is officially for sale.
Jann Wenner founded the magazine in 1967 as a 21-year-old seeking to create the biggest rock and roll publication in the world. Now, Rolling Stone Magazine is for sale as Wenner Media
— ran by Jann Wenner — expressed a desire “to best position the brand for future growth.”
The company sold 49% of the publication to BandLab Technologies a year ago, a digital music company based in Singapore. Now, it wants to sell the rest of it in order to garner the help it needs to achieve the ambitions it has set its sights on.
“Rolling Stone is a uniquely powerful brand with enormous opportunities to succeed in today’s environment,” said Gus Wenner, president and chief operating officer of Wenner Media and Jann Wenner’s son.
The move comes as online publications have been met with a growing number of regulations, including a costly libel battle for Rolling Stone Magazine, as well as some poor financial dealings in the past.
“Rolling Stone has played such a role in the history of our times, socially and politically and culturally. We want to retain that position,” Jann Wenner said, asking someone with lots of money to make a bid as that’s what the company needs.
Gus and Jann Wenner will both retain a role in the company and will be actively involved in continuing to make a difference with Rolling Stone.