Vinyl declines to confirm print future of Rolling Stone Australia
The publisher of Rolling Stone Australia has declined to comment on the future of the masthead’s quarterly print edition after the company decided not to publish the September edition.
Vinyl Group, which licences Rolling Stone from the US-based Penske Media Corporation, was asked by Mumbrella to confirm whether the September edition has been axed, and whether this signalled an intention to stop printing the magazine altogether.
Aussie punk act Amyl and the Sniffers made the March cover
Although the company did not directly answer the question, a spokesman responded with a statement which seemed to signal a digital-only future for the title:
“As the licensee of the greatest culture magazine in the world, Vinyl Group is deeply committed to the future of Rolling Stone in the AUS/NZ market.
“Since taking over the license from The Brag Media and renewing it earlier this year, we’ve grown views of Rolling Stone AU/NZ properties by more than 2,500%, and we’re now focused on strengthening both the business and its editorial direction.”
The company did not say from what base the 2,500% increase in views came from, or what the actual number of views of the Rolling Stone Australia website is. The spokesman did not respond to follow-up emails and calls asking for further clarification.
Rolling Stone is currently still selling subscriptions to four quarterly print issues per year for $69.95.
The magazine has passed through multiple licensees over its 55+ years on Australian newsstands.
It launched in 1970 as a supplement in magazine Revolution, through a partnership between Revolution publisher Phillip Frazer and Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner. In 1972, it was launched as its own property, published fortnightly. It then changed hands in 1975, relocating from Melbourne to Sydney, before shifting to a monthly edition in 1980. 1987 saw it change hands again, and again in 1992, before it celebrated its 25th year in 1998.
A deal in 2008, which saw publisher Next Media purchased by Worseley Media, handed Rolling Stone Australia to ACP Magazines, where the title was relaunched. In 2012, when ACP was acquired by Bauer Media Group, Paper Riot acquired the title, before going into administration in 2018, resulting in the end of the publication.
At the beginning of 2019, it was announced Rolling Stone would return to the market, with Brag Media chosen as the local partner. Brag Media was acquired by Vinyl Group 18 months ago. The aftermath of the sale is now subject to a bitter legal case from former Brag owners Luke Girgis and Sam Benjamin against Vinyl Group.
Rolling Stone was the only title in the Vinyl Media portfolio with a print component.
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Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large. He returned to Mumbrella as Publisher in January 2025
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Watch all the typical media industry types who’ve never bought an issue or any advertising space opine and eulogise the loss of a cultural icon like Rolling Stone magazine when it inevitably ceases to exist.
The same way they do with all independent media.
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