After 50 years Wenner Media has decided to sale its controlling stake in Rolling Stone Magazine. The magazine, that was founded in 1967 by Jan Wenner and Ralph Gleason, became a staple of music and pop culture. Today Rolling Stone magazine reaches 60 million readers worldwide each month, and it has an expanding digital and social media footprint. Although this may come as a shock, there were signs of changes coming to Wenner Media. The company had already sold its US Weekly and Men’s Journal publications to American Media earlier this year.
Wenner, like many other traditional publishing companies have been struggling with the move towards digital. Last year it sold off a 49% stake in the magazine to BandLab Technologies based in Singapore. At the time, the transaction was said to be nothing more than a strategic move to promote further growth and success. This is nothing new for the industry, many traditional print media companies have made drastic changes to find success in today’s internet driven world. Due to the immediacy that the internet provides, many print media firms have expanded their digital and social media content. Big names like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have made great strides with their online publications, many of which now have minute to minute coverage online when major news is breaking.
However, it is not just print media that has been affected by emerging technologies. Increasingly we see that new technologies are changing the way many companies are doing business. Automation has pushed companies to be more efficient, but many can’t keep up. New technologies will eventually change the way you run your own business, will you be ready for the change, or will you be left in the dust?
Leave a Comment