Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the future of the iconic US Rolling Stone magazine is up in the air after its founder, Jann Wenner, announced he will be putting his stake of the company up for sale.
As New York Times reports, the 71-year-old will step away after founding the magazine in 1967.
"I love my job, I enjoy it, I've enjoyed it for a long time," Wenner, said, adding that decision is "just the smart thing to do".
The news comes after Wenner and his son, Gus, sold a 49% stake in Rolling Stone to Singapore-based music technology company, BandLab Technologies last year, as well as Wenner Media's two other magazines, Us Weekly and Men's Journal.
The Wenners have stated their intention to stay on at the company, though they acknowledged that decision will be the new owner's to make.
Music critic and longtime Rolling Stone contributing editor, Anthony DeCurtis, said he was surprised by Wenner's call.
"That sense of the magazine editor’s hands on the magazine — that's what's going to get lost here," DeCurtis said.
"I don’t know who's going to be able to step in and do that anymore."
Wenner added, "I think it's time for young people to run it.
"It's what we need to do as a business. It's what we need to do to grow the brand."
Comments