Founder of Rolling Stone puts magazine up for sale

The founder of the Rolling Stone has announced plans to put his controlling stake in the 50-year old music and counterculture magazine up for sale, although no mention was made of whether the company is already in talks with potential buyers.

Jann Wenner acknowledged in an interview last week, according to The Independent, that the magazine he had nurtured for half a century would face a difficult, uncertain future on its own.

Recently, the publication had been facing a tougher business environment as the entire publishing industry adapted to a more digitally-engaged readership.

Plans to sell Rolling Stone were devised by Mr Wenner's 27-year-old son, Gus, who had pared down the assets of the parent company, Wenner Media, due to financial pressures.

However, the company still had a reach of 60m readers a month and its digital and social media footprint were still growing rapidly.

The Wenners recently sold the company's other two magazines, US weekly and Men's Journal.

They also sold a 49% stake in Rolling stone to a Singapore based music technology company, BandLab technologies.

"We have made great strides transforming Rolling Stone into a multi-platform company, and we are thrilled to find the right home to build on our strong foundation," Wenner's president and chief operating officer Gus Wenner said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of if the company was already in talks with potential buyers, although it was understood that Jann Wenner wanted to find a buyer who understood Rolling Stone and had “lots of money”.

Rolling Stone had been a fixture of music commentary and US political life for decades, but was also widely know for its iconic front covers, which were for many years had been the ultimate symbol of a music act's success and relevance.