International Licensing
Proposal Package
BRIEF HISTORY OF ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
Rolling Stone was founded by Jann S. Wenner in 1967 in a second-floor loft above a small print shop in San Francisco. Armed with $7,500 and a keen view of the era's whirlwind of culture, politics and music, Wenner targeted the interests of America's increasingly vocal youth with a publication that spoke to – and for – an entire generation. The premiere issue – dated November 9, 1967 – featured John Lennon on the cover and contained 24 pages (with 7 advertising pages). Forty thousand copies were printed and distributed in the San Francisco Bay Area. A total of 5,000 copies were sold at the cover price of twenty-five cents. From 1967 to 1972, Rolling Stone was printed in black and white with the occasional use of two-color printing. In February 1973, four-color printing was introduced.
Rolling Stone chronicled the generational upheaval in America in the late Sixties and early Seventies like no other publication. Within a few years of its debut, Rolling Stone
assembled a legendary writing and reporting staff that included Hunter S. Thompson, Joe Eszterhas, Tim Cahill, Jonathan Cott, Tim Crouse, David Felton, Ben Fong-Torres, Howard Kohn and Michael Rogers. Rolling Stone was founded with an editorial mission to be “not just about music, but the things and attitudes that music embraces.” It is this spirit that has allowed the magazine to grow and shape with the times for over 40 years, following and reporting on youth culture’s ever shifting political and social values as reflected in popular music.
Rolling Stone has earned over 50 National Magazine Award Nominations and 14 wins since its inception. In 2007, the magazine won the coveted General Excellence award and in 2008 the magazine brought home the award for Columns & Commentary for three signature political pieces by Matt Taibbi, a young RS protégé who has picked up the torch of gonzo journalism lit by one Hunter S. Thompson. Another achievement of note: in 1997, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner was the youngest-ever inductee into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame.
In addition to its biweekly magazine, Rolling Stone has produced several books
throughout its history. Recent titles include: The Rolling Stone Interviews (2007); Gonzo
(2007); Rolling Stone: The 1,000 Covers (2006); Cash (2004); Harrison (2002);and
Tattoo Nation (2002) amongst many others.
Rolling Stone is published biweekly and is circulated throughout the United States and Canada, as well as most English speaking countries.It also produces, under license and published monthly, international editions of the magazine in Australia, Germany, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, India,
Throughout his career, Wenner has demonstrated an intuitive understanding of the changing interests of his readers. In 1977, he founded Outside, America’s first
contemporary outdoor magazine, selling the title two years later to another publisher. In 1985, Wenner purchased US magazine, and repositioned the monthly publication as “USThe Entertainment Magazine,” a cutting-edge source, featuring intimate celebrity interviews with award-winning journalists, and lush portfolios by esteemed
photographers. In 2000, US was relaunched as a weekly, and quickly established itself as the ultimate authority in celebrity journalism, and it currently reaches over 11.2 million readers a week.
Wenner launched Men’s Journal in April 1992, targeting active men interested in sports travel and adventure. The magazine has been nominated for 14 National Magazine Awards, including wins for General Excellence in 1995, Personal Service in 1998 and Best Sports Writing in 2005. Today, Men’s Journal’s reaches a readership of 3.3 million. In addition to Rolling Stone, Outside, Us Weekly and Men’s Journal, Wenner also
founded Family Life in 1993, which was later sold to another publisher. Wenner’s three current titles, Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, & Men’s Journal are published under Wenner Media LLC, which is a privately held company headquartered in New York City. With 27 million readers of his company’s three titles, plus over 22 million visits and 12 million unique visitors to his company websites, Wenner remains at the forefront of American journalism, four decades after the start of his extraordinary career. In March 2004, Wenner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for lifetime
achievement.
In addition to his publishing work, Wenner devotes himself to numerous important causes, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, of which he is the
chairman. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is a 24-year-old nonprofit organization that oversees the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio and each year honors artists and industry professionals who have made lasting contributions to contemporary music. Wenner continues to co-produce the annual induction dinner each year, one of the music industry’s most noteworthy events. In September of 1995, Wenner presided over the opening of the stunning, $100 million Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, designed by world-renowned architect I.M. Pei. The ultimate shrine to rock & roll, the museum had over one million visitors in its first year and continues to welcome visitors from all 50 states and over 100 countries around the world.
Rolling Stone
License Agreement Overview
Editorial
· Local publisher must carry a minimum of 50% editorial material from Rolling Stone
USA edition. Local publisher may utilize locally created text and photos.
· Local publisher must adhere to Rolling Stone editorial standards.
· Rolling Stone material is provided via secured FTP site, as well as hardcopy.
· Approximately 50% of photographs are available for free international use, including covers. Exclusive rights for 120-180 days.
· Approximately 95% of text is available for free international use (licensee translates). Exclusive rights for 120 days. Non-exclusive after 120 days.
· Rolling Stone provides upcoming cover information, editorial line-ups, as well as editorial support for any specific queries from international editors.
· Rolling Stone provides assistance with photo fee negotiations where agencies are unreachable due to time zone differences.
· Rolling Stone provides samples of USA promotional materials, media kits, etc.
Commercial
· Minimum Guarantee Required: Used as an advance against future fees and royalties.
· Fees: Monthly Fee.
· Ad Royalty: Based on gross advertising revenue.
· Circulation Royalty: Based on cover price per copy sold.
· Advertising and other revenue from any commercial companion websites: To be discussed.
· Billing Cycle: Quarterly.
Rolling Stone
Licensing Timeline*:
(1) Send samples of your current publications (2) Send business plan for review
(3) Visit to NY by business contact (+ editor, if available) to meet RS USA staff (4) RS to send draft of license agreement for review
(5) Deposit advance to be received by RS
(6) Send dummy issue, including sample layouts and covers (7) Send launch plan for review
(8) Visit to NY by Editor, Art Director & Photo Editor to meet with RS USA staff (9) Finalize license agreement negotiations
(10) Sign license agreement (11) Publish
BUSINESS PLAN PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Dear Publisher:Thank you for showing interest in publishing ROLLING STONE in your market. Please complete this Business Plan Proposal as thoroughly as possible. Also, please make certain that the financial information you provide in this proposal is
consistent with the financial information you provide/input in your forecast template (Excel file).
Once completed and finalized, please submit your Business Plan Proposal and Forecast Template via email to me at [email protected]. Please also send the following via post:
1) copies of your current publications, if any (one of each publication); 2) copies of the competitive titles to ROLLING STONE in your market (one
copy of each publication, even if it doesn’t directly compete); 3) copies of original titles in your market (only one or two); and 4) copies of licensed titles in your market, if any (only two or three). Please send these magazines to:
Maureen Lamberti
Licensing & Business Affairs Director Rolling Stone LLC
1290 Avenue of the Americas, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10104
USA
Tel: +1-212-484-3453
If you have any questions, please contact me via email or phone. I look forward to reviewing your proposal.
Thank you. Best regards,
