A little-known local startup is going for the big leagues. BandLab — a relatively obscure social music company — reached for the stars and grabbed a gas giant in the form of a 49 percent stake in Rolling Stone, one of America’s biggest publications.
This would be the first time that the magazine — founded in 1967 — admitted an outside investor. Detailed terms of the purchase weren’t disclosed, but various reports have noted that the Singapore-based company won’t be having ownership in Wenner Media LLC, Rolling Stone‘s corporate parent. That means BandLab will not have any control in the editorial side of the magazine, and will instead look into developing live events, merchandising and hospitality through a new Singapore subsidiary called Rolling Stone International.
Nearly reaching its 50th anniversary, Rolling Stone is a permanent fixture in American pop culture, with rock ‘n’ roll reporting of music, politics and pop culture. Prominent authors such as gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Cameron Crowe, Lester Bangs have had their careers launched at the magazine, while celebrated essayist David Foster Wallace and pick-up artist populariser Neil Strauss contributed to the publication as well. Currently, they have a global reach of 65 million people.
BandLab technologies, on the other hand, is a cloud platform that allows an online community to create music and collaborate with each other. Prior to the Rolling Stone stake purchase, the company acquired high-end musical instrument accessory maker MONO as well as European music-making service Composr. BandLab had even bought over Swee Lee back in 2012, making it the biggest distributor of instruments and audio equipment in Southeast Asia.
As for how the startup actually managed to make such a colossal purchase of the iconic magazine, it makes sense when you realise that BandLab’s 28-year-old CEO and co-founder Meng Ru Kuok is the son of Singaporean tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong.
The idea for a joint venture was initiated when the BandLab boss met Gus Wenner — the 26-year-old son of Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner — for dinner a year ago in Greenwich Village, New York, according to The Wall Street Journal. Wenner heads the digital side of Wenner Media, and the deal with Kuok is aimed at growing Rolling Stone‘s brand beyond mere editorial.
“Rolling Stone is pushing digital, and we’re excited to push the physical experiences around the brand,” said Kuok in an interview.
“Our strategic partnership is focused on brand extensions into new areas we haven’t quite fully been in the past, such as merchandising, live events, hospitality – they are areas we have dabbled in but never really seriously gone after,” said Wenner.
