Singapore’s BandLab buys 49 per cent stake in Rolling Stone magazine
In recent weeks, BandLab has announced itself with a bang on the Singaporean tech scene — but nothing is bigger than this
It is the most iconic music magazine in American pop culture — it boasts covers featuring legends like Jim Morrison, Tupac Shakur and John Lennon. It featured an interview with Barack Obama and an exposé of Pope Francis.
And now, a Singaporean cloud-based music company named BandLab has announced it bought at 49 per cent stake in Rolling Stone magazine.
The financial details of the deal were undisclosed and BandLab will not take a stake in the editorial portion of Rolling Stone.
The first step of the partnership plan is to create a wholly-owned subsidiary named Rolling Stone International that will be based in Singapore. The focus of the new company will be to leverage Rolling Stone‘s brand and promote international expansion through live events and merchandising.
BandLab is a cloud-based music collaboration company founded by CEO Meng Ru Kuok, 28, the third son Kuok Khoon Hong, the billionaire head of the world’s largest Palm Oil enterprise, Wilmar International.
“Rolling Stone’s impact on culture over the years has been immeasurable and I’m truly honored to be joining the team on the next phase of its journey. I look forward to working closely with Gus to take the brand bravely into the future and to realize its global potential,” said Kuok.
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The public face of the move for Rolling Stone is Gus Wenner, the 26-year-old Digital Head of Wenner Media and son of Rolling Stone Founder Jann Wenner. He said the deal was in part an effort to diversify the brand into new markets and verticals.
“We are thrilled to have found an extraordinary partner for Rolling Stone as we focus on the brand’s global expansion,” he said.
BandLab is a free cloud-based platform lets musicians share recordings, collaborate via a messaging platform leverage a tool called Tree View to go back to previous takes.
To call BandLab a pure startup would be a stretch. Rather, it is the manifestation of a shift towards technology after Kuok bought Swee Lee Music in 2012, one of Southeast Asia’s largest guitar and equipment distribution companies.
And yet, the company has announced itself on the Singaporean tech scene with a bang. In early September, the company acquired a San Francisco-based design studio MONO Creators Inc., and now it has just completed what will be one of the highest-profile M&A moves in the Lion City in 2016.
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While Rolling Stone is a household name in American culture media, it is currently recovering from one of the darkest moments in the publication’s history. The magazine published an article called, “A Rape on Campus” — a long expose on an alleged rape at the University of Virginia.
Upon scrutiny, the story fell apart and Rolling Stone retracted the article. It now faces a defamation lawsuit from the University of Virginia Associate Dean of Students Nicole Eramo.
Kuok declined to comment to the Wall Street Journal about whether or not BandLab is protected against any potential financial liabilities stemming from the case.
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