Variety parent company Penske Media and sister brand Rolling Stone have acquired a majority interest in the Life Is Beautiful music festival.
Founded in 2013 by the late Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos, Life Is Beautiful is an annual music and arts festival in Las Vegas, Nev. Its most recent installment in 2021 boasted Billie Eilish, Green Day and Tame Impala as headliners and drew over 170,000 attendees. The festival was part of Hsieh’s vision to transform downtown Las Vegas, and since its founding the event has brought in over $350 million to the city.
“Live events are an integral part of Rolling Stone’s future and Life Is Beautiful is an incredible platform to realize this vision. Coupled with our significant digital scale and deep journalism, there are infinite possibilities to grow Life Is Beautiful in unique and impactful ways,” said Rolling Stone CEO Gus Wenner. “I am grateful to have worked with Tony on this partnership and am proud to have Rolling Stone help carry forward his mission.”
Hsieh’s father, Richard Hsieh, said in a statement: “Tony understood that his ability to change people’s lives was magnified exponentially by his ability to bring smart, motivated, people-focused entrepreneurs together. The Life Is Beautiful festival is one of the greatest manifestations of Tony’s desire to bring people together.”
Rolling Stone and Penske Media plan to “expand Life Is Beautiful into new territories and broaden its digital footprint,” according to a press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to realize the potential of Life Is Beautiful in partnership with Rolling Stone,” said David Oehm, CEO of Life Is Beautiful. “As a landmark institution and touchstone of the music industry for over 50 years, the Rolling Stone team will help to deepen our connection to fans of music everywhere, while also championing the cultural initiatives that make Life Is Beautiful so much more than a music festival.”
In addition to Rolling Stone, PMC is the parent company of Variety, Deadline, SXSW, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, WWD, SHE Media, Robb Report, Sportico, BGR, ARTnews, Art in America, Fairchild Media and Spy.com, among many others.