Penske Media Corporation, owner of Variety and Rolling Stone, announced today a strategic investment in the British trade publication Music Business Worldwide, which first entered into a global content partnership with Rolling Stone and PMC in November 2018.
With the addition of MBW to PMC’s family of brands, PMC will further leverage MBW’s expert business to business coverage of the music industry by enabling MBW to collaborate more closely with PMC’s portfolio of 19 media brands, particularly Rolling Stone, PMC’s music analytics platform Alpha Data, and Variety.com. The deal expands PMC’s investment in the music business, with the combination of MBW’s editorial voice and Alpha Data’s analytics providing deeper insights and breadth of analysis.
MBW Founder and Publisher Tim Ingham said, “Five years into MBW’s story, we are confident that in PMC we have found the perfect partner with which to join forces. PMC’s brands, content and people are defined by quality, with the power to lead industry conversations across entertainment. MBW is excited to work closely with Alpha Data to generate must-read industry insights, and we look forward to building on our alliance with Rolling Stone, exploring further strategic opportunities that bring tangible value to the music business.”
Since its founding in 2015, the London-based MBW has become a leading voice on the British and global music industries via news and in-depth analysis. This more comprehensive partnership with PMC paves the way to launch innovative content and revenue models.
“We continue to be impressed with Tim and MBW’s strong relationships and expertise in covering the business of music,” said PMC Chairman and CEO Jay Penske. “In particular, Tim and his talented team have tapped into a top tier global audience with quality well above and beyond offerings by competitors. We see significant potential in what we will build together.”
PMC made a strategic investment in state-of-the-art music analytics service Alpha Data in 2018 and in 2019 launched the Rolling Stone Charts powered by Alpha Data, customized for specific content verticals that incorporate digital and physical sales as well as on-demand streaming activity.
In December 2017 Rolling Stone joined PMC, and the iconic brand has since relaunched with a revamped print magazine, modernized website, innovative live events schedule and larger roster of editorial talent. As it has done for 50 years, the publication continues to deliver premium storytelling across music, entertainment and politics, enhanced by continued and thoughtful investment by PMC.