Singapore firm buys Rolling Stone stake

After a five-decade run of interviews with pop stars and presidents, the founder of Rolling Stone is selling 49 percent of the magazine to an Asian billionaire’s son.

It’s the first time Jann Wenner has admitted an outside investor, a deal that encapsulates the plight of an industry fighting to stay relevant in an online age. The magazine’s parent company, Wenner Media LLC, also owns Us Weekly and Men’s Journal.

Founded in 1967, Rolling Stone became a fixture of American pop culture, helping launch the careers of writers and creative artists over almost 50 years. But like many of its peers, the magazine has steadily lost advertising and readership. In 2014, Wenner had his son Gus devise a digital strategy.

The new investor is Singapore-based BandLab Technologies, a digital music company founded by the 28-year-old scion of one of Asia’s richest families, Kuok Meng Ru.

AP/The Greenfield Recorder/MATT BURKHARTT Emergency personnel respond to a house fire Sunday in Greenfield, Mass. Authorities say three adults and one child died in the early-morning fire, which was under investigation.