The magazine was first known for its coverage ofrock music and political reporting byHunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music.[2] It has since returned to its traditional mix of content, including music, entertainment, and politics.
The first magazine was released in 1967 and featuredJohn Lennon on the cover, and was then published every two weeks. It is known for provocativephotography and its cover photos, featuring musicians, politicians, athletes, and actors. In addition to its print version in the United States, it publishes content through Rollingstone.com and numerous international editions.
The magazine experienced a rapid rise during the 1970s, followed by a sharp decline into financial turmoil in the 21st century,[3] leading Jann Wenner to sell 49 percent of the magazine toBandLab Technologies in 2016 and 51 percent toPenske Media Corporation (PMC) in 2017.[4][5] PMC eventually acquired the 49 percent stake from BandLab Technologies in 2019, giving it full ownership of the magazine.[6]
Rolling Stone was founded inSan Francisco in 1967 byJann Wenner andRalph J. Gleason.[7] To pay for the setup costs, Wenner borrowed $7,500 (equivalent to $71,000 in 2024[8]) from his family and the parents of his soon-to-be wife, Jane Schindelheim.[9] The first issue was released on November 9, 1967, and featuredJohn Lennon in costume for the filmHow I Won the War on the cover. It was in newspaper format with a lead article on theMonterey International Pop Festival.[10] The cover price was 25¢ (equivalent to $2.27 in 2023) and it was published bi-weekly.
In the first issue,[11] Wenner explained the magazine's title and mission:
You're probably wondering what we're trying to do. It's hard to say: sort of a magazine and sort of a newspaper. The name of it isRolling Stone, which comes from an old saying, "A rolling stone gathers no moss."Muddy Waters used the name for asong he wrote.The Rolling Stones took their name from Muddy's song.Like a Rolling Stone was the title ofBob Dylan's first rock and roll record. We have begun a new publication reflecting what we see are the changes in rock and roll and the changes related to rock and roll.[12][13]
Some authors have attributed the name solely to Dylan's hit single: "At [Ralph] Gleason's suggestion, Wenner named his magazine after a Bob Dylan song."[14]
Rolling Stone initially identified with and reported thehippiecounterculture ofthe era. It distanced itself, however, from the underground newspapers of the time, such as theBerkeley Barb, embracing more traditional journalistic standards and avoiding the radical politics of theunderground press. In the first edition, Wenner wrote thatRolling Stone "is not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces".[15] In a 2017 article celebrating the publication's 50th anniversary,Rolling Stone'sDavid Browne stated that the magazine's name was a nod to the Rolling Stones in an addition to "Rollin' Stone" and "Like a Rolling Stone".[16]
In the 1970s,Rolling Stone began to make a mark with its political coverage, with the likes ofgonzo journalistHunter S. Thompson writing for the magazine's political section. Thompson first published his most famous work,Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971), within the pages ofRolling Stone, where he remained a contributing editor until his death in 2005.[19] In the 1970s, the magazine also helped launch the careers of many prominent authors, includingCameron Crowe,Lester Bangs,Joe Klein,Joe Eszterhas,Ben Fong-Torres,Patti Smith andP. J. O'Rourke. It was at this point that the magazine ran some of its most famous stories. The January 21, 1970, issue covered theAltamont Free Concert and thekilling of Meredith Hunter, which won aSpecialized Journalism award at theNational Magazine Awards in 1971.[20] Later in 1970,Rolling Stone published a 30,000-word feature onCharles Manson byDavid Dalton and David Felton, including their interview of Manson when he was in the L.A. County Jail awaiting trial, which wonRolling Stone its first National Magazine Award.[21] Four years later, they also covered thePatty Hearst abduction odyssey. One interviewer, speaking for many of his peers, said that he bought his first copy of the magazine upon initial arrival on his college campus, describing it as a "rite of passage".[2]
In 1972, Wenner assignedTom Wolfe to cover the launch ofNASA's last Moon mission,Apollo 17. He published a four-part series in 1973 titled "Post-Orbital Remorse", about the depression that some astronauts experienced after having been in space. After the series, Wolfe began researching the whole of the space program, in what became a seven-year project from which he took time to writeThe Painted Word (1975), a book on art, and to completeMauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine (1976), a collection of shorter pieces[22] and eventuallyThe Right Stuff (1979).
The magazine began running the photographs ofAnnie Leibovitz in 1970. In 1973, she became its chief photographer, and her images appeared on more than 140 covers.Rolling Stone recruited writers from smaller music magazines, includingPaul Nelson fromSing Out!, who became record reviews editor from 1978 to 1983, andDave Marsh fromCreem.[23] In 1977, the magazine moved its headquarters fromSan Francisco toNew York City. EditorJann Wenner said that San Francisco had become "a cultural backwater".[24]
Kurt Loder joinedRolling Stone in May 1979 and spent nine years there, including as editor.Timothy White joined as a writer fromCrawdaddy andDavid Fricke fromMusician.[23] Tom Wolfe wrote to Wenner to propose an idea drawn fromCharles Dickens andWilliam Makepeace Thackeray: to serialize a novel. Wenner offered Wolfe around $200,000 to serialize his work.[25] The frequent deadline pressure gave Wolfe the motivation he had sought, and from July 1984 to August 1985, he published a new installment in each biweekly issue ofRolling Stone. Later Wolfe was unhappy with his "very public first draft"[26] and thoroughly revised his work, even changing his protagonist, Sherman McCoy, and published it asThe Bonfire of the Vanities in 1987.
Rolling Stone was known for its musical coverage and for Thompson's political reporting and in 1985, they hired an advertising agency to refocus its image under the series "Perception/Reality" comparing Sixties symbols to those of the Eighties, which led to an increase in advertising revenue and pages.[27] It also shifted to more of an entertainment magazine in the 1980s. It still had music as the main topic but began to increase its coverage of celebrities, films, and pop culture. It also began releasing its annual "Hot Issue".[28] In the 1990s, the magazine changed its format to appeal to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. This led to criticism that the magazine was emphasizing style over substance.[2][3]
After years of declining readership, the magazine experienced a major resurgence of interest and relevance with the work of two young journalists in the late 2000s,Michael Hastings andMatt Taibbi.[citation needed]Rob Sheffield also joined fromSpin.[23] In 2005,Dana Leslie Fields, former publisher ofRolling Stone, who had worked at the magazine for 17 years, was an inaugural inductee into the Magazine Hall of Fame.[29] In 2009, Taibbi unleashed an acclaimed series of scathing reports on the financial meltdown of the time. He famously describedGoldman Sachs as "a greatvampire squid".[30]
In December 2009, theLos Angeles Times reported that the owners ofRolling Stone magazine planned to open aRolling Stone restaurant in theHollywood & Highland Center inHollywood in the spring of 2010.[31] The expectation was that the restaurant could become the first of a national chain if it was successful.[32] As of November 2010, the "soft opening" of the restaurant was planned for December 2010.[33] In 2011, the restaurant was open for lunch and dinner as well as a full night club downstairs on the weekends.[34] The restaurant closed in February 2013.[35]
Bigger headlines came at the end of June 2010.Rolling Stone caused a controversy in theWhite House by publishing in the July issue an article by journalistMichael Hastings entitled "The Runaway General",[36] quoting criticism by GeneralStanley A. McChrystal, commander of theInternational Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan commander, about Vice PresidentJoe Biden and other Administration members of the White House. McChrystal resigned from his position shortly after his statements went public.[37][38][39][40] In 2010, Taibbi documented illegal and fraudulent actions by banks in the foreclosure courts, after traveling toJacksonville, Florida and sitting in on hearings in the courtroom. His article, "Invasion of the Home Snatchers", also documented attempts by the judge to intimidate a homeowner fighting foreclosure and the attorney Taibbi accompanied into the court.[41][42]
In January 2012, the magazine ran exclusive excerpts from Hastings' book just prior to publication.[43] The book,The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan, provided a much more expansive look at McChrystal and the culture of senior American military and how they become embroiled in such wars. The book reachedAmazon.com's bestseller list in the first 48 hours of release, and it received generally favorable reviews.Salon'sGlenn Greenwald described it as "superb", "brave" and "eye-opening".[44] In 2012, Taibbi, through his coverage of theLibor scandal,[45] emerged as an expert on that topic, which led to media appearances outsideRolling Stone.[46][47] On November 9, 2012, the magazine published its first Spanish-language section on Latino music and culture, in the issue dated November 22.[48][49]
In September 2016,Advertising Age reported that Wenner was in the process of selling a 49% stake of the magazine to a company from Singapore calledBandLab Technologies. The new investor had no direct involvement in the editorial content of the magazine.[50]
In September 2017, Wenner Media announced that the remaining 51% ofRolling Stone magazine was up for sale.[51] In December 2017,Penske Media acquired the remaining stake from Wenner Media.[52] It became a monthly magazine from the July 2018 issue. On January 31, 2019, Penske acquired BandLab's 49% stake inRolling Stone, gaining full ownership of the magazine.[53]
In January 2021, a Chinese edition of the magazine was launched,[54] while in September 2021,Rolling Stone launched a dedicated UK edition in conjunction withAttitude magazine publisher Stream Publishing.[55] The new BritishRolling Stone launched into a marketplace which already featured titles likeMojo and BandLab Technologies's monthly music magazineUncut.[56][57][58] The first issue had a choice of three cover stars (including music acts Bastille and Sam Fender, as well asNo Time To Die actor Lashana Lynch), with the magazine due to be a bi-monthly publication.
In February 2022, Rolling Stone announced the acquisition ofLife Is Beautiful, saying, "Live events are an integral part of Rolling Stone's future."[59]
In 2023Rolling Stone was nominated for its first-everEmmy award in the "Outstanding Interactive Media" category for its investigation into "The DJ and the War Crimes".[60] The piece also won aNational Magazine Award for digital design[61] and an Overseas Press Club Award.[62] In December 2023Rolling Stone collected five National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards,[63] four Front Page Awards,[64] and a Deadline Club award.[65]
In August 2025,Rolling Stone named Sean Woods andShirley Halperin as co-editors in chief, with Halperin also becoming the magazine's head of music. Halperin isRolling Stone's first female editor-in-chief.[66][67]
Some artists have been featured on the cover many times, and some of these pictures went on to become iconic.The Beatles, for example, have appeared on the cover more than 30 times, either individually or as a band.[68] The magazine is known for provocative photography and has featured musicians and celebrities on the cover throughout its history.[69][70] The cover of the issue from January 22, 1981, featuring John Lennon andYoko Ono, has been called the "GreatestRolling Stone Cover Ever" byVanity Fair.[71]
The first ten issues featured, in order of appearance:
The magazine spent $1 million (equivalent to $1.56 million in 2024) on the 3-Dhologram cover of the special 1,000th issue (May 18, 2006) displaying multiple celebrities and other personalities.[72]
The printed format has gone through several changes. The first publications, in 1967 to 1972, were in foldedtabloid newspaper format, with no staples, only black ink text, and a single color highlight that changed each edition. From 1973 onwards, editions were produced on a four-color press with a different newsprint paper size. In 1979, the bar code appeared. In 1980, it became a gloss-paper, large-format (10 × 12 inch) magazine. Editions switched to the standard 8 × 11 inch magazine size starting on October 30, 2008.[73] Starting with the new monthly July 2018 issue, it returned to the previous 10 × 12 inch large format.[74] In June 2024, the magazine was redesigned with new exclusive fonts and a grittier paper stock.[75]
The publication's site at one time had an extensive message-board forum. By the late 1990s, this had developed into a thriving community, with many regular members and contributors worldwide. However, the site was also plagued with numerousInternet trolls, who vandalized the forum substantially.[76] The magazine abruptly deleted the forum in May 2004, then began a new, much more limited message board community on their site in late 2005, only to remove it again in 2006. In March 2008, the website started a new message board section once again, then deleted it in April 2010.
Rolling Stone devotes one of its table of contents pages to promoting material currently appearing on its website, listing detailed links to the items.
On April 19, 2010, the website underwent a redesign and began featuring the complete archives ofRolling Stone.[77] The archive was first launched under a for-pay model, but has since transitioned to a free-with-print-subscription model.[78] In the spring of 2012,Rolling Stone launched afederated search feature, which searches both the website and the archive.[79]
The website has become an interactive source of biographical information on music artists in addition to historical rankings from the magazine. Users can cross-reference lists and they are also provided with historical insights. For example, one group that is listed on bothRolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time andRolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time isToots and the Maytals, with biographical details that explain how the band coined the term "reggae" in their song "Do the Reggay".[80][81] For biographical information on all artists, the website contains a directory listed alphabetically.[82]
In May 2016, Wenner Media announced plans to create a separate online publication dedicated to the coverage of video games and video game culture.Gus Wenner, Jann Wenner's son and head of digital for the publication at the time, toldThe New York Times that "gaming is today what rock 'n' roll was whenRolling Stone was founded".Glixel was originally hosted onRolling Stone's website, and transitioned to its own domain by October 2016. Stories fromGlixel are included on theRolling Stone website, while writers forRolling Stone were also able to contribute toGlixel. The site was headed by John Davison, and its offices were located in San Francisco.[83][84] In June 2017,Rolling Stone closed down theGlixel offices and fired the entire staff, citing the difficulties of working with the remote site from their main New York office.Brian Crecente, founder ofKotaku and co-founder ofPolygon, was hired as editorial director, and ran the site from the main New York office.[85] Following the sale ofRolling Stone's assets toPenske Media Corporation, theGlixel content was merged into the routine publishing ofVariety, with Crecente remaining as editorial director.[86]
In 2017, Graham Ruddick ofThe Guardian describedRolling Stone as a "rock'n'roll magazine turnedliberal cheerleader".[87]Bruce Schulman wrote inThe Washington Post thatRolling Stone has "routinely support[ed] liberal candidates and causes" since the 1990s.[88]
Rolling Stone has criticizedRepublican PresidentsGeorge W. Bush andDonald Trump.[87] In 2006, it described Bush as the "worst president in history".[92][87] In August 2017, the cover of the magazine featured Canadian prime ministerJustin Trudeau with the headline "Why can't he be our president?"[87]
One major criticism ofRolling Stone involves its generational bias toward the 1960s and 1970s. One critic referred to the magazine's "500 Greatest Songs" list as an example of "unrepentantrockist fogeyism".[93] In further response to this issue, rock criticJim DeRogatis, a formerRolling Stone editor, published a thorough critique of the magazine's lists in a book calledKill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Reconsiders the Classics, which featured differing opinions from many younger critics.[94]
Rolling Stone has been criticized for reconsidering many classic albums that it had previously dismissed, and for frequent use of the 3.5-star rating. For example,Led Zeppelin was largely written off byRolling Stone critics during the band's most active years in the 1970s, but by 2006, acover story on the band honored them as "the Heaviest Band of All Time".[95] A critic forSlate magazine described a conference at which 1984'sThe Rolling Stone Record Guide was scrutinized. As he described it, "The guide virtually ignored hip-hop and ruthlessly panned heavy metal, the two genres that within a few years would dominate the pop charts. In an auditorium packed with music journalists, you could detect more than a few anxious titters: How many of us will want our record reviews read back to us 20 years hence?"[93]
The hiring of formerFHM editor Ed Needham in 2002 further enraged critics who alleged thatRolling Stone had lost its credibility.[96]
The 2003 "100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time" list, which named only two female musicians, resulted inVenus Zine answering with their own list, entitled "The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time".[97]
Rolling Stone film criticPeter Travers has been criticized for his high number of repetitively usedblurbs.[98][99]
In 2003, the article "Bug Chasers: The men who long to be HIV+" claimed that homosexuals who intentionally sought to be infected withHIV accounted for 25% of new cases each year. However, the physicians cited in the article later denied making such statements.[100][101][102]
In 2005, the article "Deadly Immunity", byanti-vaxxine activistRobert F. Kennedy Jr., attracted criticism for quoting material out of context, andRolling Stone eventually amended the story with corrections in response to these and other criticisms.[103]
The August 2013Rolling Stone cover, featuring then-accused (and later convicted)Boston Marathon bomberDzhokhar Tsarnaev, drew widespread criticism for "glamorizing terrorism", and was called a "slap in the face to the great city ofBoston".[104] The online edition of the article was accompanied by a short editorial stating that the story "falls within the traditions of journalism andRolling Stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day".[105] The controversial cover photograph that was used byRolling Stone had previously featured on the front page ofThe New York Times on May 5, 2013.[106]
Boston mayorThomas Menino sent a letter toRolling Stone publisherJann Wenner, calling the cover "ill-conceived, at best[...] [it] reaffirms a message that destruction gains fame for killers and their 'causes'." Menino also wrote, "To respond to you in anger is to feed into your obvious market strategy", and that Wenner could have written about the survivors or the people who came to help after the bombings instead. In conclusion he wrote, "The survivors of the Boston Marathon deserveRolling Stone cover stories, though I no longer feel thatRolling Stone deserves them."[116]
On November 19, 2014, the magazine ran the story "A Rape on Campus", about an allegedgang rape on the campus of theUniversity of Virginia.[117] Separate inquiries byPhi Kappa Psi, the fraternity accused byRolling Stone of facilitating the alleged rape, andThe Washington Post revealed major errors, omissions and discrepancies in the story.[118][119] ReporterSabrina Erdely's story was subject to intense media criticism.[118][120]The Washington Post andBoston Herald issued calls for magazine staff involved in the report to be fired.[121]Rolling Stone subsequently issued three apologies for the story.
On December 5, 2014,Rolling Stone's managing editor, Will Dana, apologized for notfact-checking the story.[122] The magazine commissioned an outside investigation of the story and its problems by the dean of theColumbia School of Journalism. The report uncovered journalistic failure in the UVA story and institutional problems with reporting atRolling Stone.[123]Rolling Stone retracted the story on April 5, 2015.[124] The next day, following the investigation and retraction of the story, Phi Kappa Psi announced plans to pursue all available legal action againstRolling Stone, including claims ofdefamation.[125]
On May 12, 2015, UVA associate dean Nicole Eramo, chief administrator for handling sexual assault issues at the school, filed a $7.5 million defamation lawsuit in Charlottesville Circuit Court againstRolling Stone and Erdely, claiming damage to her reputation and emotional distress. Said the filing, "Rolling Stone and Erdely's highly defamatory and false statements about Dean Eramo were not the result of an innocent mistake. They were the result of a wanton journalist who was more concerned with writing an article that fulfilled her preconceived narrative about the victimization of women on American college campuses, and a malicious publisher who was more concerned about selling magazines to boost the economic bottom line for its faltering magazine, than they were about discovering the truth or actual facts."[126] On November 4, 2016, after 20 hours of deliberation,[127] a jury consisting of eight women and two men foundRolling Stone, the magazine's publisher and Erdely liable for defaming Eramo, and awarded Eramo $3 million.[128]
On July 29, 2015, three graduates of the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi filed a lawsuit againstRolling Stone, its publisher Wenner Media, and a journalist for defamation and infliction of emotional distress.[129] The same day, and just months after the controversy began,The New York Times reported that managing editor Will Dana was departing the magazine with his last date recorded as August 7, 2015.[130] On November 9, 2015, the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity filed suit for $25 million for damages to its reputation caused by the magazine's publication of the story, "with reckless disregard for the truth".[131][132]Rolling Stone paid the fraternity $1.65 million to settle the suit out of court.[133]
In 2016,Rolling Stone commissionedSean Penn to write a feature onJoaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in what was billed as a landmark story and Guzmán's first-ever interview. Penn met Guzmán, then wanted by Mexican and U.S. authorities, at a jungle hideout for an interview, which was agreed to by Guzmán on the condition he have final editorial control over the article.[134] Upon publication, the article, characterized by theAssociated Press as "long and rambling", was extensively mocked by social media users and prompted a discussion about the magazine's ethical standards.[135] Andrew Seaman, chairman of the ethics committee of the Society of Professional Journalists, called the decision to allow a source pre-approval of an article "inexcusable", while thePoynter Institute's chief ethicist Kelly McBride opined that the article evidenced several failures of editorial control byRolling Stone.[134][136] In an interview withNPR, Alfredo Corchado, a formerMexico City bureau chief for theDallas Morning News, said that pre-approval rights meant the story was not real journalism: "It's business, it's Hollywood. It's more in the lines of what a public relations firm would do."[137]
Questions also arose as to whether relaxed security procedures by the magazine helped authorities track and capture Guzmán, who was arrested several days after the interview was conducted.[138] Meanwhile,Kate del Castillo, who arranged the meeting, said that she had to flee the country after the article's publication, and charged that Penn had "used me as a bait, and then he never protected me. And risked my life and my parents' life and my sister's life and everybody surrounding me."[139]
Penn later said his article "had failed", noting that discussion about the ethics of the story overshadowed the actual report.[140]
In September 2021,Rolling Stone picked up a story published byOklahoma news outletKFOR which claimed that so many people had been hospitalized due toivermectin overdoses in Oklahoma that there was no room inintensive care units for other patients, including those with gunshot wounds.[141] However, an Oklahoma hospital said in a statement that there was no shortage of beds due to ivermectin overdoses,[141][142] and the doctor who had been interviewed by KFOR had not said that ivermectin cases were crowding out other patients, but the initial story and subsequent coverage had linked separate comments about ivermectin overdoses and scarce beds.[141][143]CNN fact-checkerDaniel Dale stated thatRolling Stone had "[run] an adaptation of the KFOR story without appearing to do sufficient research to make sure the local report was sound".[144]Rolling Stone subsequently added an editor's note that retracted the core point of its story.[141][145]
Kyle Smith ofNational Review calledRolling Stone's correction "so humiliating, it's a wonder the place doesn't shut its doors immediately, liquidate all assets, and deny that it ever existed."[146]Robby Soave ofReason said that the correct story was "somethingRolling Stone could have figured out on its own had the magazine bothered to contact any hospitals in Oklahoma, but alas."[143] Alex Shephard ofThe New Republic wrote, "Formainstream and, particularly,liberal media this should be a stark reminder of the value of due diligence and checking sources. At the very least, make a phone call."[147]
On January 31, 2023,ABC News reporterJames Gordon Meek was arrested by the FBI and charged with transporting child pornography.Rolling Stone initially broke the story, but did not mention the child sexual abuse images that led to the investigation, which were known to the reporters. Instead, it suggested that Meek had been "targeted" by the US government for his reporting on national security issues, writing that "Meek appears to be on the wrong side of the national-security apparatus".[148] In the following months, it was revealed thatRolling Stone editorNoah Shachtman, who personally knows Meek and is considered friendly with him, had the story rewritten before publication to exclude all mentions of the child sexual abuse material, without the original journalist Tatiana Siegel's knowledge.[149]
The 2000 filmAlmost Famous centers on a teenage journalist writing for the magazine in the early 1970s while covering the fictional band Stillwater. The film was directed byCameron Crowe and was based on his own experiences as a young journalist for the magazine in the same time period.[152]
"The Cover of Rolling Stone" is a song written byShel Silverstein and first recorded by American rock bandDr. Hook & the Medicine Show. The song satirizes success in the music business; the song's narrator laments that his band, despite having the superficial attributes of a successful rock star (including drug usage, "teenage groupies, who'll do anything we say", and a frenetic guitar solo), has been unable to "get their pictures on the cover of theRolling Stone".[153]
The title track ofPink Floyd's albumThe Final Cut features the line, "Would you sell your story toRolling Stone?"
The track "Baker Street Muse" onJethro Tull's albumMinstrel in the Gallery includes the line "I have no time forTime Magazine orRolling Stone".
Charlie Robison's 1998 song "Sunset Boulevard" name-drops the magazine with the line, "Well, I wish I had my picture on theRolling Stone today".
InStephen King's novelFirestarter, the protagonists decide to tell their story toRolling Stone.
InJoni Mitchell's song "California", the magazine is referenced in the line, "ReadingRolling Stone readingVogue".
In May 2022, theoff-Broadway playRetraction, adapted from the "A Rape on Campus" article controversy and resulting legal battles, premiered at Theatre Four atTheatre Row in New York City.[154][155][156][157]
As of 2025, 15 international editions ofRolling Stone are in operation, the first international edition of the magazine wasRolling Stone Australia launched in 1969 and the latest isRolling Stone Philippines launched in print in 2025.
Rolling Stone Argentina – Published byLa Nación since April 1998.[159][160] The magazine is also circulated in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay.[159]
Rolling Stone Australia / New Zealand – First published in 1969 as a supplment inRevolution, AustralianRolling Stone became an independent title in 1971. Published by Philip Frazer, then Silvertongues (1974–1987) and byNextmedia until 2008. The magazine was closed in 2018, then relaunched in 2020 asRolling Stone Australia and in 2022 it became Rolling Stone AU / NZ. Separate websites operate for Australia and New Zealand but the print edition is combined and circulated in both countries.
Rolling Stone Brasil – An unofficial edition published for a short period from 1972.[161] The magazine was officially launched in 2006 by Spring Comunicações and published until 2018.[162][160][163] The magazine has since been relaunched.
Rolling Stone En Español – Published since 2002 for Mexico and Latin America. Published byPRISA from November 2002[164] to May 2009.[165] Then from June 2009 by Editorial Televisa (subsidiary ofTelevisa).[citation needed][160]
Rolling Stone France – First launched in 1988 and published till 2007,[166] then from 2008 to 2016 by1633sa and since 2019 byRS France.[167][168]
Rolling Stone India – Launched in March 2008 byMW.Com.[169]
Rolling Stone Italia – Published from 1980 to 1982. Relaunched in November 2003 byIXO Publishing and then till April 2014 byEditirice Quadratum. The magazine became online only in 2019 now under the control ofLuciano Bernardini de Pace Editore.[170][171][160]
Rolling Stone Japan – Launched in March 2007 byInternational Luxury Media. Published by atomixmedia Inc. (株式会社アトミックスメディア,KK atomikkusumedia) since 2011.[172][160]
Rolling Stone Middle East and North Africa – Launched in 2010 by HGW Media asRolling Stone Middle East,[174] the magazine was later closed and will return in 2025 asRolling Stone MENA.[175]
Rolling Stone Québec – Launched in 2024 forQuebec, the magazine is published in French and English.[177]
Rolling Stone UK – Published asFriends of Rolling Stone, later shortened toFriends and eventuallyFrendz, from 1969 to 1972.[178] In September 2021, the magazine was relaunched asRolling Stone UK.[54]
Rolling Stone Bulgaria – Published from 2009 to 2011 bySivir Publications.[179]
Rolling Stone Canada – Published from the 1970s or 1980s.[citation needed]
Rolling Stone Chile – Published from 2003 to 2011,El Mercurio took over publication fromEdu Comunicaciones in 2006.[180]
Rolling Stone China – Published by One Media Group from 2005 to 2006, based in Hong Kong.[181][182] The magazine was relaunched in 2021; based in Beijing and Chengdu.[183] The Chinese edition once again ceased publication after only a year closing in 2022.
Rolling Stone España – Published from 1999 to 2015 byPROGRESA, fromMadrid.[184]
Rolling Stone Indonesia – Published from 2005 to 2017 byPT a&e Media.[185]
Rolling Stone New Zealand – Published first in the mid-1970s and later in the early 1980s.[186][187]
Rolling Stone Russia – Published from 2004 to 2022 by Motor Media.[188]
Rolling Stone South Africa – Published from 2011 to 2014 by3i Publishing.[189]
Rolling Stone Türkiye – Published from 2006 to 2009GD Gazete Dergi.[190]
^Charney, April, "that day ... a stain on Jacksonville" statement, December 14, 2011Occupy Jax advised by foreclosure attorney, 10:30–11:00, YouTube video uploaded December 15, 2011Video onYouTube
^Rolling Stone. "453. Toots and the Maytals, 'Pressure Drop'" Rolling Stone magazine. Web. April 7, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2016."The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".Rolling Stone. December 11, 2003.Archived from the original on November 24, 2016. RetrievedDecember 16, 2016.
^Rolling Stone. "380. Toots and the Maytals, 'Funky Kingston'" Rolling Stone magazine. Web. May 31, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2016."The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".Rolling Stone. May 31, 2009.Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. RetrievedDecember 16, 2016.
^Rolling Stone. "Artists". Rolling Stone magazine. Web. Retrieved December 16, 2016."Artists".Rolling Stone.Archived from the original on April 27, 2010. RetrievedApril 30, 2010.
^abcdef"Rolling Stone is Hiring Australian Staff, 'Ambitious' Expansion Is Coming".The Industry Observer. January 8, 2019.Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2021.Rolling Stone International has existing licensee partnerships in Europe (Germany, Italy, France), Asia (Japan) and the Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico).
^Pinto, Rodrigo (August 21, 2006)."Depois de edição pirata, 'Rolling Stone' ganha versão brasileira oficial".O Globo (in Portuguese). Archived fromthe original on April 15, 2008.Mesmo sem existir oficialmente no Brasil, a "Rolling Stone" fez tanto sucesso que mereceu – como outros produtos estrangeiros muito cobiçados – uma versão pirata, em 1972 [Even though it did not officially exist in Brazil, "Rolling Stone" was so successful that it deserved – like other highly coveted foreign products – a pirated version, in 1972]
^"Rolling Stone Chile dejará de circular" [Rolling Stone Chile will stop circulation].Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). December 16, 2011.Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. RetrievedFebruary 28, 2021.
Miller, Jim (1980) [1976].The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. New York: Random House.ISBN0-394-51322-3.
Rolling Stone Cover to Cover – the First 40 Years: Searchable Digital Archive-Every Page, Every Issue. Renton, WA: Bondi Digital Pub. 2007.ISBN978-0-9795261-0-7.
