Rolling Stone magazine and Google Play have reached a deal that will bring the entire Rolling Stone archive to Google Play Newsstand. Three to four major stories from each archive will be available for free on Google Play and the Rolling Stone website beginning this Friday, January 30th. Rolling Stone hopes to enhance stories with multimedia content (sound, videos) in the coming months.
In a recent interview, Gus Wenner, son of Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, explained the reason behind moving archives to Google Play:
I see it every day in our analytics: Archival content performs very well. It comes down to how you promote and when. We’ll be smart about how we promote it, and we’ll tie it to news events. It’s not hard to find these moments.
As part of the deal, Google bought advertising in Rolling Stone magazine. Brian Irving, Global Head of Marketing for Google Play, says that thanks to features like customizable themes and key word searches, this partnership is a great way to demonstrate how great Google Play Newsstand really is. He explains:
Our goal is to help publishers succeed in a changing world. We’re constantly looking for ways to partner with people who are content creators and help bring something to life.
Rolling Stone began publishing in 1967 and is arguably the most popular magazine ever to be published, so this is a big deal. If you have yet to download Google Play Newsstand, head to the Play Store to do so.
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