Penske Media's Substantial Equity Investment in Music Business Worldwide Strengthens Partnership

NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Penske Media Corporation (PMC) announced today its strategic investment in Music Business Worldwide (MBW), which first entered into a global content partnership with Rolling Stone and Rolling Stone's owner 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 MBW, a London-based company with key international reach, has become an agenda-setting source of dependable breaking news and influential analysis for executives across the global music industry. This more comprehensive partnership paves the way to launch innovative content and revenue models driven by both MBW's respected coverage and PMC's ability to utilize innovative technology to scale quality content.

"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. 

About Music Business Worldwide
Music Business Worldwide (MBW) is the leading information service for the global music industry. Established in 2015 by Founder and Publisher Tim Ingham, MBW provides news, insight and jobs to the worldwide business. Over 200,000 unique users visit the MBW site each month and shared over 7.3 million page views between them in 2019.

About Penske Media
Penske Media Corporation (PMC) is a leading digital media and information services company whose award-winning content attracts a monthly audience of more than 220 million and empowers more than 1 million global CEOs and business thought-leaders in markets that impact the world. Our dynamic events, data services, and rich content entertain and educate today's fashion, retail, beauty, entertainment and lifestyle sectors. Headquartered in New York and Los Angeles with additional offices in 11 countries worldwide, Penske Media is the way global influencers are informed, connected, and inspired. To learn more about PMC and its iconic brands, visit www.pmc.com.

About Rolling Stone
Five decades since its founding, Rolling Stone today has evolved into a multiplatform content brand with unrivalled access and authority, reaching a global audience of over 60 million people per month. Staying true to its mission to tell exceptional stories that illuminate the culture of our times, Rolling Stone is an authority for music reviews, in-depth interviews, hard-hitting political commentary and award-winning journalism across print, digital, mobile, video, social and events. Published by Penske Media Corporation, Rolling Stone is the number one global brand in music publishing and media.

About Alpha Data
Alpha Data revolutionizes the way businesses analyze music consumption and related trends. Its state-of-the-art platform analyzes the daily sales, streaming, and airplay activity of albums, songs and artists in North America and beyond. Alpha Data powers the Rolling Stone Charts, which tabulates the weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States.

SOURCE Penske Media Corporation

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