In a world where the music, journalism and print media landscapes are constantly changing, the industries behind them have been forced to adapt. But despite the emerging pressures of internet virality and artificial intelligence, Gus Wenner ’12 — founder and CEO of Wenner Media Ventures and former CEO of Rolling Stone magazine — believes that some things have stayed the same: the human creativity and connection at the heart of these timeless art forms.
This past Thursday, Wenner returned to Brown for a conversation in the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts’s Fishman Studio. Moderated by Sydney Skybetter, the director of the Brown Arts Institute, the event served as part of the BAI’s ongoing “Ruckus Sessions” series, which explores the “rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary culture” in a “debate club meets house party” format, according to the organization’s website.
The event was far from Wenner’s first time in the building — he recalled performing on the first floor during his time at the University. He was encouraged by his father, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, to learn guitar as a kid. Later in college, Wenner ultimately formed a “mediocre band” with a friend, he said at the event.
While Wenner did not continue in the performing arts after graduation, he cited the experience as a time when he “was falling in love with music more than anything.”
Wenner added that his time in his college duo “Gus+Scout,” as well as his concentration in the department of literary arts, were “enormously important” for his career, which “has been so much about working with writers and musicians and being able to speak that language.”
“My whole experience at Brown was colored by the friends that I made — some of whom are still my best friends to this day,” Wenner said in an interview with The Herald.
After Wenner graduated, he worked under the chief digital officer at Rolling Stone. But as time went on and Wenner advanced in the company, the magazine’s increase in digital revenue could not make up for the decline in print media. When Wenner’s father had a heart attack, it became “clear” to Wenner that he would have to sell the family business, he told The Herald. In December 2017, the family sold their majority stake in Wenner Media, the publisher of Rolling Stone, to Penske Media Corporation, and Wenner remained on the team as the president and chief operating officer.
“We were publishing really important stories,” Wenner said. “Journalism was at the heart of every decision my dad ever made, and then every decision I ever made.”
According to Wenner, his father’s steadfast commitment to the work and its quality ultimately became a lesson that Wenner reflects on “every day” in his current business ventures. “You could never, in that line of work, take shortcuts and expect to last.”
Despite his deep admiration and respect for Rolling Stone, Wenner knew on “day one” that his ultimate goal was to build something from scratch like his father had done before him.
“When I looked at what my dad did, so many elements of it were incredible to me,” Wenner said, “but chiefly he had built something — you know, he had an idea and pursued it.”
This feeling had been “itching at” Wenner “for a while.” Wenner reconnected with his high school friend, Jack Coyne, who had recently started Trackstar, a viral online quiz show centered around music trivia. When Coyne asked Wenner for his thoughts on the growing company, Wenner saw “a tremendous opportunity to build a kind of a modern day version of what Rolling Stone was and what MTV was.”
Soon after, Wenner founded Wenner Media Ventures as a holding company to invest in Public Opinion, the media company in charge of Trackstar. Since then, Coyne and Wenner have been jointly running the series — which quizzes celebrities in on-street interviews on their music knowledge — and creating “really ambitious plans” for its future.
While Trackstar and Rolling Stone may have originated in vastly different ways, the two outlets share a surprisingly similar appeal: the ability to introduce listeners to new music in a way that highlights the individuality and authenticity of an artist.
“Obviously, we’re in a much more fragmented culture now, and the information is coming at you in a million ways — way quicker, not just a couple funnels,” Wenner said. “I don’t think that means that people don’t still want an avenue to discover music that doesn’t feel so machine-like and has those richer layers and elements.”
According to Wenner, the wider notion of high-quality music discovery has become the company’s “North Star,” ultimately inspiring one of the group’s newest projects: Trackstar.net, which Wenner calls a “Letterboxd for music.”
While the music industry has substantially changed over the past few decades, Wenner’s advice for young adults hoping to enter the business was a timeless lesson: “You don’t have to be the smartest person. If you love something, and you’re working your ass off for it, and you care — that’ll translate.”
“Go find a way to create something that feels human,” he added.
Ann Gray Golpira is a Section Editor covering Arts & Culture. She is from Norfolk, Virginia and plans on concentrating in both International and Public Affairs and Anthropology. Outside of The Herald, you can find her writing, recording and producing her original music.
