'Rolling Stone' ready to rock

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The waiting is now over. Those who have been dissatisfied with dumbing down local music newspapers and longed for a prime media to quench their thirst for an intelligent music guide can now rejoice the publication of the Indonesian-language edition of Rolling Stone magazine.

Starting on May 2, readers around the country can get from the newsstand their first copies of Rolling Stone magazine carrying the latest news from the world music scene and a glimpse at what goes on at local music scene.

Publisher JHP Media, the Indonesian licencee of the U.S.-based publication, said on Wednesday that information adapted from the magazine's American edition would make up 80 percent of the magazine's content, while 20 percent of its space would be alloted to carry local contents.

Chairman of JHP Media Eddie J. Soebari said that the Indonesian edition of Rolling Stone was only possible after a year-long arduous negotiation with its mother publisher Wenner Media LLC.

"We have gone through a tough negotiation detailing our future business plan including what kind of mock-up we have in mind. But in the end Mr. Wenner agreed to give us the license," Eddie said, referring to Rolling Stone publisher Jaan S. Wenner.

He said that there were the bulk of media companies from Asia that vied for the license, but JHP Media was the first in Asia that was granted the permission.

The mother publication, however, will hold sway over substantial proportions of the magazine's artwork.

Contrary to local music and entertainment magazines' penchant for using Indonesian slang language, the local edition of Rolling Stone will use proper Indonesian as it targets mature readers of 25-40 years age group.

Editor in chief B. Haryo Pambudi believed that Indonesian edition of Rolling Stone would quickly win huge readership here simply because of its reputation as world's leading music magazine.

JHP Media will first print 30,000 copies of the magazine. Fifty percent of the copies will have their circulation in Jakarta.

The first Indonesian edition with a cover story on reggae legend Bob Marley will be available at Rp 30,000 (US$3.1), half the price of its English version available at newsstand here.

Published for the first time by Wenner in 1967, Rolling Stone boast a readership of 12.1 million in the U.S. alone. Millions others outside America read the magazine through its local adaptation published in eight countries in Europe, Latin America and Australia.