Present in more than fifteen countries around the world, the famous American magazine Rolling Stone now has an antenna in Quebec. If this digital version — and in French — currently only offers music news, the magazine hopes to expand its coverage in the near future.
“We are inspired by the brand that is already well established in the United States and elsewhere. The idea is to promote local culture. There are so many great things happening in Quebec and we have fewer and fewer cultural media outlets to talk about them,” explains in an interview editor-in-chief Marie-Lise Rousseau, who was head of the newspaper’s cultural section. Metro before its closure and who was previously a journalist at Duty.
With a team of just two people—Marie-Lise Rousseau and journalist Billy Eff—the magazine focuses primarily on the local music scene. Its program includes music festivals, concerts, album releases, charts and long interviews with local artists. The magazine also uses articles from other Rolling Stone to complete its coverage.
“We start with music, because it is at the heart of Rolling Stone. But we want to expand our coverage to cinema, television and even politics, as other editions do. To do this, we hope to expand the team with collaborators, columnists and freelancers, in particular,” says Marie-Lise Rousseau.
A paper version?
If Rolling Stone Quebec is a 100% digital medium, it is not out of the question that special printed editions will see the light of day. “I am a fan of paper, I would love that. The reality is that printing is expensive, so nothing is certain at the moment,” she adds.
The team is aware, however, that the American magazine’s shocking covers have contributed to its visibility and reputation. Four times a year, Rolling Stone Quebec will therefore offer a cover page — digital — like the original paper version. The first was unveiled at the launch of the magazine, in mid-July, as part of the Festival d’été de Québec. It shows Ontario DJ Joel Zimmerman, aka Deadmau5, without his legendary mouse mask.
A strange choice to highlight Quebec music, some will say. “We wanted to make a splash. We had the opportunity to have an intimate interview with this internationally renowned artist. It’s also a way to get noticed by allowing other editions to Rolling Stone to translate the article and relay it on their site,” explains Marie-Lise Rousseau, assuring that Quebec artists will be on the next covers.
A warm welcome
Rolling Stone Quebec has not yet quantified the number of visitors to its website, but assures that it arouses curiosity. “The brand is known, that helps a lot,” says Marie-Lise Rousseau. “I don’t think we would have this reception if we had launched a new media with a name that was still unknown,” she adds, aware that times are tough for the media.
In the last five years, many media outlets, including several that gave a prominent place to culture, have closed their doors. Among them, VICE Quebecthe magazine SeeTHE HuffPost Quebec and the newspaper Metro.
“The arrival of a magazine like Rolling Stone on the Quebec scene is intriguing. We hope that this new publication will result in the hiring of local information artisans who meet recognized journalistic standards,” declared the president of the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec, Éric-Pierre Champagne.
Competition
For his part, the former editor-in-chief of the defunct magazine See Simon Jodoin wonders about the effect that this new voice belonging to an international giant will have on the Quebec cultural ecosystem. “The music scene is already well covered locally by traditional media and smaller, ultra-specialized players like The ear canal, Sort-tu.ca And Pan M 360. […] “Will this have an impact on the distribution of advertising revenue?” asks the columnist.
He hopes that local artists will not turn their backs on Quebec media in favor of Rolling Stone and its international reputation. “It’s great to see artists give exclusive interviews or songs to local media, even the smallest ones. We remember that Karkwa had chosen to offer the Ear canal the exclusivity of his first song last year,” he recalls.
He insists on a positive aspect: “If Rolling Stone Quebec translates and republishes articles from the American edition, maybe we can hope for the opposite. In that case, local artists could benefit from better visibility internationally. That would be really great!”