How to Get Featured in Rolling Stone Australia

Rolling Stone Australia is a licensed Australian edition of Rolling Stone, with its own editorial team covering music and culture here. It is not the American magazine, and that difference matters more than most people pitching it realise.

What Rolling Stone Australia actually is

It publishes under licence, using the Rolling Stone name with local editors making local decisions. The beat is Australian music, culture and entertainment: artists, releases, tours, festivals, screen, and the industry around all of it.

It also runs its own local awards and recognition features for Australian artists and creatives. Criteria and timing change, so check them at source rather than taking anyone's word for how they work.

Why it is not Rolling Stone US

Appearing in Rolling Stone Australia is not appearing in Rolling Stone. The two editions are editorially separate. A pitch to one is not a pitch to the other, and an editor here cannot commission you into the American edition.

Material occasionally crosses between editions, but that is someone else's decision made later. Never build a plan on it, and be wary of anyone who sells it to you as part of the package.

Check the address on the published piece. The Australian edition publishes on its own local domain, and anyone paying attention will see which masthead ran the story.

What the Australian edition covers

Music first. New releases, artists worth knowing, live music and festivals, and the business and politics of the Australian industry. Around that sits broader culture: screen, comedy, style, and the occasional long feature on someone genuinely interesting.

What it does not cover is your company. Founders sometimes target Rolling Stone Australia because the name is famous, then pitch a business story into a music masthead. Those emails are not read twice.

The routes in

• Earned editorial. A writer or editor decides the work is worth covering. Free, and theirs to decide.
• Reviews and release coverage. Music desks run on release cycles. Getting a record, tour or project in front of the right writer early enough is most of the job.
• Awards and recognition features. Local programmes with their own published criteria.
• Sponsored or branded content. Paid, produced commercially, and labelled as such.
• Agency-assisted pitching. Someone builds the story and takes it to the right writer on your behalf.

Ask which one is actually on the table. Guaranteed editorial in a music title is not a product anyone can honestly sell.

What makes a story they will run

Something to hear or watch, and a reason it matters now. A release with a date. A tour. A body of work that has moved an audience. A person whose story is unusual enough to hold a reader for a thousand words.

Timing is unusually strict on this beat. Music desks work to release calendars, so a pitch arriving the week a record drops has already missed. Weeks of lead time is normal, and more is better.

Have the assets ready before you pitch: streaming links, press images with photographer credits, tour dates, and a short factual biography. A writer who has to chase those will usually move on to the next email.

What we do

Digital Networking Agency works mostly with founders and businesses, so we are candid about fit here. For a culture masthead like this one the story has to be genuinely cultural. If you are an artist, label or creative brand, we build the angle and pitch it properly.

If you are a software company hoping the logo will impress investors, we will tell you to spend the effort somewhere it can land. That is usually the more valuable advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rolling Stone Australia the same as the US magazine?

No. It is a licensed Australian edition with a separate editorial team. Coverage there is Australian-edition coverage and should be described that way.

Can you pay for a Rolling Stone Australia feature?

Sponsored content is a paid, labelled product. Editorial coverage is not for sale, and any offer of a guaranteed editorial placement should be treated with suspicion.

Do I need a label deal to be covered?

No. Independent artists are covered regularly. What matters is the work and whether there is a reason to write about it now.