Speaking of the acquisition, whynow Media says Rock Sound launched in 1999 as a music magazine, but evolved into a website, content creator, record store, and site for rock fans. It also features its own online shop that sells everything from bespoke magazines, limited edition vinyl, signed CDs, and world exclusive merchandise. Some of the existing Rock Sound staff will be joining the whynow team as part of the acquisition.
whynow Media started as a digital magazine, whynow.co.uk, in 2019 and was founded by Gabriel Jagger. The ethos of the brand is to champion the good in the world, with a particular focus on the arts, including film, TV, music and theatre.
Since its inception the company has expanded into TV production, podcast creation and music merchandising. It has also invested in the likes of Film Stories, Overtune and Pirate and acquired other brands including most recently Wireframe magazine from Raspberry Pi.
The team at whynow say they have been working hard to clear the back orders of products that fans ordered prior to the buyout, and with that work complete, the Rock Sound store will be back open for business this month. The Rock Sound website and video channels will be fully operational by the end of April too.
Gabriel Jagger, founder and CEO of whynow said: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring in Rock Sound and the team is coming with it. Music is core to our business, from the merchandise we produce under whynow Music, to the documentaries about musicians we’re making, and Rock Sound will help to bring a whole new audience to our sites.”
The purchase of Rock Sound strengthens the music merchandise offering that whynow already has in the form of whynow Music. This was launched by the team in 2022, and has already run several successful campaigns, most recently for bespoke Mick Jagger & Lee Oskar harmonicas.
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