• by Ray Schultz , June 5, 2024

Rolling Stone has apparently angered some subscribers with its switching of “lifetime” subscriptions from print to digital. 

Slate reports that the following message was sent to these long-time readers:

Dear Rolling Stone Subscriber:

Thank you for being a loyal reader of Rolling Stone. We are transitioning the delivery of Rolling Stone’s lifetime subscribers to a digital format. Your final printed copy will be the June 2024 issue. 

The e-Edition format is an exact replica of the magazine you can read on your computer, tablet, or phone. A reminder email will be sent to you every time a new issue is published. In addition to access to the current issue, you will have access to a library of issues for the past five years.

If you need to update your email address with us, or you wish to stop receiving Rolling Stone, please contact customer service at rollingstone.com/customerservice or customerservice@rollingstone.com.

One subscriber, Tad Miller, was so angered that he is threatening to take legal action. 

“All those many years ago when I gave you my $100 for a LIFETIME subscription it was for the physical magazine itself. It was never for a digital magazine. I’m considering organizing a class action lawsuit on this one (not just talk)."

While lifetime print subscriptions can raise cash in the short term, they must then be fulfilled, a continuing cost center. Any attempt to convert them to digital could result in the kind of reaction shown by Miller.