Rolling Stone is opening up its archives, making select stories from its nearly 50 years of publication free for anyone to read. The stories will all be available through Google Play Newsstand, making this a big grab for Google that should help to promote the app's sales of digital magazines and use as a news reader. Fast Company reports that three to four big stories from each issue will show up in the open archives, which Rolling Stone reportedly plans to augment with sound and video content next year. Every issue will have a presence in the archives, and all cover stories will be available.

Google reportedly paid a lot to be part of this partnership

Newsstand is available on both iOS and Android, so a wide audience should be able to access these stories. And this very much seems to be a partnership about promoting both brands: Fast Company reports that Google purchased "seven figures" worth of Rolling Stone advertising as part of this deal. It's not stated exactly how that'll be used, but the end goal appears to be getting more people reading Rolling Stone and opening up Newsstand.

In addition to housing its classic stories, Rolling Stone intends to publish some breaking news and other daily content onto Newsstand as well. That'll ostensibly make it a place to go back to if it can get readers hooked, which would be good news for both it and Google as more and more continue to get their news on their phone. The archives will go live in Newsstand this Friday at 8PM ET.