Changes at Pitchfork signal a slower tempo in music criticism
Layoffs at Pitchfork, an online music publication, aren鈥檛 just a symptom of media consolidation. The website鈥檚 absorption into GQ speaks to a world in which independent criticism and offbeat experiments are getting harder to find 鈥� or sustain.
Tahliah Debrett Barnett, aka FKA twigs, performs at the 2016 Pitchfork Music Festival, July 17, 2016 in Chicago. Pitchfork's reorganization into the men's magazine GQ is leading artists and critics to reflect on how the music media landscape is changing.
Barry Brecheisen/Invision/AP/File
Los Angeles
Nearly three decades after it was established, Pitchfork, the most influential music publication of the internet age with the power to make or break an artist, is being absorbed by another entity 鈥� a men鈥檚 fashion and style magazine.
The website, beloved for being one of modern music鈥檚 true centers of gravity and renowned for its daily record reviews scored 0.0 to 10.0, will be folded into GQ, parent company Cond茅 Nast announced Jan. 17.
At least 12 staffers were laid off, three people involved in the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they said the situation was still fluid. Ten of those were editorial layoffs, leaving a permanent editorial staff of eight.
The decision was made after what Anna Wintour, chief content officer for Cond茅 Nast, called 鈥渁 careful evaluation of Pitchfork鈥檚 performance.鈥� Ms. Wintour called the move 鈥渢he best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company.鈥�
As Pitchfork moves into its new configuration, it鈥檚 worth asking: If many view song discovery as music journalism鈥檚 primary function, what is the role of insightful culture writing about music when people can find their favorite artists by following recommendations on social media or by playing 15 seconds of a song on a popular playlist?
From music to men鈥檚 media
Record store clerk Ryan Schreiber founded Pitchfork in 1996 as an indie music blog inspired by fan zines and grew it into 鈥渢he most trusted voice in music,鈥� as its tagline reads.
Pitchfork began in the era of CDs and 鈥� with discerning tastes and unrivaled curation 鈥� shepherded voracious music fans into the mp3 and peer-to-peer file-sharing age of Napster and into the streaming era beyond. In that time, its voice moved from snarky to incisive (often both at once) and the scope of its coverage adapted to meet the current moment. Mr. Schreiber sold Pitchfork to Cond茅 Nast in 2015.
鈥淚n the late 2000s, alternative culture was going overground and an artisanal, small-batch approach to life was taking over from the sheeny mass-production of the previous decade,鈥� says Laura Snapes, The Guardian鈥檚 deputy music editor and a longtime Pitchfork contributor.
鈥淧itchfork was well placed to lead and mirror that shift,鈥� Ms. Snapes says. 鈥淭hey became the go-to chroniclers of this moment and had legitimacy 鈥� you could see the long roots of this culture in the site.鈥�
Ann Powers, NPR鈥檚 music critic, says Pitchfork plays a crucial role in 21st-century media because it is a music-specific publication and not simply a generalist site with a music section. That means its expert writers have been able to go deeper in coverage and criticism, highlighting 鈥渋ntelligent and engaged, truly passionate music writing for the music fan,鈥� instead of focusing solely on what would appeal to a general interest audience 鈥� particularly at a time where music-specific press is atomizing.
鈥淧itchfork also became a beautiful space for diversity,鈥� Ms. Powers says. 鈥淚t grew into a space where there were a lot of amazing women writers, people of color, covering pop, R&B, experimental, and global music with the same passion and dedication that it was covering the kind of indie rock from which it was born.鈥�
The choice to move the publication under GQ, she says, reminds her of 鈥�90s music magazine culture, where advertisers classified publications like SPIN, Rolling Stone, Vibe, and Blender as men鈥檚 interest. 鈥淚t truly feels like a setback,鈥� Ms. Powers says.
Says Ms. Snapes: 鈥淢usic is so much more than a 鈥榤en鈥檚 interest鈥� or leisure pursuit. Pitchfork paid close, longform critical attention to so many different types of music, and so many different niches. I鈥檓 not sure how that will live alongside ecommerce pieces on stick vacuums.鈥�
The moment Pitchfork changed
On Jan. 17, most of the Pitchfork staff were sent a link to a mandatory, 15 minute all-hands with Ms. Wintour at 1:30 p.m., three people involved in the situation told AP. That set off a chain of events in which most affected were told their last day would be Friday.
In screenshots of a public Slack channel accessible by Cond茅 Nast staff, obtained by AP, Melissa Consorte, a Cond茅 Nast vice president, wrote on Wednesday, 鈥淧itchfork is not going away as a brand.鈥�
鈥淭his is not a terrible thing for us 鈥� GQ and P4K were getting in each other鈥檚 lanes and this makes it easier for us to use them in a complementary fashion,鈥� she said, using the popular shorthand for Pitchfork. 鈥淚 think this will only help P4K feel bigger and more recognizable in the long term.鈥�
On Jan. 18, Ms. Consorte followed up: 鈥淧itchfork is not being shut down or rebranded as GQ 鈥� from a client and user perspective, everything will look the same.鈥� And in another public Slack channel, Joanna Melissakis, Head of Sales, Beauty at Cond茅 Nast, wrote that 鈥淧itchfork will remain a standalone brand but the internal reporting structure is changing.鈥�
A representative for Cond茅 Nast did not agree to speak to The Associated Press on the record. However, one Cond茅 Nast audience development editor shared on X that 鈥渂y volume, Pitchfork has the highest daily site visitors of any of our titles 鈥� despite scant resourcing, esp from corporate.鈥�
An evolving music media landscape
Gareth Paisey, singer of the Welsh indie band Los Campesinos!, is one of many musicians who posted about Pitchfork following the layoff news. His band has received favorable reviews from the publication, but even those with low scores found themselves eulogizing the entity.
鈥淭here was a period of time where if Pitchfork said something was good, I thought it was good. And if they panned something, I probably wouldn鈥檛 bother listening to it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think that speaks to its power 鈥� how it was able to push the needle and single-handedly make something seem relevant.鈥�
In 2021, guitarist Yasmin Williams says she was almost ready to give up her career pursuits when a positive review from Pitchfork reignited her hope. 鈥淚 was ready for the next level and it wasn鈥檛 happening,鈥� she recalls. Then Pitchfork鈥檚 Sam Sodomsky reviewed her album, 鈥淯rban Driftwood.鈥�
鈥淭hen there鈥檚 a flood of press. I really think it鈥檚 because of Sam鈥檚 review,鈥� Ms. Williams says. She says musicians are concerned about the future of the site because 鈥減eople trust Pitchfork more than other outlets.鈥�
When it comes to his band, Mr. Paisey says Pitchfork informed how they were regarded by the public. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never been a cool band,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd then for Pitchfork to back us from the start, I think it really did reframe how people thought about us.鈥�
He theorizes independent musicians will lose out on coverage in this new editorial shift.
鈥淭his sounds trite, but Taylor Swift isn鈥檛 tweeting her disappointment that Pitchfork is closing, right? It鈥檚 5,000-follower emo bands that got a 7.6 review and has been proud of that for the past two years,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the independent, experimental artists that are going to suffer.鈥�
This story was reported by The Associated Press.听