Condé Nast Folds Pitchfork Into GQ
Renowned music journalism site’s future in doubt; multiple layoffs announced
Corporate media conglomerate Condé Nast has finally done what we all feared they’d do since purchasing Pitchfork in 2015: They’re folding the renowned music site.
Earlier today, the company announced its plans to merge Pitchfork, launched in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber, into the operations of its men’s publication Gentleman’s Quarterly (GQ). A number of significant layoffs were promptly announced, most notably editor-in-chief Puja Patel, who has been at the helm of the site since her departure from SPIN in 2019.
Other notable names who revealed they were relieved of their duties include such longtime staffers as managing editor Ryan Dombal, senior editor Jillian Mapes and writers Marc Hogan, Evan Minsker and Allison Hussey. No word at press time about the fates of music editor Jeremy Larson, deputy managing editor Matthew Strauss and longtime staff writers Madison Bloom and Jazz Monroe.
Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue, announced the changes in a memo that went out to the entire company on Wednesday.
“Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization,” she wrote. “This decision was made after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance and what we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company.”
The company’s changes with Pitchfork come after Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch said last November that the company planned to lay off upwards of 300 employees, representing 5 percent of total headcount, and take other steps to cut costs.
The NewsGuild of New York, of which the Pitchfork Union is a part, didn’t mince words in its disgust over the events that transpired in the last few hours.
“The reporters, editors, producers, researchers and all the people who make award-winning music journalism for Pitchfork, deserve better than to be treated like disposable parts,” said NewsGuild president Susan DeCarava in a press release that can be read in full below.
Meanwhile, on Facebook, I took a sample of reactions to the news on a post from frustrated Pitchfork readers who largely found it particularly twisted that a site which served as a conduit for strong women voices in music journalism is being absorbed into a publication historically geared towards men.
“I have some big feelings about them firing Puja and putting their whole music journalism project under a shitty men’s style site,” writes Heather Baston. “Sure, there’s a long tradition of shitty masc-coded magazines having the best culture writing (looking at you, 70’s-80’s Playboy) but still, it’s a horrible look for 2024 and feels very regressive. The femme magazines in the Condé Nast empire notably do not really cover music per se (just the fashion/personalities sometimes involved in music) so this is a very weird gendered move!”
“That site wouldn’t have been shit without the women who wrote for them, and I’m speaking as an insufferable/stereotypical male indie rock douchebag,” says Michael Tatum. “Anyone who remembers Pfork in the early ’00s when they gave Liz Phair a 0.0 knows what I’m talking about.”
“I was so excited when Pitchfork became less testosterone-y & now that it’s under GQ its probably going to slide back in that direction and it makes me sad,” writes Pajiba contributor Jen Maravegias.
“Condé Nast is doing what it does best – turning passion into product and ensuring that ‘content’ is pumped out,” adds Rock & Roll Globe contributor Jason Perri via Facebook Messenger. “I certainly wasn’t sad to see Schreiber’s boys club dismantled, but I have a tough time envisioning how this is going to allow talented writers from marginalized backgrounds get eyes on their work (something that P4k 2.0 did a very good job of).”
“It’s the only online publication I encourage my students to follow, simply because of the quality of writing, even though I had my issues with how they covered some Black artists,” writes renowned ethnomusicologist Dr. Laina Dawes. “It’s a shame.”
“Some of the editors have already noted that there are actually people who are rejoicing over this, which is terrible,” reveals Perfect Sound Forever publisher and Rock & Roll Globe contributor Jason Gross. “Some people hated the publication because they thought P4k were too big for their britches or they didn’t like some of the reviews or they thought the writing was too clever or not clever enough. The same thing would happen if Rolling Stone was ‘folded.’ All that matters is that the musical conversation shrinks and we’re all the poorer for it.”
As for me, I always had mixed emotions about Pitchfork through the years, especially after my blip of a run contributing to the site. But nonetheless, I read the site every single day, as it was a vital part of my morning online traffic and a great resource as to what existed on the cutting edge of modern music. And for all their foibles – ignoring the blues and giving Tool’s Lateralus a 1.9 notwithstanding – they really served as a sturdy vessel for creative music journalism and record review writing during some choppy times for the craft.
It sucks that so many good people were let go, and that the future of a site so many of us who love music and music writing is now plunged into the abyss.
As the editor of this fine online publication, today’s news doesn’t fill me with dread, because I believe with all my heart that music journalism will endure as long as people are listening to bands, buying records and going out to shows. But darn it if this doesn’t hurt the cause.
My thoughts go out to all the good people who lost their jobs today, and I’m optimistic that something incredible will rise from the ashes of Pitchfork as we knew it. Because who knows what tomorrow is going to look like on there.
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I won’t lie: I mostly ignored Pitchfork. But over the past few years they’ve gotten quite good as covering marginalized genres like jazz, metal, and various world musics with intelligence and taste, and now I know that happened under a specific editor who’s been given her walking papers.
I’m assuming GQ’s not exactly a paragon of excellence in music journalism. (I can’t definitively say – I’ve never read it.) This sounds to me like a signal that covering music isn’t important to the Conde Nast bottom line, despite Wintour’s words.
I think your commenters in the piece have it exactly right.
With the merging of pitchfork into GQ, one could say that one of the last surviving outlets with the power to single handedly breakout new acts is gone. It was a dream for many new and upcoming artists of all genres to breach the covers of Pitchfork. For many it was a sign that they had arrived. They had made it and had been recognized. The landscape is changing and the opportunities for international recognition as a songwriter and/or artist is fleeting. It’s almost impossible to stand out among the grains of musical sand being uploaded to Spotify everyday. The tier 1 publications like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone significantly helped relatively unknown artist stand out. Who will fill the gap left behind by Pitchfork?