Pitchfork being merged into GQ Magazine, Layoffs

[Becksworth]

https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/pitchfork-layoffs-folded-into-gq-conde-nast-1235875585/

Big news in music journalism.

I never cared for Pitchfork, but that was for the same reason I didn't care for a lot of music critic outlets (ie: their reputation as trend setters getting to their heads, resulting in them becoming dismissive of bands they didn't "discover" themselves). I know my brother read it a lot for his music discovery though, and it's always sad to see people lose their dream careers.

 

[Becksworth]

Here I am trying to be sympathetic to people losing their jobs when someone elsewhere pointed out the critical journey Andrew W.K.'s "I Get Wet" went through over the years.

God Pitchfork was awful sometimes...

 

[Adrenaline]

Generally I didn't care when Pitchfork didn't like something, but usually if they really liked something it was good.

 

[lincolnic]

Pitchfork's reviews back in the day were always best taken with several grains of salt (they've been more even-handed in recent years), but for a long time they were the best/only source of news for a lot of music I cared about. So yeah, it was meaningful to me. I hope everyone getting laid off lands on their feet.

 

[zonetrope]

This is a real bummer. The snide, self-appointed tastemaking Pitchfork that people remember was mostly in the early 2000s, when people like Brent DiCrescenzo wrote for the site. Since then they've been a lot better, and have walked back some of their more cartoonishly excessive critiques.