Condé Nast’s GQ will absorb Pitchfork, the music-first publication it acquired nearly a decade ago. The decision to consolidate Pitchfork under the umbrella of GQ will result in several layoffs, including the departure of the publication’s editor-in-chief, Puja Patel.
“Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization. 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,” Condé Nast Chief Content Officer Anna Wintour stated.
“Both Pitchfork and GQ have unique and valuable ways that they approach music journalism, and we are excited for the new possibilities together.” She added with the organizational changes, “some of our Pitchfork colleagues will be leaving the company today.”
The decision to fold Pitchfork into GQ is part of a larger trend within the industry. Recently, media outlets like Genius, Okayplayer, Billboard and VIBE have all been impacted by layoffs within the last three years.
“It’s like an echo chamber I know but, really, don’t underestimate the Pitchfork news. Year after year, we’re seeing media die off, good people losing work [and] everyone’s jobs getting that bit harder,” Prescription PR Director James Parrish tweeted.
“Lots of people hate Pitchfork, and music journalism in general, just because they disagree with writers’ opinions—but without a robust music journalism sphere though, we rely on algorithmic & unpaid fan labor for music discovery. neither RYM or Spotify Radio can replace critics,” Infant Island added.
Layoffs at Pitchfork are part of a larger restructuring at Condé Nast that could impact 300 or more employees. Remaining Pitchfork team members will “hear more about their reporting structure in meetings this week.”
