Pitchfork Folded Into GQ as Condé Nast Makes Cuts at Music Publication

It’s the end of an era for Pitchfork.

The music publication is being folded into GQ as part of the ongoing restructuring at Condé Nast, which has owned Pitchfork since 2015.

Anna Wintour, Condé chief content officer and the global editorial director of Vogue, announced the decision in a memo to staff Wednesday.

“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,” Wintour wrote. “Both Pitchfork and GQ have unique and valuable ways that they approach music journalism, and we are excited for the new possibilities together.”

As part of the changes, Pitchfork editor-in-chief Puja Patel will leave the company, and there will be other layoffs at the publication.

The cuts are connected to larger changes at Condé announced by CEO Roger Lynch last year. The restructuring will affect about 5 percent of employees and include a new reporting structure.

Pitchfork was founded in 1996 as a blog by music journalist Ryan Schreiber. Like many publications, it has evolved over the years to include live events (the Pitchfork Music Festival) and other editorial projects.

Read Wintour’s memo below.

Dear all,

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.

Both Pitchfork and GQ have unique and valuable ways that they approach music journalism, and we are excited for the new possibilities together. With these organizational changes, some of our Pitchfork colleagues will be leaving the company today. I want to thank Puja for her leadership of the title over the last five years. She has been a wonderful colleague and advocate for the brand, and I’m grateful for her and the team’s many contributions.

Members of the Pitchfork team will hear more about their reporting structure in meetings this week. There are no additional changes at this time as we focus on our internal team structure and operations. We will of course keep this team updated first when any new decisions are made about the transition.

Anna