Condé Nast to fold Pitchfork into GQ

Global publisher Condé Nast has confirmed that it will be merging music review site Pitchfork into men's magazine GQ. Pitchfork, founded in 1995, was acquired by Condé Nast in 2015.

In Australia, GQ is licensed and published by News Corp Australia’s NewsLifeMedia. Mediaweek reached out to find out if this would impact Australian operations, with News Corp confirming that there would be no impact on the company’s current licenses and GQ in Australia.

Overseas, the move will come with layoffs, as confirmed by chief content officer of Condé Nast, Anna Wintour.

“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,” said Wintour in a staff memo this week.

“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 organisational changes, some of our Pitchfork colleagues will be leaving the company.”

In November last year, Condé Nast laid off 5% of its workforce, affecting upwards of 300 employees. 

At the time, Roger Lynch, the chief executive of Condé Nast, wrote to employees to say that the layoffs were in response to pressure on digital advertising, a decline in traffic from social media, and audience behaviors shifting to platforms such as short-form video.

“While we can’t control platform algorithms or how A.I. may change search traffic, we believe our long-term success will be determined by growing the many areas that we can control, including subscriptions and e-commerce, where we directly own the relationship with our audience,” Lynch wrote.

“Our focus will be on making this transition as easy as possible for our dedicated colleagues with enhanced severance packages and career service offerings,” he concluded.