With some of the most famous music publications experiencing a drop in sales worldwide while others consolidate their resources, it might seem like a bad time to get into print media.
Even the biggest music magazines have changed over time to compete with an audience that’s shifted to online resources… like Pitchfork.
But now that very Chicago-bred website is going in the opposite direction and coming to newsstands as well as internet browsers.
“After more than 17 years online, Pitchfork is venturing into print,” reads a post on the American music website, announcing The Pitchfork Review, a new quarterly music publication that will showcase long-form content, photography, illustrations and “other ephemera with selected pieces from Pitchfork.”
The inaugural issue The Pitchfork Review hit shelves – both domestically and internationally – on 14th December with the entire production being designed in-house and printed in the website’s native city of Chicago. The new publication is designed to complement rather than duplicate the websites’ content, designed to be “kept on your shelf and read and enjoyed over the long term,” according to the site.
“While we remain committed to covering the world of independent music and beyond, as well as innovating in the digital sphere, we’ve always been huge fans of the print medium. The Pitchfork Review will allow us to extend our passion for music, images, and storytelling into a new arena.” “After more than 17 years online, Pitchfork is venturing into print…”
The move follows Pitchfork‘s further expansion of its empire with the recent launch of a new app for iPhone and iPad, Pitchfork Weekly, which similarly draws inspiration “from the design of a print publication.” Made in conjunction with Stinkdigital, the app is designed as a digital ‘weekly magazine’ with long-form features, cover stories, and imagery.
“With the pace of the web, it can sometimes be difficult to slow down and engage with great writing,” reads the launch statement for the Pitchfork app, which itself “allows for a more focused reading experience.”
It’s an interesting move from the popular music website, especially given that many print publications are now starting to play catch-up into the digital realm as they see circulations shrink and audiences’ music consumption change over time.
Something that’s already been made clear here in Australia, with the discontinuation of a number of street press outlets and print publications last year.
Last June, Rave ceased operations after 21 years of publication, then regional music press Reverb shut up shop under mounting debts. The Music Network even declared ‘print is dead’ while ceasing its long running-music print publication, while Triple J Magazine staff were made redundant as its publisher, News Custom Publishing – part of the News Limited group – decided to ‘re-centralise’ to its Sydney headquarters, leaving the national youth broadcaster to put together the magazine itself as it moves into annual editions of the magazine.
More recently, Rolling Stone‘s Australian edition saw the magazine’s local Editor In Chief Matthew Coyte becoming the publisher with the formation of Paper Riot Pty Ltd, as the future of the iconic publication breaks away from Bauer Media Group.
Rolling Stone has been one of the few landmark music publications that’s been selling steadily in recent years, even experiencing a boom in sales with its controversial August edition that featured Boston Bomber Jahar Tsarnaev on its cover, despite a firestorm of controversy and backlash in print and online.
Other major international music publications haven’t fared so well, seeing declines in circulation across the board. Bauer Media’s long-running publications Q, Mojo, and Kerrang! have undergone readerships drops of (4.1%, 5.2% and 2.5% respectively).
Rival UK publisher IPC – which delivers Uncut and NME has also struggled with circulation, the former dropping by 8.8% while NME has seen a 13.2% drop and a year-on-year decline of 16.4% in a 12 month period. Which might explain why NME’s official website has been trialling paywalls on certain content of their website.
