Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media , or commonly Pitchfork is a musical magazine of language English E, based with Chicago, Illinois, the United States. It is published daily on Internet since 1996 and specializes in the independent music critic, mainly Rock (or Indie rock'n'roll), but also to a lesser extent Folk, electro and Hip hop. The Web site proposes also news on the music and of the interviews, as well as criticisms occasional of boxes and particular compilations.

The journalists of Pitchfork acquired with the years a frightening reputation in the world of the independent music, and their criticisms are as supervised as those of the traditional publications written like Spin or Rolling Stone .

The name Pitchfork was inspired by the Tatouage which raises the character of Tony Montana in the film-worship Scarface .

Beginnings

The preliminary version of Pitchfork Media was put on line for the first time in 1995 by Ryan Schreiber, a student of Mineapolis to the Minnesota. The site, called Turntable , proposed critical and interviews. It was updated only twice per month.

In May 1996, the site is renamed Dotpitch , but the name will quickly be changed because of the confusion created at some Internaute S, which typed “www..pitch.com” in their Fureteur ( dowry meaning “not” in English). Thus at the summer 1996, the name Pitchfork is selected.

At the beginning of 1999, Ryan Schreiber moves Pitchfork Media in Chicago. At this time, the site offers to each day four new criticisms of albums. The section of the musical news is added in July of the same year.

Assistantship and multitude

In an article published in its edition of September 2006, the specialized magazine Wired estimated at 150000 visits per day the multitude on Pitchfork.

Influence and criticisms towards Pitchfork

At the time of the edition 2004 of CMJ Music Marathon with New York, panellists discussed, in the shutter conference, the following topic: Is Pitchfork the new Rolling Stone (is Pitchfork new the Rolling Stone ?), which shows the importance that with taken the magazine Web since the beginning of the decade.

Although it is always difficult to quantify the impact which a publication, Internet or other can have, on the popularity of an artist or the sales of disc, the great multitude on the site makes it possible to believe that Pitchfork could play a great part for several independent artists having profited from a favorable cover on behalf of their journalists. Among the examples which seem most convincing: The Arcade Fire, which accepted a nearly perfect note of 9.7 out of 10 for its first album, Funeral , in 2004; Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, an American formation having published an album without contract of disc in 2005; or the Canadian collective Social Broken Scene.

On the other hand, Pitchfork is often taxed with elitism and is shown to have some only for the unknown groups, not very popular, with which the mass is not familiar.

Marking system

Pitchfork festival

The 29 and July 30th 2006 took place the first festival organized by Pitchfork. Forty artists, whose Yo Tengo, Spoon, The Futureheads, Os Mutant, The Walkmen, Rough Art or Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, occurred with the Pitchfork Music Festival, which brings together approximately 18 thousand spectators with the Union Park of Chicago.

External bonds

PitchforkMedia.com
Interview of Washington Post with Ryan Schreiber

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