Pitchfork To Launch Print Magazine, The $19.96 Pitchfork Review
A pioneer in professional online music journalism, Pitchfork, is launching an old school print magazine. The quarterly publication will debut December 16th with a per issue cover price of $19.96 – a nod to the year the popular indie music site launched. There's and annual subscription option of $44.99 prior to Dec. 15 and $49.99 thereafter.
What To Expect From The Pitchfork Review
Converse will be the Review's exclusive advertiser for the first four issues. The deal includes a 7-inch series of exclusive tracks, some recorded at Converse’s Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn, according to Fast Company.
“There’s a lot of potential to rethink what people want out of a music magazine,” according to Pitchfok founder and CEO Ryan Schreiber. “The tide has really shifted since we startedPitchfork in the mid-'90s. Then, there was no music criticism online; now, there’s very little in print… We’ve enlisted seasoned writers who have experience in longform and narrative.. Magazines have lost their foothold on breaking news, so the original content in the Review is new but less time sensitive. It looks at current music but also catalog artists.”
The first issue will include in depth piece on Glenn Danzig, Otis Redding, the history of label Delicious Vinyl and "the subtle beauty of competing music weeklies in the early 1980s".
Launching an old school magazine? what for?
well, unfortunately, there’s room in the market now since a couple of major music mags have folded. it makes sense if you have a biz model that’s not based on selling a gazillion copies.
What’s the point of launching an old school print magazine? Nobody buys print magazines anymore. All info is online.
Whelp,
It feels like we’re gonna move backwards anyways…
There’s actually a resurgence of print at the moment. When handled correctly it can be successful.
That’s why a blanket statement like “nobody buys print” are usually a sign of an opportunity partly because it just isn’t true.
From what I hear, this magazine will be very cool, not a typical “you heard it here first” rag printed on cheap magazine paper. I’m not aware of any URLs selling at auctions like some collectable magazines are. Print is permanent dude. Personally, I’m glad that some people still value printed material. Sort of like old vinyl.