Are Condé Nast about to put Pitchfork behind a paywall?

Pitchfork is the only core music title in their collection, but other digital outlets such as Glamour, Teen Vogue, GQ, Vogue, Wired, and more could also be asking for visitors to pay a price for their content.

The speculation is a result of Wall Street Journal's report today, which claims that Condé Nast plans to put a paywall on all its titles by the end of the year.

Fashionista report that Chief Executive Bob Sauerberg explained in an email, "The paywalls at each title will not be a one-size fits all model. Just as we did for each of the brands currently behind paywalls, we will let consumer demand and engagement dictate how each brand develops their paid content strategy. Some brands may have specific content that will be gated, and some will have a wider metered paywall. Every brand is distinct, and every brand's paywall will be its own distinct product."

The strategy is already being tested amongst The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Wired, who allow readers to access a limited number of articles each month.

In terms of Pitchfork, speculation grows over what has triggered Condé Nast to put paywalls on their titles, as co-founder of The Quietus Luke Turner has noted, the timing of the announcement comes after Pitchfork's long-time founder Ryan Shreiber departed the company.

Wonder if the recent departure of one of the Pitchfork founders and today's announcement that Conde Nast are putting their publications behind paywalls might be connected.

— Luke Turner (@LukeTurnerEsq) January 23, 2019