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Travis Hartnett's avatar

Music critics were much more needed when music was expensive and required effort to acquire. When you were plunking down $15 for a CD you wanted to know if it was any good, hence listening stations in CD stores and reviews to give you some idea of what something sounded like and if it was worth hearing before you put down possibly non-refundable money.

Since everything is available instantly and for free now, the need to pay someone else to show the way has diminished tremendously. Plus, artists can now speak directly, in real time to their fans, so much less (if any) need for a "professional" to interview them.

That said, I still miss Musician magazine.

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aguy96's avatar

I think the real reason pitchfork is having problems is because they embraced poptimism over their core indie audience. Not to pick a side here but the writing was much more interesting when they were sniping at the mainstream as opposed to being just another cheerleader for it.

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