Source: Pitchfork / Pitchforl
The famous music version Rake will merge into GQ, and the shocking announcement came with a wave of layoffs.
On Wednesday (Jan. 17), an internal memo from Anna Wintour, Condé Nast's chief content officer, announced that Rake it would merge with the men's magazine GQ. “Today we're evolving our team structure at Pitchfork by bringing the team to the team GQ organization. This decision was made after careful evaluation of Pitchfork's performance and what we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our music coverage continues to thrive within the company,” the note began.
“Both Rake and GQ they have unique and valuable ways in which they approach music journalism, and we are excited about new possibilities together,” Wintour's note continued before adding that there would be layoffs. “Some of us Rake colleagues will leave the company today,” he said.
Wintour will continue to thank Puja Patel, his editor-in-chief Rake who would end up being one of those fired employees. “For her leadership of the title over the past five years. She has been a wonderful colleague and supporter of the brand and I am grateful for her and the team's contributions.”
Under Patel's management, the publication went from being a masthead that doled out minimal praise to artists since its inception in 1996, to becoming more diverse in its contributor base. It was also linked to music festivals in Mexico City and London. During that time, she has faced heavy criticism for his previous music reviews, which prompted her to “make” certain reviews.
Condé Nast announced in November 2023 that it would lay off 5% of its current workforce of 270 employees. The publishing brand acquired Rake in 2015. Many music journalists mourned the news along with those at Rake who were fired, including features editor Jill Mapes. “After almost 8 years, mass layoffs took me. I'm glad we could spend that time trying to make it a less dude place just for that GQ to end up at the wheel,” Maples wrote to X.