Pitchfork Media, owner of popular independent music Web site Pitchfork.com, has been bought by US media giant Cond'e Nast for an undisclosed amount.
Cond'e Nast - owner of titles including Wired, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and GQ - is speculated to have paid tens of millions of dollars for the influential music reviewer, which Gizmodo's Mario Aguilar called "everybody's favourite music Web site to love/hate/complain-about-and-secretly read-anyway."
Worthofweb.com estimated Pitchfork's Web site alone to be worth $82 million.
According to Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber, Cond'e Nast's "belief in what we do, combined with their additional expertise and resources, will allow us to extend our coverage of the artists and stories that shape the music landscape on every platform".
Cond'e Nast's chief digital officer Fred Santarpia said the deal "reflects Cond'e Nast's continued belief in the power of authentic editorial voices to engage influential audiences at scale".
Several journalists suggest the acquisition of the independent Web site by a profit-hungry mainstream media giant will compromise the site's authenticity.
"After all, [Pitchfork has] no problem with listicles so why not some sponsored content saying that the new comeback album from Jet is actually really, really, really good?" writes Jim Carroll for The Irish Times.
Others have pointed out that Cond'e Nast stands to capitalise on Pitchfork's large, young and predominantly male readership.
"Pitchfork has 'sold out' to a corporation. Time for the hipsters to shave their beards and admit Kid A was just OK," said @AltNationNet on Twitter.
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