I can't prove this, but within months of #MeToo, I believe Pitchfork adopted an official policy where 3 out of 5 daily reviews have to be female artists, or at least female fronted bands. They had already been quickly shifting to black artists, so the remaining 1 or 2 are almost always minorities, gay, trans, etc. Finding a white, straight, male artist in one of their reviews, let alone one of their best of lists, is nearly impossible especially if they aren't an established act.
I'm not saying that's a prerequisite for making good music, but when Pitchfork was primarily Indy Rock and Electronic music a few years ago it was predominantly white males that happened to be featured because that's who most of the good artists in those genres were.
It's like if MIT suddenly decided to fix STEM disparities, and accepted almost no white or asian males. You wouldn't miraculously get a diverse AND qualified graduating class in four years.
I can't tell you how many thoroughly mediocre female bands and artists I checked out before I figured out what was going on.
The site was already going to shit, but it is now almost worthless for finding new, good music. It's all just politics with a thin veneer of art.
I can't prove this, but within months of #MeToo, I believe Pitchfork adopted an official policy where 3 out of 5 daily reviews have to be female artists, or at least female fronted bands. They had already been quickly shifting to black artists, so the remaining 1 or 2 are almost always minorities, gay, trans, etc. Finding a white, straight, male artist in one of their reviews, let alone one of their best of lists, is nearly impossible especially if they aren't an established act.
I'm not saying that's a prerequisite for making good music, but when Pitchfork was primarily Indy Rock and Electronic music a few years ago it was predominantly white males that happened to be featured because that's who most of the artists in those genres were.
It's like if MIT suddenly decided to fix STEM disparities, and accepted almost no white or asian males. You wouldn't miraculously get a diverse AND qualified graduating class in four years.
I can't tell you how many thoroughly mediocre female bands and artists I checked out before I figured out what was going on.
The site was already going to shit, but it is now almost worthless for finding new, good music. It's all just politics with a thin veneer of art.
I can't prove this, but within months of #MeToo, I believe Pitchfork adopted an official policy where 3 out of 5 daily reviews have to be female artists, or at least female fronted bands. They had already been quickly shifting to black artists, so the remaining 1 or 2 are almost always minorities, gay, trans, etc. Finding a white, straight, male artist in one of their reviews, let alone one of their best of lists, is nearly impossible especially if they aren't an established act.
I can't tell you how many thoroughly mediocre female bands and artists I checked out before I figured out what was going on.
The site was already going to shit, but it is now almost worthless for finding new, good music. It's all just politics with a thin veneer of art.
I can't prove this, but within months of #MeToo, I believe Pitchfork adopted an official policy where 3 out of 5 daily reviews have to be female artists, or at least female fronted bands. They had already been quickly shifting to black artists, so the remaining 1 or 2 are almost always minorities, gay, trans, etc. Finding a white, straight, male artist in one of their reviews, let alone one of their best of lists, is nearly impossible especially if they aren't an established act.
The site was already going to shit, but it is now almost worthless for finding new, good music. It's all just politics with a thin veneer of art.