Pitchfork is beta testing user reviews and comments as it approaches 30

Original story by: The Verge Last updated: Oct 22, 2025

Context: Pitchfork, a long-standing music publication, is undergoing significant changes to adapt to the evolving media landscape. Facing declining ad revenue and shifting audience preferences towards social media influencers, the website is introducing user-generated content features to regain relevance.
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Detailed Summary:
- Pitchfork is experimenting with user comments and allowing readers to assign their own scores to albums.
- These reader scores will be aggregated to create a "reader score" that will appear alongside Pitchfork's official score for each review.
- This move is seen as Pitchfork attempting to emulate platforms like Rotten Tomatoes, but for music reviews.
- Historically, Pitchfork has been a one-way platform with no direct reader interaction on reviews.
- The introduction of these features marks a significant departure from its previous model.
- These changes reflect broader industry challenges, including a shift in audience engagement towards social media and a decline in traditional advertising revenue.