Influential music blog Pitchfork has been sold to Condé Nast, the publisher behind iconic magazines like Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, and… Golf Digest. The publisher confirmed the acquisition on Tuesday, though they declined to say how much they paid.

The purchase gives Condé Nast a standalone music publication with a strong editorial voice, said Fred Santarpia, the company’s chief digital officer, who led the acquisition, via The New York Times.

It brings “a very passionate audience of millennial males into our roster”, he added. According to Santarpia, Pitchfork is profitable and in addition to its flagship site, boasts a thriving live events business.

With instalments in Chicago and Paris, Pitchfork Festival is a popular staple of the global live events calendar and Santarpia said the company’s video department is also a vital part of why the acquisition was so attractive.

“Pitchfork is incredibly fortunate to have found in Condé Nast a team of people who share our commitment to editorial excellence,” Ryan Schreiber, Pitchfork’s founder and chief executive, said in a statement.

“Their 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.”

In an email to staff, Condé Nast’s chief executive, Bob Sauerberg, said the deal “reinforces our commitment to building Condé Nast’s premium digital network, focusing on distinctive editorial voices and engaging high-value millennial audiences”.

“This is an extraordinary moment for us,” a statement on the Pitchfork website reads. “In February, Pitchfork will celebrate its 20th birthday. We launched in 1996, when online magazines barely existed, and the internet’s potential as a publishing platform was just becoming clear.”

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“[Condé Nast’s] 100+ years of experience in building brands marked by editorial integrity makes them a natural fit for Pitchfork,” the statement adds, “and their belief in what we do, combined with their additional expertise, will allow us to extend our coverage across all platforms while remaining true to the ideals that have made Pitchfork the most trusted voice in music.”

In an interview with Billboard, WME head of music Marc Geiger noted the influence that a positive review from Pitchfork can have on an artist’s career, saying that “when they gave a review over an eight to an artist, we’d get 40 calls to book them”.

So there you have it, folks. Pitchfork, the so-called hipster’s bible, is now owned by the same company that publishes Teen Vogue, Golf Digest, and Bon Appétit. And who knew Pitchfork was a male-centred publication?

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