Condé Nast is closing Pitchfork and folds its remains into douchebag magazine GQ. This is indeed an absolute travesty but it follows a familiar pattern. A niche publication becomes successful with a dedicated audience. Big publishing house acquires the publication to „develop the format.“ Big publishing house realises there are limits to the growth within the niche audience and that the revenue isn’t what they expected. Big publishing house expands the topics covered in the publication—here to include pop and rap coverage—but still the numbers aren’t satisfying for the suits. Big publishing house closes the publication. It’s an ongoing cycle of money destroying culture, unless the culture is Taylor Swift or Beyoncé.