The 2024 edition of the flagship Pitchfork Music Festival was its last, with publishing giant Condé Nast (owner of Pitchfork since 2015) announcing in November that the event was over after 19 years. The first interview with festival co-founder Mike Reed has now been published by WBEZ Chicago, illuminating more about the media company's continuous fumbling of the publication and its brand — including that Reed had been urged to book Justin Bieber to headline the fest.
The co-founder cited escalating costs from all corners of the concert industry as contributing to P4K Fest's eventual demise, but also noted that the writing had been on the wall since Condé Nast took ownership of Pitchfork.
"The costs are out of control," Reed told journalist Mark Guarino. "The compromise you have to make on festivals like this is not something I'm deeply interested in." He said that he felt increasing pressure from the media conglomerate to put big commercial pop acts like Bieber or Demi Lovato on the bill, signalling to him that Condé Nast wasn't aware of — or wasn't interested in — what made Pitchfork Music Festival stand out in a sea of similar events focused on mainstream music.
However, while the financial challenges for festivals of its size also grew from union costs, insurance, security, taxes and the like, the biggest culprit is reportedly artist guarantees. According to Reed, more than a decade ago, a P4K Fest headliner would cost between $12,000 and $20,000 USD to book. Now, the starting fee is $1 million. "If you saw that in any other industry, it would be insane," he said.
In the streaming economy, live shows are where there's money to be made; especially in a festival setting, wherein Matt Rucins — senior talent buyer at the Auditorium Theatre — told Guarino artists could earn 20 percent more than a typical show at an indoor venue. The cultural devaluation of recorded music via streaming has likewise contributed to the phenomenon of growing concert ticket costs (in addition to scalpers, bots, hidden fees, Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing system, and the rest of the extensive list).
The industry and music lovers at large were deeply saddened to hear about the Pitchfork Music Festival cancellation, but Reed was "relieved and happy." The co-founder explained, "It started with me, and it ended with me. I'm also glad I didn't have to make the decision myself. I drove it until the wheels came off."
Almost a year ago, it was reported that Condé Nast had sought to reunite Oasis to "juice ticket sales" for the festival, which a group of executives had decided was "not chic enough."