The story of music muckraker Ryan Schreiber

By Lana Lee

Photo Credit: Giulia Mazza

What’s Pitchfork? The Washington Post calls it “the hilariously snarky, oft-elitist, sometimes impenetrable but entertaining and occasionally even enlightening Internet music magazine, which may or may not be the new Rolling stone.”

The magazine is the brainchild of music-obsessive Ryan Schreiber, an academic delinquent from Minneapolis. What started as Schreiber’s labor of love has flourished into one of the most influential online tastemakers, with more than 400,000 daily visitors. Every week, the 20 or so Pitchfork staffers sift through over 300 CDs from labels and music-makers who want to be put on the map by the website. And a single review – with its trademark shoot-from-the hip writing – has the power to make or break a record.

Pitchfork brought undiscovered indie gems like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Modest Mouse and Broken Social Scene to prominence. When Pitchfork published an album review of somewhat obscure Canadian band Arcade Fire, according to the Post, it became the “fastest-selling title in the history of Merge Records.” Brooklyn Rail’s Matthew Ozga, who wrote about the “Pitchfork effect,” said “a rave from Pitchfork can thrust an unknown band onto center stage at the Hammerstein; a bad review means “‘Nice knowin’ ya!’”

And Schreiber’s rise to fame, as Hillary Frey of the New York Observer wrote, is the story of “a music fan with a good idea – one that any number of young wannabe music/writer geeks could have conceived and pursued, if only they hadn’t been busy with college, keg parties, skateboarding competitions or whatever else we were doing in the mid-90’s.”

In the Columbia Journalism Review’s “Listen to This,” Kiera Butler wrote that Schreiber had a lonely childhood in Minneapolis. His parents were real estate agents and they weren’t around very often. His obsession with music began in elementary school. “I was so into music I was kind of weird,” he told Butler. “Music was all I ever wanted to talk about.”

Growing up, Schreiber and his friends produced music ‘zines around his hometown. When the 19-year-old Schreiber graduated high school, he had no ambition to go to college. No journalism experience. But he had an Internet connection and a love for music. And in 1995, Pitchfork was born from Schreiber’s suburban childhood bedroom.

“I wanted to meet bands – I thought that would be really cool,” said Schreiber to the Observer. “So I thought it would be kind of fun to start a magazine on the Web and write about my favorite bands and get to meet them.”

It was not an immediate success story, but more a slow climb. In the early stages, Schreiber posted a few reviews every month, worked on his tech skills, created everything on his own and interviewed every band he could. Schreiber was a telemarketer and record store clerk by night, Pitchfork editor by day.

“Understand how rare that was as Pitchfork’s popularity started to build a few years ago,” said Scott Legere, an engineer, musician, producer and managing director of recording studios like Echo Bay Productions, Paisley Park and Noware. “We were submerged in an era where sales declines, store closings, and rock star antics seemed to be the news of the day. Contrary to this narrative, while often irreverent, Pitchfork spoke with a seriousness of music criticism that I think had been lost to some degree. Yes, they’ve been criticized as overly snarky from time to time, but their seriousness of the subject – music as important cultural artifact – still mattered. Pitchfork stood for something when other blogs were preoccupied with the minutia of the industry. Music criticism is not easy. We’ve all heard the same story time and time again about such and such an artist, and how they are special. Pitchfork seemed to rise above this and speak from the standpoint of fandom.”

Pitchfork outgrew the basement after its various basement set-ups. Schreiber sold his vinyl records on eBay to make the move to Chicago in 2005. By the time the lease ran out on Pitchfork’s first office, Schreiber owed months of rent. But over time, Schreiber worked on expanding the site, selling advertisements to record labels and music festivals, posting daily and taking freelance reviews. Schreiber told the Observer that he never did any advertising for the website – it was all word-of-mouth.

“Obviously, I never foresaw that it would get quite this big,” said Schreiber to the Observer. “I was sort of ambitious about it, but it’s obviously gone so far beyond my expectations that it’s hard for me to believe that this is my job.”

Pitchfork’s album rating system assigns scores from 0.0 to 10.0. It is sometimes merciless. Occasionally controversial. But according to many fans, that is what makes Pitchfork the true proponent of music criticism.

“Pitchfork has reclaimed criticism as a valuable and potent exercise in standards, where all other publications are basically shill for advertisers,” said David Lewis, the founder of Riot Act Media. “When I think about it, Spin or Rolling Stone are no longer credible sources for me as a consumer because they just roll over if someone’s buying a full page ad. The cynics might say that they can do this because they have a much lower overhead, but Pitchfork has always been about integrity. Maybe it teeters on snobbery, but in that same breath they seem to be inspired by the notion of discovery, something long forgotten by big media; that if music journalism – and maybe all journalism – serves that higher calling, of advocacy and exposure, then we might be more inclined to read.”

And Pitchfork remains one-of-a-kind as the gatekeeper of the new and obscure.

“Whereas many blogs are niche-specific or taste-specific, we try to be comprehensive in terms of the independent music world – even if we don’t like it,” said Schreiber to the Guardian.

According to several sources, Pitchfork’s daily reviews also give it an edge in the music world. Additionally, Pitchfork has grown to include an annual music festival and a video component called Pitchfork.tv. It also features news items like newly announced tour dates and information about the latest indie band for those who skip the criticism.

“I ask all my classes where they find their music today,” said David Olson, the assistant chair of the business department at McNally Smith College of Music. “Most listen to satellite radio, listen to on-line streaming services, or plug in their iPods. Ryan Schreiber recognized this wave was coming and immersed himself in a new culture of independent music. He wrote prolifically about it, gained expertise, a listening audience, and consequently, a power base. He’s successful because he works very hard at something he loves. If it’s true that ‘the masses live out their lives in quiet desperation’ (Thoreau), it’s a huge bullet he dodged.”

Although Schreiber is bombarded with proposals from investors, he does not plan on selling Pitchfork.

“It’s really important for me to retain complete ownership,” he told the Post. “I don’t want to compromise my ideals for a lump sum. It’s not about money; it’s about journalistic integrity.”

People Magazine and the Post wrote that Schreiber is one of the 25 most powerful people in the music industry. Schreiber and 199 others were nominated as finalists for 2009’s “Time 100 Most Influential People in the World.” And Michael Cranston of the Fader noted, “Alongside Vladimir Putin, Pope Benedict XVI, Robert Mugabe, Barack Obama and Rush Limbaugh sits our very own indie compadre Mr. Schreiber. The zeitgeist of the 2009 will not be remembered for any sort of economic collapse, political strife or military engagements, but for the popularization of music freed from commercial interests and agendas!”

Although he didn’t win, Time did call him the “Pravda of idie rock.” And it is clear that Schreiber has created a website with an almost otherworldly status – one with power and influence over opinions (and record sales).

“People come back to us again and again because they know we’re not corrupted,” Schreiber told the Observer. “If someone offered us tons of money to commercialize [Pitchfork], it would change into the antithesis of the reason I started it. This is something I am so in love with – this is my entire adult life’s work.”