Overview
- Reader ratings will use Pitchfork’s 0.0–10.0 scale and be aggregated into a visible reader score shown alongside the official critic score.
- The change will apply retroactively to more than 30,000 existing album reviews as well as future reviews.
- Pitchfork has not set a firm date for the wider rollout and says it will share timing after the beta concludes.
- Reporters frame the shift as an engagement experiment as media outlets chase audiences and face advertising pressure.
- Coverage flags risks including moderation challenges and potential review-bombing or fandom-driven score manipulation.