Pitchfork Airwaves on IFC Creates Venue for Independent Music on Television
Live Performances, Documentary Segments and Music Videos from Pitchfork.tv
Premiere on IFC and IFC.com Sunday, August 24
New York, NY – August 11, 2008 – IFC has penned an agreement with Pitchfork Media, the web’s leading independent music resource, to be the exclusive television partner for Pitchfork.tv’s catalog of live performances, interviews, documentary segments and music videos. The network will air 10 uncut interstitial shows each week from select episodes of hit Pitchfork.tv series such as Juan’s Basement, Daytripping, In the Studio and Don’t Look Down, among others under a new programming block called Pitchfork Airwaves on IFC. IFC will also create a destination for Pitchfork content at IFC.com, which will include video and editorial content.
"This partnership combines the best of independent music with the best of independent television," said Craig Parks, vice president of digital media for IFC. "As IFC broadens its focus beyond film to include all aspects of independent interests – of which music is a huge and important part – this partnership will expand IFC’s presence as a leading voice in independent culture and possibly lead to future co-productions."
Pitchfork.tv features high-quality productions of some of the most popular and upcoming bands in independent music, such as The Hold Steady, No Age, and Fleet Foxes, and mini-documentaries on legends-like punk pioneer David Byrne, dub reggae progenitor Lee "Scratch" Perry, and minimalist composer Steve Reich-who remain leading influences in underground music.
Series scheduled to air on IFC and IFC.com at launch include:
- Juan’s Basement – Capturing the best and brightest of today’s independent musicians at the height of their powers, this series features subterranean performances and interviews from a Brooklyn basement.
- Don’t Look Down – The expansive urban views from New York City rooftops become backdrops for exclusive sets from the likes of Brooklyn-based bar-rockers The Hold Steady, Portland power-pop trio the Thermals.
- Daytripping – Pitchfork.tv spends the day with the wildest personalities in independent music, whether visiting Austin shooting ranges with L.A. noise-punks HEALTH, or boarding the Coney Island Cyclone with Philly-based party-starter Girl Talk.
"It’s hard to imagine a more ideal partner for Pitchfork.tv’s coverage of the independent music scene than IFC," said Pitchfork founder/president Ryan Schreiber. "Our mutual passion for spotlighting the best of independent culture will allow us to bring today’s most vital artists to fans of underground film and provide them with the exposure and respect they deserve."
About Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media is the leading online independent resource for music journalism, with incisive focus on indie rock, hip-hop, electronic, pop, metal, and experimental underground music. Publishing daily reviews, features, and interviews, as well as real-time music news coverage, Pitchfork has developed one of the web’s most devoted and loyal followings, establishing itself during its 12-year history as the world’s most authoritative online music publication. Attracting 1.7 million unique visitors per month and 260,000 visits per day, the site is now acknowledged as the music world’s premiere tastemaker, with a readership second only to Rolling Stone magazine, and larger than those of major, corporate-owned print publications such as Blender, Spin, and Vibe. In April 2008, Pitchfork launched Pitchfork.tv, the first online music video channel dedicated to the documentation of independent music. In its first month of existence, Pitchfork.tv featured exclusive performances by Radiohead, Vampire Weekend, and No Age, racking up more than 2 1/2 million video plays.
About IFC
IFC (The Independent Film Channel) is the first and only network dedicated to independent film and related programming, 24 hours a day, uncut and uncensored. Operating under the mantra ’always, uncut,’ IFC presents feature-length films, "cult classics," thought-provoking original documentaries such as At the Death House Door and This Film Is Not Yet Rated, shorts, animated series, exclusive web series, and television’s most comprehensive independent film library. The network also offers some of the most innovative and edgy original series on television, including the sketch comedy "The Whitest Kids U’ Know." Providing a voice for independent thought not found anywhere else on television, IFC broadens the audience for independent film and supports the independent film community through its exclusive live coverage of notable film events like the Independent Spirit Awards. The network’s On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives audiences the opportunity to watch premieres of all of IFC’s original series in HD before they air on the linear network. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Sundance Channel, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading distribution company for independent film; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.