Mark Richardson
About
Mark Richardson is from New York City Metropolitan Area. Mark is currently Director of Curation at Third Bridge Creative. Mark also works as Rock and Pop Music Critic at Wall Street Journal, a job Mark has held since Mar 2019. Another title Mark currently holds is Freelance Writer at Self-Employed. In Mark's previous role as a Adjunct Lecturer at Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, Mark worked in New York City Metropolitan Area until Dec 2018. Prior to joining Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, Mark was a Executive Editor, Pitchfork at Condé Nast and held the position of Executive Editor, Pitchfork at New York City Metropolitan Area. Prior to that, Mark was a Editor-in-Chief at Pitchfork, based in Brooklyn, NY from Jul 2011 to Oct 2015. Mark started working as Adjunct Instructor at Columbia College in Greater Chicago Area in Jan 2011. From Jul 2007 to May 2011, Mark was Managing Editor at Pitchfork, based in Greater Chicago Area.
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Mark Richardson's current jobs
Director of Curation overseeing platform-facing music and editorial initiatives for major streaming media companies. Led strategy and delivery across multi-year engagements, working with expert teams and product partners on discovery, metadata, and quality-driven editorial systems. Full-time until February 2026, when I transitioned to a part-time contractor role, continuing to support select projects.
I write a weekly column for the Wall Street Journal about rock and pop music.
For the last 20 years I’ve written about music and culture, with a focus on criticism and the intersection of music and technology. My book Zaireeka (2009), which explores the Flaming Lips album of the same name, offered an in-depth look at the changes in music listening in light of emerging technology, positing this unique release as the antithesis of convenience-first download culture. In addition to the writing I've done at Pitchfork, where I worked as an editor for 11 years, I’ve contributed to publications including The Wall Street Journal, Billboard, Village Voice, L.A. Weekly, and Washington City Paper and more, and contributed to the Bloomsbury textbook How to Write About Music.
Mark Richardson's past jobs
I taught Arts Criticism (Journalism 72010) at CUNY, focusing on music, film, and television writing.
Pitchfork is the world's leading online music magazine. As Executive Editor, I was responsible for all editorial for Pitchfork. I managed a staff of 20 editors, writers, designers, and video shooters/editors, as well as managing the editorial budget. I worked directly with senior editors and writers to ideate, develop, shape, and edit stories. During my tenure as the top editor of Pitchfork, traffic more than doubled.
I was Editor-in-Chief of Pitchfork during years of rapid growth, overseeing all aspects of editorial. Under my leadership, Pitchfork grew from an independent webzine into the most widely-respected online music publication in the world. Under my leadership, Pitchfork was nominated for multiple National Magazine Awards, winning for General Excellence in Digital Media in 2013.
I taught the class Press, Consumers, and the Music Industry, focusing in the intersection of music journalism with the music business at large. Topics included the writing and analysis of music criticism, features, and press releases.
As Managing Editor of Pitchfork I edited the Reviews section and was responsible for the site’s critical voice in addition to designing and managing the editorial workflow.