(UPDATED) "@pitchforkmedia site traffic down almost 50% year over year. Where did all the cool kids go?" @dashgo tweeted late yesterday and Compete tracking of visitors to the indie music site confirmed the drop. So, where did all the cool kids go?  My guess is that we're witnessing The Great Fractionalization Of Media Consumption Part 2. Free and targeted digital media made music magazines from Rolling Stone to Vibe far less essential, as audiences drifted to sites like Pitchfork. Now a plethora of niche blogs and music media aggregators like The Hype Machine are doing the same to Pitchfork.  

UPDATE: Some Hypebot readers have valid concerns with the methodolgy used by Compete, the tracking service whose stats are quoted.  Please be sure to read their comments below.

The Stats:

This fractionalization is not just happening in music media, of course.  Just look at the success of hybrid aggregator and content creator The Huffington Post.