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Participate In Our 2023 Survey And Win Great Prizes
As 2023 is coming to an end, we appreciate your feedback. You also have the chance to win great prizes by filling out our survey.
The year is almost over, and it's been roughly seven months since Negative White rose from its grave. We would like to hear your opinion: What do you like? What would you like to see less from us?
We appreciate you taking the time to fill out our short survey:
Finish The Survey And Enter Our Contest
Giving feedback is also a potential win for you. If you enter your email address in the survey, you're joining our contest. Here's what you have a chance of winning:
- Buy Music: A $100 gift card for Bandcamp—sponsored by our editor, Janosch Trohler
- Free Premium: 12 months of Premium membership, giving you access to all our reporting, worth $55
- Reduced Premium: An 80% discounted Premium membership for 12 months, worth $44
If you are already a paying member, we will credit your account. The deadline for participation is December 20, 2023, 8 pm UTC+1.
The New Negative White Archive
Between 2010 and 2020, Negative White's staff published hundreds of articles and thousands of photos. We're preserving them on a new site.
From its innocent and naïve beginnings in 2010, Negative White became a significant, independent online magazine covering cultural events at home and abroad.
For a decade, volunteers reported and photographed hundreds of concerts, wrote reviews, interviewed artists, and researched background stories. It generated a vast archive of photos and articles written in German.
Now, we will migrate the archive onto a new platform to keep the content alive and well. You can already find the archive here.
In the coming weeks, or probably months, considering the amount of content, we will carefully select archived material and publish it to the new website. It is a considerable effort as we are looking at a pool of around 2500 articles and roughly 10'000 photos.
However, we think the challenge is worth it as we preserve pearls like our report from Lewis Capaldi's first headline show in Switzerland or the gallery from The Libertines gig in 2018.
Currently, just under 100 articles are produced and published, but more will follow as we migrate more content. We will follow up on the progress at appropriate points in time.
If you also think our effort is worth it, please consider supporting us with a paid membership and help us finance the archive.
Community Essentials #4: The 80s
The 4th Community Essentials brings you five member-recommended songs from the 80s.
The 1980s: Neon lights, synthesizers, blowdry hairstyles. The decade came a long way—from a perception of bad taste to a new-found love in its retrofuturistic vintage aesthetics.
Musically, the decade has much to offer: From the progression of post-punk into new and dark wave, synthesizer-driven sounds, the establishment of gothic rock to the rise of electronic music and early hip-hop.
Our esteemed members have sent in their favourite songs of the era so that we can compile a short list of classics. Here are their recommendations.
Crowdfunding for Cultural Venue KiFF Enters Final Stage
The cultural venue KiFF is crowdfunding a new building. With nine days left, they still require around 124'000 Swiss Francs to help succeed with their ambitious project.
Since 1991, people have enjoyed cultural events in «Kultur in der Futterfabrik», or KIFF for short. However, the venue in Aarau, Switzerland, has seen its best years and doesn't meet the rising standards of a modern event space anymore. Or as the association puts it: «The spaces are too small, insulation and ventilation are poor, and the infamous stairs too steep... Renovation is simply not an option, and the lease is expiring.»
An Ambitious New Space
The proposed solution is to tear down the old factory building and create a new space. According to the website, the new venue should become a «versatile home for pop culture» with a large hall for concerts, a club, a restaurant, an exhibition stage, rehearsal rooms, and a new home for the local indie radio station Kanal K.
On November 27, 2022, the people of Aarau voted with 75.7% to support the new project financially. With around 27.6 million Swiss Francs already raised to support the project, KiFF started a crowdfunding campaign to raise additional funds. The goal is 500'000 Swiss Francs.
Under the motto «KiFF me baby one more time», crowdfunding is now entering its final stage with only nine days left. As of publishing, around 376'000 Swiss Francs have been collected.
Not A First in Switzerland
The ambitious plans and crowdfunding are not new for Switzerland's cultural venues. In 2020, the traditional concert and club venue Albani was raising money to buy the building where they were located. They raised over 500'000 Swiss Francs and saved the long-term existence of a cultural institution that had existed since 1988.
Also in 2023, Neubad in Lucerne, located in an old swimming pool building, crowdfunded the installation of solar panels on the roof. They raised 23'865 Swiss Francs, exceeding the goal.
Although crowdfunding always remains risky and time-consuming, it has benefits. Especially in more extensive operations like the projects of KiFF or Albani, the uncertain dependence on private landlords vanishes. But most importantly, successful crowdfunding campaigns further legitimise the existence of cultural spaces.
Sean Combs Accused of Rape and Severe Physical Abuse—Lawsuit Settled
A lawsuit filed by Sean Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, also known as singer Cassie, alleges he abused her for more than a decade. The lawsuit has been settled on day after it was filed.
Update: The lawsuit has been settled one day after it was filed. They did not disclose terms of the settlement.
Sean Combs, better known under his various pseudonyms like Diddy, P. Diddy, or Puff Daddy, has been accused of rape and abuse in a significant lawsuit filed by the singer and ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, aka Cassie. The lawsuit alleged Combs used his powerful network to keep her trapped in a violent relationship with him.
Cassie dated Sean Combs for more than ten years. She alleges that during this period, Combs assaulted her multiple times—from beatings to rape—and controlled her entire life, as the New York Times first reported on Thursday.
In a statement to the Times, she said that she was «finally ready to tell my story and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships.»
The lawsuit seeked damages for lost wages as well as mental pain and severe emotional distress.
A Sinister Picture Is Painted
The lawsuit offered detailed descriptions of how Sean Combs seems to have created a controlling environment—from buying designer clothes, homes, and cars to drugs. He lured her into an «ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle,» according to the lawsuit, and also subjected her to beatings, forced sexual encounters, and threats of violence.
Sean Combs, also founder of Bad Boy Records, began pursuing Cassie aggressively after she signed to the label at the age of 19, even inviting himself to her 21st birthday and forcibly kissing her, the lawsuit stated.
Threats of violence and his network were used by Combs to keep Ventura in the relationship, the lawsuit alleged, offering an example of what that meant: In 2012, after Ventura began a brief relationship with rapper Kid Cudi, Combs allegedly blew up the rapper's car. The New York Times contacted Kid Cudi, who confirmed the incident: «This is all true.»
A representative for Combs denied the lawsuit's claims, writing that the allegations were «offensive and outrageous.» According to the statement, Ventura filed the lawsuit after demanding $30m: «Ms Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr Combs' reputation and seeking a pay day.»
Conversely, a lawyer for Ventura told the Times that she was offered «eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit», which she rejected.
Black Friday Special: Get 50% Off Your Premium Subscription
With a Premium subscription, you not only unlock every article on Negative White but also support our independent and ad-free platform.
We have some exciting news for you today! As part of our early-bird Black Friday special, you can get 50% off a premium subscription to Negative White.
But wait, there's a catch—this offer is only available for 20 subscriptions. So, be quick and grab yours before it's too late!
With a premium subscription, you can access all the incredible content Negative White publishes. Take advantage of this fantastic deal!
Why Does Negative White Need Money?
Although Negative White's team currently works unpaid, the platform still generates operational costs. Your subscription helps us to cover these costs and keep the magazine afloat.
Since we're firm believers in transparency, here's a comprehensive overview of our yearly recurrent costs:
- Technical Infrastructure: $620
- Includes CMS licence, server, tracking, and domains.
- Tools: $180
- Includes playlisting app and design, collaboration, and planning tools.
What Happens If The Subscription Revenue Exceeds The Recurrent Costs?
Good question. Any additional revenue will be reinvested into the platform to professionalize our offering further with better tools, marketing campaigns, and more extensive reporting.
As a stretch goal, we aim to pay our contributors, writers and photographers alike, a small salary for their efforts. However, this is currently far away in the future.
Community Essentials #3: Reflective Mood
For our third Community Essentials playlist, we asked our members to recommend songs that invite reflection, mindfulness, and thoughtfulness.
In the third edition of our member-driven format, Community Essentials, we have asked you to recommend songs that prompt a reflective, thoughtful, or mindful mood.
With your submissions, we could put together a neat playlist with songs that vary in style—from neo-classical sound to electronic compositions—and provide an opportunity not only to reflect but also discover new tunes.
Google Implements Podcasts Into YouTube Music
In an assumed attempt to boost their streaming service, Google implemented podcasts into YouTube Music.
After announcing that Google Podcasts would be folded, the Silicon Valley giant has added a podcast feature to its music streaming service, YouTube Music.
So far, however, the podcast functionality has left much to be desired. Now, the company has introduced a new function that allows users to subscribe to podcasts.
New Import Feature
The new feature lets users import podcasts via RRS. This means they can add the RSS feed of your favourite podcast to the app. New podcast episodes will then be retrieved and automatically imported. It's far from groundbreaking, as all podcast apps work similarly.
Additionally, YouTube Music also suggests popular podcasts on the platform.
An Attempt To Boost YouTube Music
Integrating podcasts into YouTube Music is certainly an attempt to add further value to the streaming service. Ending Google Podcasts, however, was an admission of failure.
Nevertheless, whether the integration is doing much for YouTube Music remains questionable. A significant investment into podcasts by Spotify proved to be a miscalculation—with revenue far below expectations.
According to Business of Apps, YouTube still reigns king in music streaming, with 2 billion active users. However, this number includes YouTube—not simply its premium service, YouTube Music, which has gathered 80 million paid subscribers. In comparison, YouTube Music's competition, Apple Music and Spotify have around 88 and 188 premium subscribers, respectively.
On the other hand, YouTube Music is still growing and, as its service is more widely available, might soon overtake Apple Music in paid subscriptions.
Then again, the streaming market is already highly saturated, with most people having a premium subscription if they want or can afford one. Despite that, streaming services are still unprofitable.
