Backstage

As an independent platform, we believe transparency is crucial to good reporting and building trust. It is our obligation to share our successes and failures with you and provide details so you can hold us accountable.

2023 has been a year of transition for this platform, as previously stated in our «letter from the editor». The standalone Weekly5 service was re-integrated into a revamped version of Negative White, the online magazine where the playlist originated.

The transformation was followed by a variety of changes, adjustments, and experiments. However, the goals remained the same: To provide excellent music journalism in harmony with our values and reach financial sustainability.

Weekly5: 47% Female Artists

Setting the ambitious goal of financial sustainability at the end of 2022, Weekly5 started as a paid service in 2023. However, when Negative White relaunched, it returned to a free offer again, providing a platform for upcoming artists.

In 2023, we curated 30 editions featuring 150 songs from 137 artists. While trying to provide as many different artists a platform as possible, one band was featured three times: Swiss indie pop upstart Soft Loft.

Of the 137 artists, 65 were female or female-fronted bands, which amounts to almost a 50:50 ratio or 47% of featured artists.

As Negative White is based in Switzerland, we also try to highlight Swiss artists. 38 artists have their origins in the country.

Using a playlist analysing tool, Weekly5's 2023 playlist shows a moderately diverse genre distribution:

• 28% Rock
• 20% Electronic
• 18% Pop
• 17% Folk/Acoustic
• 6% Metal
• 11% Others like R&B, Hip-Hop, Jazz, or Blues

The analysis also shows that the playlist mainly features so-called «obscure» songs. It means that the curated tracks are not very popular on Spotify. Therefore, we fulfil the promise of featuring new and upcoming as well as underground artists.

Furthermore, our editor, Janosch Troehler, pledged to buy every featured song if it is available on Bandcamp. The count shows that out of the 150 songs, 72 have been purchased and were directly financially supported.

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:

1. Buy Music: A $100 gift card for Bandcamp—sponsored by our editor, Janosch Trohler
2. Free Premium: 12 months of Premium membership, giving you access to all our reporting, worth $55
3. 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.

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.

In the last few decades, today’s world seems as polarised as ever. Information cycles spin ever faster while trust in journalism is continuously declining. The tendency to actively avoid news is rising in Switzerland and many other countries.

In the tension between traditional journalism, blogging, and influencers, we also meander with Negative White.

However, our subject—music—is often less controversial than your daily news. Nevertheless, we need to address specific topics within our realm of work as we believe that transparency is crucial to help assess our reporting and decision-making in general.

Definition of Bias

Bias is the inclination to favour or maintain a particular perspective or opinion, often without considering other viewpoints or evidence. Bias can be conscious or unconscious and can take various forms, such as racial, gender, or political bias. It can also be influenced by personal experiences, cultural background, and societal norms.

Bias can have significant consequences, particularly in decision-making processes, where it can lead to unfair treatment or discrimination. Recognising and addressing bias is crucial to ensure fairness and equity in all aspects of life.

With that said, we also can conclude that music reporting certainly has way lower stakes when it comes to biases than, for example, political or business journalism. However, biases are still affecting our reporting nonetheless.

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.

While it is the easiest way to get our content through our newsletter subscription, there is now an additional option for you: Negative White's content is now also available on Google News.

Click the following link to follow the publication.

If you like a more visual hint towards our latest content, you might find our Instagram page worth following. Check it out here.