beyond labubu + why there’s porn on spotify now

you want it? you got it

Hey everyone!

Feels like so long since I last wrote to you. Dare I say… I missed you?

Last week the thred team attended Cannes Lions Festival in the south of France. We met some incredible people from all over the world, sat in on some insightful talks – Kai Cenat, Amelia Dimoldenberg, and Charlie Puth among them – and even found a bit of time to soak up the sun and sea.

Now that we’re back in our home base London, it’s time to serve up some news you might be missing from your main feed. From the internet’s new ways of shrouding its misogyny to ChatGPT’s affect on our brains, Spotify porn and the global boom of the Chinese market (beyond Labubu dolls)… we’ve got a lot to cover.

Let’s get into it!

Culture

The artwork for Sabrina Carpenter’s upcoming album Man’s Best Friend is causing quite the stir. It features an image of the singer on all fours while a male hand grabs her hair. Social media users immediately labeled the image ‘misogynistic’ and ‘irresponsible,’ while others stated that Carpenter was never ‘for the girls’. This line of criticism isn’t new, with online conversations criticising women who are sexually forward or perceived as trying to appeal to men. Various tropes include the ‘pick-me,’ ‘male-dominated,’ and ‘not a girl’s girl.’ This Vox article points out that deployers of these slurs fail to realise that ‘they suggest women are to blame for men’s actions or that they can protect themselves from violence by appearing a certain way.’ When these conversations happen on social media, nuance is often lost.

Nearly 150 report being stabbed with needles at French music festival – nyt
French officials have confirmed that 145 people across the country, including 13 in Paris, reported being stabbed with needles at an annual, nationwide music festival on Saturday. Twelve people were arrested in connection with the stabbings. Police did not provide any details about those arrested, nor the substances the syringes may have contained. While the number of victims was small compared with the millions of people who attended Fête de la Musique events across France, the reports add to a growing list of episodes in recent years in which people have reported being injected without their knowledge or consent in crowded venues like clubs or bars in Europe.

Style

The Labubu craze – which has roped in the likes of David Beckham and Rihanna – has sent the creator Pop Mart’s shares up by 170 percent since the start of the year. The company is one of many Chinese consumer brands whose popularity is surging. For decades Chinese shoppers tended to look overseas for the latest trends in cosmetics, fashion, hospitality and more. Now they are flocking to local luxury firms, high-end make-up brands and milk-tea shops. What is more, many of these brands are gaining a devoted following abroad. Western brands should be paying attention!

Inside the rise of Whatnot– the $5bn shopping app you’ve never heard of – fortune
Over the past couple of years, Whatnot has quietly climbed App Store charts. It is one of the leaders of the growing trend of live-streamed commerce in the U.S. and has found success in reinvigorated collectibles markets. Now Whatnot currently ranks inside the top 15 most popular free iPhone apps in the U.S., sandwiched between household names Instagram and Netflix. It tops the charts at no. 1 in the shopping category overall. Merchants on Whatnot sold a combined $3 billion in goods in 2024, mainly in collectible categories like trading cards and sports cards, but also in fast-growing verticals like women’s fashion and sneakers, too. The startup, while unprofitable, is forecasting more than $6 billion in gross merchandise volume, or GMV, in 2025, or about double its 2024 numbers.