 | |
| Broadcast area | Australia and internationallyonline |
|---|---|
| Frequency | FM:Various,DVB-T: Ch. 28, andDAB+ |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Alternative music, withspecialist programming weeknights |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| History | |
First air date | 19 January 1975; 50 years ago (1975-01-19) as 2JJ |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | Australian Communications and Media Authority |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Web stream |
| Website | www |
Triple J[a] is an Australian government-funded nationalradio station founded in 1975 as a division of theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners ofalternative music, and plays far moreAustralian content than commercial networks.
The station was set up under theGough Whitlam government, wanting to extend the appeal of the ABC to young Australians. Initially broadcasting as2JJ orDouble Jay[b] from 19 January 1975, it stood apart fromcommercial stations with its lack ofprivate advertising and its fringe music programming. Following a transition toFM in 1981, the station rebranded as2JJJ or Triple J as it expanded regionally throughout the 1990s. Two spin-offdigital stations were launched in the early 2010s:Double J aims to appeal to more mature audiences, andTriple J Unearthed plays only unsigned, local musicians.
Despite declining ratings in their target 18–24-year-old demographic, Triple J maintains a strongpodcast andsocial media reach,[3] and continues to have a significant impact on theAustralian music landscape. More broadly, it has been praised for makingpopular culture accessible for young people acrossregional Australia.[4] Triple J supports majormusic festivals and domestic tours, and organises its own events likeOne Night Stand. Every year, it broadcasts theHottest 100, a public poll of the years' most popular music, and runs theJ Awards, a music award series. Triple J annually championsAusmusic Month and founded the nationwideAusmusic T-Shirt Day initiative in 2013 to raise money for music industry charity Support Act. The network's online discovery platform,Unearthed, provides pathways forindependent artists to be broadcast on the network and featured on national festival lineups. However, Triple J has long beencriticised for promoting a homogenous national music scene.
The launch of a new, youth-focused radio station was a product of the progressive media policies of theWhitlam government of 1972–75.[5] Prime ministerGough Whitlam wanted to set the station up to appeal to the youth vote, and theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), worried about its declining audience, "wanted a station for young people who would grow up to be ABC listeners."[6] A new station was also a recommendation stemming from the McLean Report of 1974, which suggested expanding radio broadcasting onto theFM band, issuing a new class ofbroadcasting licence which permitted the establishment ofcommunity radio stations, and the creation of two new stations for the ABC: 2JJ in Sydney, referred to as Double Jay Rock[b][1][7] and the short-lived 3ZZ inMelbourne.[8][9]
Double Jay was intended to be the first link in Whitlam's planned national youth network, however, his administration was not re-elected in the1975 federal election. The succeedingFraser government's budget cuts to the ABC also halted this plan from moving forward.[10][11] By the time 2JJ went to air, theWhitlam government was in its final months of office, and presenters on the station were frequently accused ofleft-wing bias in the months that followed.[12]
Double Jay commenced broadcasting at 11:00 am on Sunday, 19 January 1975, at 1540kHz on theAM band.[8] The station was restricted largely to theGreater Sydney region, and its local reception was hampered by inadequate transmitter facilities. However, its frequency was a clearchannel nationally, so it was easily heard at night throughout south-eastern Australia. After midnight, 2JJ would use off-air ABC networks to increase its broadcasting range.[13]
| External media | |
|---|---|
| Audio | |
 1975-1985: 40 Years of Triple J, fromABC Listen, Part one of an audio documentary series on Triple J's history. | |
| Video | |
 Double J: 1975,YouTube video featuring behind-the-scenes content from the 2JJ studio. |
Its first broadcast demonstrated a determination to distinguish itself from other Australian radio stations. The first on-air presenter, DJ Holger Brockmann, notably used his own name, which, at his previous role at2SM, was considered "too foreign-sounding". After an introductory montage that featured sounds from the countdown and launch ofApollo 11, Brockmann launched the station's first broadcast with the words, "Wow, and we're away!", and then playedSkyhooks' "You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good in Bed".[14] The choice of this song to introduce the station was significant, as it represented several important features of the 2JJ brand at the time. Choosing an Australian band reflected the network's commitment toAustralian content at a time when American acts dominatedpop stations. Further, the song was one of several tracks from the Skyhooks' album that had been banned oncommercial radio for its explicit sexual content.[10][15][16] The station chose to play songs that were banned from commercial airwaves, including theRolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil".[17] Because 2JJ was a government-funded station operating under the umbrella of the ABC, it was not bound by commercial censorship codes, and was not answerable to advertisers nor the station owners. In contrast, their Sydney rival, 2SM, was owned by a holding company controlled by theCatholic Archdiocese of Sydney, resulting in the ban or editing of numerous songs.[18][19]
The internal politics of 2JJ were considered a radical departure from the formats of commercial stations. 2JJ's presenters had almost total freedom in their on-air delivery, and all staff participated in major policy decisions. For example, as former announcer Gayle Austin reflected: "In early March, women took over the station as announcers to celebrateInternational Women's Day", and "The listeners owned the station... and if they wanted to come to the meetings and join the debate, they were welcome".[6]
In its early years 2JJ's on-air staff were mainly recruited from either commercial radio or other ABC stations. In another first for the industry, their roster also featured presenters who did not come from a radio background, including singer-songwritersBob Hudson[20] andJohn J. Francis,[21] and actorLex Marinos.[22] Other notable foundation staff and presenters in January 1975 were Chris Winter, Marius Webb, Ron Moss,[11]Arnold Frolows,Mark Colvin,Jim Middleton, Don Cumming, andMac Cocker.[11][23] Alan McGirvan was the breakfast announcer. Early staff also includedTed Robinson,Chris Winter, andJim Middleton. Marius Webb and Ron Moss were the station coordinators, while Ros Cheney was progamme coordinator, and they established the workplace as kind ofcollective. Producer and programmer Sammy Collins later said of Cheney that she was "more political and more dedicated than the men", and it was her presence which enabled female representation at every level. Double Jay was the first Australian music radio station to allow women DJs; one of these was Gayle Austin.[17]
Before the launch of Double Jay in Sydney,Melbourne was the undisputed capital of music; the new station shone the light on musicians from Sydney musicians, and publicised gigs happening in the city. The station played artists such asMidnight Oil,Radio Birdman,INXS,Mental As Anything, andAC/DC long before they had exposure on any other media.[17]
The station rapidly gained popularity, especially with its target youth demographic: media articles noted that in its first two months on air, 2JJ reached a 5.4% share of the total radio audience, with 17% in the 18–24 age group, while the audience share of rival 2SM dropped by 2.3%.[24] Despite the poor quality of reception caused by the Sydney transmitter, the station still saw rapid growth.[25] Austin explained that station staff threatenedindustrial action in July 1975 due to the transmitter issues, but officials of the BCB still refused to meet with 2JJ representatives. A new transmitter was not provided until 1980, following the transition to the FM band.[6]
After the station hosted an open-air concert inLiverpool, New South Wales, in May 1975 featuring Skyhooks andDragon,[26] city'sSun newspaper claimed that attendees were "shocked" by "depictions of sexual depravity and shouted obscenities", which allegedly caused women in the audience to clap their hands over their ears, promptingCoalition frontbencherPeter Nixon to call for the station to be closed down.[27]
During the 1970s, the music programming varied a lot and depended on the presenters and producers, with various factions favouring different artists and styles.[17] There is also archival evidence ofmarijuana being used by presenters while on ABC grounds.
On 11 July 1980, 2JJ began broadcasting on the FM band at a frequency of 105.7 MHz (again restricted to within the Greater Sydney region) and became 2JJJ, referred to as Triple J.[5][28] The first song played was another track then banned from commercial radio, "Gay Guys" bythe Dugites.[29] To celebrate the relaunch, the station organised a concert inParramatta Park on 18 January 1981, featuringMidnight Oil andMatt Finish, who performed to a crowd of 40,000 people.[30][31]
On 19 January 1981, the AM transmissions ceased, and Triple J became an FM-only station. It was not until the 1989 that the ABC was finally able to expand toAdelaide,Brisbane,Canberra,Darwin,Hobart,Melbourne,Newcastle, andPerth.[32] During this period, there were attempts to establish aplaylist for the whole station.[17]
In 1990 the station tookstrike action after ABC management censored theN.W.A. song "Fuck tha Police". In retaliation, the presenters played N.W.A.'s song "Express Yourself" 82 times in a row.[17]Triple M director Barry Chapman was appointed as general manager to oversee Triple J's network expansion and instil cultural change.[17] His tenure generated controversy, most notably in 1990, when all senior announcers in the Sydney office were fired, including the most popular presentersTony Biggs and Tim Ritchie.[29] Several protests were held outside itsWilliam Street studios, including a 105-hourvigil,[6] and a public meeting that packed theSydney Town Hall with angry listeners spilled out onto the street.[29] Listeners were concerned Chapman would bring a more commercial flair to Triple J with music programming that was less dominated by Sydney acts.[33]
Throughout the 1990s, Triple J commenced expansion to more regional areas of Australia and, in 1994, it was extended to another 18 regional centres throughout the country. In 1996, the total was brought to 44, with the new additions includingLaunceston, Tasmania;Albany, Western Australia;Bathurst, New South Wales andMackay, Queensland. Triple J's most recent expansion was toBroome, Western Australia in 2005.[34]
From the 1990s until around 2010, Triple J "set the cultural agenda, particularly for Australian music".Grunge music came to the fore, and bands such asSpiderbait, theBeasts of Bourbon, andThe Cruel Sea attained critical and popular success, boosted by Triple J's playlist.[17]
In May 2003,Arnold Frolows, the only remaining member of the original 2JJ staff of 1975, stepped down after 28 years as Triple J music director. He was replaced by presenterRichard Kingsmill, who joined the station in 1988.[35][36] Kingsmill had previously worked as a producer and presenter at2SER alongsideRobbie Buck andTracee Hutchison.[37]
In late 2004, the station's promotion for their annual Beat the Drum contest – in which listeners were to send in the most remarkable places they could promote the Triple J logo – caused brief controversy after it issued a promotional image of the formerWorld Trade Center draped with a huge drum flag.[38] A notable winner of the competition was a Queensland farmer who formed a drum logo-shapedcrop circle in his wheat-fields.[39]
Triple J launched its own music magazine,JMag (later known asTriple J Magazine), in 2005.[40] It was initially published quarterly, then monthly, but in 2013 the magazine ceased publication by News Custom Publishing. It returned as an annual edition, produced in-house, until 2016.[41]
Adapting to the digitalstreaming age, in 2004, the station began to releasepodcasts of some of its talkback shows, includingDr. Karl,This Sporting Life, andHack.[citation needed] In 2006, Triple J launched JTV (later rebranded toTriple J TV),[42] a series of television programs broadcast onABC1 andABC2 including music videos, live concerts, documentaries, and comedy, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at Triple J's studios.[43]
In 2006, the website forTriple J Unearthed was launched. It remains a hub forunsigned Australian artists to upload their music and be heard by the Triple J team.[44] Adigital radio station, which only plays content from the website, was launched in 2011.[45]
In 2014, ABC's Dig Music digital radio station was rebranded under the Triple J umbrella, becomingDouble J on 30 April 2014.[46][47] The new station featured both new music and material from Triple J interview and sound archives.[48] Former Triple J announcerMyf Warhurst, who hosted the inaugural shift, said "it's for people who love music, and also love a bit of music history".[48] The first song played on Double J wasNick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Get Ready for Love", followed by live performances by Australian artistsKate Miller-Heidke andPaul Dempsey.[49]
In ratings released in August 2015, Triple J was the highest or equal first in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth in the 25–39 demographic.[50]
Triple Jattracted significant news coverage in the lead-up to theHottest 100 of 2017, when the station announced they would move the countdown date to the fourth weekend of January, rather than onAustralia Day (26 January).[51] The decision was taken after a listener petition and survey indicated that the majority of listeners would like it changed,[52] owing tosensitivities in the community about celebrating the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove.[51][53] The Hottest 100 has successfully broadcast on the fourth weekend of January (but not January 26) since 2018,[54] with prominent campaignersA.B. Original calling the move "a step in the right direction".[55]
Triple J began 2020 with a major overhaul of its hosts, replacing longtime presenters includingGen Fricker andTom Tilley with younger talent includingBryce Mills andLucy Smith, in what was billed as a "generational shift for the station".[56]
triple j @triplejdid it hurt? when you aged out of the youth radio station
31 August 2021[57]
In August 2021, the Triple JTwitter account posted a riff on a popularpick-up line, which attracted widespread criticism and accusations ofageism.[58][59] Writing forNME, journalist Andrew P Street said the controversy renewed discussion about the lack of airplay of older artists on the station, with many being "deemed Double J-ready" in their mid-20s.[60]
As radio ratings continue to decline across the board due to the rise ofstreaming media,[61] Triple J saw a 2.5% decline of listeners across the major capital cities between late April and June 2022.[62] Compared to the audience share of 7.7% in the Sydney 18–24 year-old demographic in 2021, the station had dropped to 4.4% in 2022.[62]
In December 2023, it was announced thatRichard Kingsmill, who had been the music director of Triple J and its sister stations, would be leaving after 35 years at the ABC.[63] During his tenure, he doubled the amount of airtime given to Australian artists, from 30% to 60%, and increased the station's audience from 980,000 in 2006 to 3 million in 2022.[64][65] Several news outlets, includingThe Guardian andMumbrella, wrote pieces about Kingsmill's importance to the Australian music scene,[66] with Nathan Jolly of the latter calling the broadcaster "the most important single figure in the history of Australian music", on par withMichael Gudinski andMolly Meldrum.[36]
Former head of theNova network, Ben Latimer, was announced as the new head of radio at the ABC amidst a major board restructuring, causing audible "shock and disappointment" in a Sydney staff meeting.[67] Several presenters also announced their departures,[68] and long-running late night music showGood Nights was axed.[69]
In May 2024, Triple J hosted the inaugural Bars of Steel Live event inParramatta, showcasing hip hop and rap artists from all across Western Sydney.[70] In September, the station also revived itsOne Night Stand regional music festival, which had not run since 2019. It took place inWarrnambool, Victoria to a sold-out crowd.[71]
In January 2025, the station celebrated 50 years of existence.[17][52] To celebrate the event, Double J broadcast the very first day of Triple J's 1975 broadcast, on 19 January 2025 from 11 am to 11 pm, with a two-hoursimulcast on Triple J. Holger Brockmann introduced the replay.[72]Rage also featured a birthday special in January 2025.
A change to higher rotation for new music resulted in a jump in listenership in March 2025.[73]
Our brief was to provide an alternative to the mainstream, with a heavy emphasis on Australian content. We were to provide opportunities for live and recorded performances by young Australian musicians, and play (shock! horror!) album tracks from all the genres of music that weren't being heard on commercial radio.
In the station's early years, Triple J primarily playedalternative rock andpop rock, but the range of music programmed was far wider than its commercial rivals, encompassing both mainstream and alternative rock and pop,experimental and electronic music,progressive rock, funk, soul, disco,reggae, and the emergingambient,punk andnew wave genres of the late 1970s.[74][75] Today, the station mostly plays modern rock,alt-pop,hip-hop and electronic music.[76]
Triple J initially positioned itself as a "punk" brand due to its fringe and often controversial music programming. The first song played on the station, "You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good in Bed" by Skyhooks, was banned from other Australian broadcasters due to its salacious content.[77][78] The station had also been playingN.W.A's protest song "Fuck tha Police" for six months before ABC management caught on, who banned it in 1990. As a result, Triple J staff went on strike and put the group's song "Express Yourself" on continuous play for 24 hours, playing it roughly 82 times in a row.[79][80]
Triple J plays far moreAustralian music than its commercial rivals, and was a pioneer in its coverage ofindependent music.[81][82] The station has always had a 40% Australian music quota, well abovecommercial radio's 25%[62]– mainstream radio has long been criticised for not playing enough local content.[83][84] Early presenter Gayle Austin reflected in 2006 that before Triple J, "Australian music didn’t have much production put into it because there wasn’t much money made out of it."[11] In 2024, out of the 50 most played artists on Triple J, 33 were Australian, including eight in the top 10. Further, more than half of the acts included anon-male member. The most played act was indie pop duoLime Cordiale.[85]
For decades, Triple J has been criticised for apparently sounding too much like commercial radio and losing its distinct identity.[77] According to Sam Whiting ofThe Conversation, it is a "national pastime" to critique the broadcaster for this exact reason.[86] Writers have pointed to increased air time for international pop stars likeDoja Cat,Olivia Rodrigo andLil Nas X as proof of this, and thatBillie Eilish's win in the2018 Hottest 100 was an outcome "unthinkable even a few years earlier."[62][87] Similarly, Shaad D'Souza ofThe Guardian claims that in recent years, the station's programming has been dominated bygarage-pop bands, and overall "consistent to a fault."[62] These criticisms tend to overlook the impact of genre shows likeFirst Nations music showBlak Out,[88] anddance music showHouse Party,[89] as well as other published data about the changing sound of the station over time.[90][91]
Launched in 2006 by Paul Stipack, J Play was an online archive of every song played by Triple J over 12 years. It showed an artist's trajectory from their first airing to full rotation. The privately-owned site was acquired bySeventh Street Media (Brag Media) along with music publicationsTone Deaf andThe Brag, in early 2017.[92][93] Owing to changes in the music industry, J Play's usefulness diminished, and it ceased operation in January 2019. The Brag Media retained the J Play database of 40,000 songs, 11,000 artists, and 15,000playlists.[94]
In June 2024, Sydney software engineer Harrison Khannah launched Triple J Watchdog, a similar online resource that tracks each week's top songs, musicians and genres, with additional statistics like artists' country of origin, pronouns and their amount ofSpotify monthly listeners.[86]
The Triple J name is stylised inall lowercase, a marketing decision made in 1981[95] that according to writerBen Eltham ofMeanjin, is one that reflects "a particular world-view that takes brand identity seriously". Marketing staff will vetpress releases and posters to ensure the broadcaster name is written astriple j.[96] In November 2024, the logos of Triple J and its sister stations were updated for the first time in 15 years.[97]
The Triple J news theme is a "very 90s remix" of the classicABC News theme "Majestic Fanfare". It was written and produced byPaul McKercher and John Jacobs in 1991, and is still used as of 2024. It contains a drum sample fromPrince's "Get Off" and therecord scratch from N.W.A's "Fuck tha Police", a nod to the track after it was banned by ABC management.[98] This unconventional news theme is another core element of the Triple Jbrand identity– McKercher wanted to create a sound that was distinctly uncommercial.[99]
Through the mid-to-late 1980s, Triple J pioneered special interest programs including theJapanese pop showNippi Rock Shop, Arnold Frolows' weekly late-nightambient music showAmbience, and Jaslyn Hall'sworld music show – the first of its kind on Australian mainstream radio. Nowadays, the station continues to broadcast several genre-specific music programs throughout the week, including:
Currently hosted by Ash McGregor,Home and Hosed is the flagshipAustralian music program on Triple J. It is broadcast most weekday evenings, whereas other specialist shows are only scheduled for once a week.[101]Blak Out also broadcasts on Sunday nights, showcasing the music ofIndigenous Australian musicians.
Triple J also has several live music segments, includingLike a Version– a weekly program which sees an artist perform an original and a cover song,Live at the Wireless– broadcasts of exclusive concert recordings, andBars of Steel, a web series featuring up-and-coming rappersfreestyling.[102]
News updates on Triple J are written and edited from a youth-oriented perspective.Hack, the station's flagshipcurrent affairs program, is broadcast every weekday evening and features investigations into relevant issues affecting young Australians.[103]
Many early Triple J presenters went on to successful careers with commercial stations, the most notable beingDoug Mulray, who honed his distinctive comedy-based style at the ABC before moving to rival FM rock stationTriple M in the 1980s, where he became the most popular breakfast presenter in Sydney, and one of the highest-paid radio personalities in the country. PresenterAnnette Shun Wah went on to host the popularRock Around the World series onSBS and is now a program executive with SBS TV and producer ofThe Movie Show.
From July 2024, presenters on daily programs include:[104]
Triple J Unearthed is an online music discovery platform anddigital radio station that features onlyunsigned Australian artists, focusing on discovering new local acts. Originally founded as a talent competition in 1996, notable winners of the time includedKilling Heidi,Missy Higgins andGrinspoon.[106][107] The Triple J Unearthed website was launched in 2006, and in five years, grew to host 30,000 artists and 250,000 users. Musicians can upload their songs to the site, and users can rate tracks and leave comments.[108] In 2011, Triple J Unearthed was launched as a digital station in five Australian capital cities.[45]
Unearthed hosts a number of competitions and initiatives to improve the recognition ofindependent artists. For example,Unearthed High is an annual contest held founded in 2008 aimed at musicians and bands inhigh school. The winner receives mentoring, recording opportunities and airplay on Triple J. Recent acts to have found success with the initiative includeHockey Dad (2014),The Kid Laroi (2018),Genesis Owusu (2015)Japanese Wallpaper (2014) andGretta Ray (2016).[109] Triple J also hosts regular competitions for artists on the platform to win slots on major festival lineups likeSplendour in the Grass andLaneway,[110] and support slots for international artists like Denzel Curry.[111][112]
Every November, Triple J celebrates Ausmusic Month, where Australian acts are heavily promoted across all its stations.[113] A number of events are organised, including major concerts– in 2010 this included headlining actsBag Raiders and Ball Park Music and in 2018 featured performances fromPaul Kelly,Crowded House and Missy Higgins.[113] Triple J hosts theJ Awards during the month,[114][115] and encourages listeners to wear their favourite band's t-shirt onAusmusic T-Shirt Day, an initiative which the station founded in 2013.[116]
TheJ Awards are an annual awards ceremony held in November each year to celebrateAustralian music. As of 2024, the five award categories are Australian Album of the Year, Australian Music Video of the Year, Australian Live Act of the Year, Unearthed Artist of the Year and Double J Artist of the Year. The most recent J Award winners for Australian Album of the Year wereSmiling With No Teeth by Genesis Owusu in2021,Angel in Realtime by Gang of Youths in2022,Drummer by G Flip in2023, andZorb bySycco in2024.
.jpg)
TheHottest 100 is an annual poll of the previous year's most popular songs, as voted by listeners. It has been conducted for over two decades in its present form and attracts millions of votes annually.[118][119] It is promoted as the "world's greatest music democracy"[120] and has also spawned a series ofcompilation CDs released viaABC Music. The countdown of the poll had regularly taken place onAustralia Day from 1998 to 2017.[119] In response to controversy surrounding theAustralia Day debate, and a petition and survey indicating that the majority of their listeners would like it to be changed,[52] it was announced in November 2017 that future countdowns would be aired on the fourth weekend of January to avoid associations with the public holiday.[121]
The station also runs irregular speciality Hottest 100 countdowns, such as theHottest 100 Australian Albums in 2011, theHottest 100 of the 2010s in 2020, and theHottest 100 ofLike a Version in 2023.[122][123]
In July 2023, the network launched Triple J Hottest, anonline radio station featuring a playlist of tracks from all previous Hottest 100 countdowns.[124] It is the first sister channel to not be available ondigital radio, instead only available via streaming (including the website, app, and streaming services such asTuneIn andiHeartRadio).[125]
Broadcast annually from 2020 until 2022, Triple J held Requestival, where they only played listeners' song requests for five days straight.[126][127] Significant airtime was given to songs and artists that would never usually be played on the station, including "Symphony No. 5" byLudwig van Beethoven, "Shake It Off" byTaylor Swift (which was notably banned from the2014 Hottest 100), "Rasputin" byBoney M., the theme songs to TV programsAntiques Roadshow andSaddle Club, the entirety ofJulia Gillard's misogyny speech, and theGeelong Cats club song, "We Are Geelong".[128][129] In 2021, more than 80,000 song requests were submitted by listeners.[130] The event was similar in concept toSuper Request, a nightly music request show that aired from 1998 to 2001.
Broadcast annually from 2005 to 2008 was theImpossible Music Festival, a radio event that consisted of 55 live music recordings played consecutively over one weekend. The lineup of artists each time was decided by listeners, and recordings were derived from festivals, concerts, pub gigs and studio sessions.
Beginning in 2004 and happening annually almost every year since, Triple J has hostedOne Night Stand, a free, all-ages concert in a different small town.[131] It is up to the audience to nominate their regional towns to host the event, needing to provide examples of local support, including community (signatures), local government (council approval), and a venue for the concert.[132] The most recent One Night Stand was hosted in the coastal town ofWarrnambool, Victoria in September 2024.[13][71]
Based on the station'sBars of Steelweb series, the station hosted a free concert inParramatta in May 2024, featuring hip hop and rap artists from all acrossWestern Sydney.[70] Billed as the inaugural event, the 2024 lineup includedYoungn Lipz,A.Girl,Becca Hatch and Unearthed competition winners. Triple J also hosted several songwriting and music production workshops coinciding with the live performances.[133]
On 16 January 2015, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Triple J, a one-off, seven-hour concert calledBeat the Drum was held atthe Domain, Sydney. Hosted byPeter Garrett, the list of performers, all of whom are the beneficiaries of the station's support, includedHilltop Hoods,the Presets,the Cat Empire,You Am I,Daniel Johns,Joelistics,Ball Park Music,Adalita,Vance Joy, andGotye. A recording of the event was released on CD and DVD in May 2015, which won theARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album.
In November 2009, Triple J hosted atribute concert series forPaul Kelly calledBefore Too Long, which was run over two nights at Melbourne'sForum Theatre.[131][134] In 2011, another live set of shows was presented by the station, this time honouringNick Cave, in a show calledStraight to You. Both events were recorded to produce two commercially successful live albums.[135]
On any given day, hundreds of thousands of listeners across the country are tuned in. Label owners, promoters, publicists and musicians follow the station with relentless fascination, as its playlist and musical preferences can literally make, delay, or break careers in the notoriously fickle music business.
— Andrew McMillen,The Discovery Channel, 6 January 2012[136]
Triple J, according to Whiting, "retains substantial influence over Australia’s music market and the capacity for local artists to gain an audience," and has done since its inception.[86] With a more adventurous music catalogue than that of commercial radio, especially throughout the 1980s, Triple J were responsible for popularising some of Australia's most well-known acts, includingMidnight Oil,Nick Cave,Silverchair and theJohn Butler Trio.[137] They have also been given credit for creating local audiences for overseas acts, likeBlondie,Devo,Garbage andthe B-52s – 2JJ was the first radio station in the world to play the latter's debut single "Rock Lobster".[138] Reflecting on the station's 30 year anniversary in 2005, former presenterSteve Cannane said "Plenty of musos, comedians, announcers and journos got their start courtesy of the station."[137]
Triple J also had a significant effect onrecord distribution in its early years.Labels would previously only import recordings that they knew would yield good commercial return, leaving them often unwilling to take risks on local releases from unknown acts. For example, Australian distributors initially refused to offer801's 1976 live album801 Live in the country, but constant airplay on 2JJ made the record the highest selling import album of the year. Thus, the label decided to release it locally.[citation needed]
As cringe-worthy as Triple J can sometimes be, the network is irreplaceable; it fills a unique niche in the Australian cultural landscape.
In January 2014,Fairfax newspapers published a report questioning if Triple J has had a "homogenising effect on Australian contemporary music."[139] Several notable musicians were interviewed (all remaining anonymous), who spoke of a certain "Triple J sound" that artists needed to getairplay.[140] MusicianWhitley believed the broadcaster had "failed as a tax-payer funded radio station that is supposed to challenge and present new ideas for the youth of Australia."[141] Music director of Triple J Unearthed, Dave Ruby Howe, acknowledged there were some similar sounds on the discovery platform, but bands purely chasing airplay will get caught out.[140]
Triple J has sponsored Australian live music events since its inception, and has organisedits own festivals like Bars of Steel Live andOne Night Stand, the latter of which has run in small regional towns since 2004.[77] In 2024, Triple J and Double J supported over 60 festivals and tours of international and domestic artists. They promote such events in their radio programs and commercials and on their social media channels.[142]
Triple J's programming approach was copied by succeeding commercial stations. Notably,Nova, who had also branded themselves as a competitor youth station, had a "clearly borrowed" catalogue from Triple J, but was slightly more conservative with its song selections.[143]
FormerAustralian Recording Industry Association staffer Danny Yau said that Triple J's nationalisation from the early 1990s created a new role for localcommunity radio stations, particularly Sydney'sFBi and Melbourne's3RRR, to fill the broadcaster's gaps with more niche regional content.[144]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)(on McKercher's intention for the news theme) ... People would know that it was the ABC, but would also know that it was very specifically Triple J, and kinda importantly that it wasn't commercial radio too.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |