Having recently announced that his departure from Triple J, Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall has penned a heartfelt love letter to the youth network that he’s called home for 10 years. But in addition to singing the praises of Triple J, McDougall has provided a critical appraisal of the state of commercial radio.
“There are heaps of stations in Australia,” writes McDougall, via The Guardian, “and so many different ways to listen to music. So if you listen to Triple J, you’d better believe we love you for it. And if you listen to music because you love it, think about this: commercial radio is called that because it has commercials. And the word “commercial” comes before “radio”. So what do you think is more important to them?”
“Commercial radio’s main aim is to sell advertising,” he continues. “Which is fine, it’s a business. But remember, every time you hear a song you like, or a show you laugh at, that’s not for you. It’s there to entice you to listen, which in turn gives them a ratings figure used to get advertising dollars. Even if the presenter actually loves the new X-Factor song, it’s being played to lure you in so they can sell you a shiny new thing.”
[include_post id=”421870″]
McDougall then contrasts this with the way Triple J operates, writing, “Triple J is government-funded radio, which means we don’t get our cash from commercials and ‘brand-integration’ (a way of getting product names into things like personal stories and talkback. Classy!). We are funded by the government, so basically by you. Everything we do is for you, not because an advertiser wants us to play a specific song.”
In his letter, the Frenzal Rhomb guitarist also touches on the importance of Triple J in the broader Australian cultural landscape, while reminiscing about time spent with “legends from various musical and geographical landscapes” and “people who listened and whose faces I signed in red permanent texta”.
“Those people still washing the red texta off their faces know this already, but Triple J matters radio listeners. It matters to kids like me growing up in the suburbs who feel a little left out by the footy, fast cars and pop songs world,” he writes.
“It matters to people outside the major cities, at work on tractors, who want a trusted voice to suggest cool things to them, letting them know they’re part of a community. It matters to people all over the world, whose texts and tweets I get every day, who feel connected to Australia by listening to us in whatever weird timezone they are.”
McDougall announced his egress from Triple J last week, releasing a tongue-in-cheek song titled I’m F***ing Off, in which he explained that he has not been fired and is not leaving to join a rival station or a television network, but simply wishes to focus on music and marrying his longtime girlfriend.
