It’s a rule of thumb in the Australian music industry that airplay on Australia’s national youth broadcaster, triple j, can make or break your career. Being added to triple j rotation means national exposure to countless potential fans.
However, according to triple j’s Assistant Music Director Nick Findlay, the station’s digital sister platforms, Double J and Unearthed, are actually more valuable for artists who are just getting their start in the industry.
As The Music reports, during a panel at Australian Music Week, Findlay explained that Double J and Unearthed have certain advantages over the network’s flagship station that are even more beneficial to up-and-comers.
“Double J and Unearthed have the ability to play more music in the day than triple j does because they’re digital radio stations…” Findlay said. “Take out the five or six one minute breaks an hour that presenters have and we’ve calculated that up… it ends up being a lot more songs.”
Findlay explained that Double J, which focuses on listeners aged 30 and up, has provided the triple j network with more opportunities to give bands not necessarily suited to the flagship station’s 18-24 demographic a chance at widespread exposure.
“There used to be a time where we’d be like ‘It’s a really good song, but it’s just not suitable for the triple j demographic,'” he said. “Now with Double J, we have that place where we can cherish and nurture different bands.”
Meanwhile, Unearthed doesn’t target any age demographics and is “just for people who love music and it’s for that online community as well”. According to Findlay, Unearthed is for the passionate music lovers out there.
“The people who listen to Unearthed are that much more amped up about music,” he said. “triple j audiences are going to one or two gigs a week, the Unearthed audiences are going three or four times a week, they’re buying stuff on vinyl.”
