triple j

I reckon most likely Classic FM will go, but agree finding additional frequencies that provide the same coverage as current ABC FM services will be problematic in most locations.

101.7 may interfere with 3MGB Mallacoota and 91.9 is used by SEN at Warragul.

They might need to go with lower power town based services that run at only 1,000 to 2,000 watts to avoid those issues.

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It’s only because they both came from unearthed - once upon a time if an unearthed artist moved into mainstream pop they’d phase them out, but since Tones and I the J’s seem extremely resistant to doing this even if the music clashes with the rest of the triple j playlist.

Can someone define, regional area’s for me…through the prism of a Double J rollout…

Hobart, Gold Coast, Canberra, all regional from an ACMA point of view, but will they see Double J on FM??

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We don’t quite know yet - it could be defined as areas that don’t have DAB+

Frankly, the idea doesn’t seem to be more than a soundbite from Albo - it will be interesting to see if they follow through with it.

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I am a massive fan of BBC Radio 1, and have converted my kids from Nova too. The music is spot on. They mix the mainstream pop very well with the more alternative indie pop, Hip Hop and dance music.

Exclusive alternative music shows air between 11pm and 5am.

If Triple j copied the BBC Radio 1 format yes they would loose the more alternative listeners to the likes of FBI, Triple R, etc, but would pickup listeners from KIIS, Nova and Hit.
If you look at the UK RAJARS BBC R1 has more listeners and share then Capital fm, Kiss, Heart.

I also agree the announcers on Triple J sound unpolished, and at times almost community radio.

Triple J going mainstream would piss off CRA who are happy to maintain the status quo, and not have their members facing new competition.

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Metro markets are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, all other markets are regional.

For a national rollout of Double J to occur, you would have to sacrifice community radio, or Classic fm by moving it exclusively to dab+ / digital Tv, or streaming. There is just not enough available fm frequencies to go around.

The markets you mentioned Gold Coast, and Canberra both have no additional fm frequencies available, so no chance of Double J going to fm there.

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Agree 100%. I’m not a Triple J or a CHR listener normally but often listen to Radio 1 in the UK and they nail it.

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Saturday 30 July ABC TV

11:00pm rage: Splendour in the Grass Special

They don’t have the resources for it, but it’d be amazing to see Triple J cover Splendour on TV in the same way the BBC covers Glastonbury.

Splendour in the mud

Update: now cancelled on main stages for the day.

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Can’t help but feel that has been coming for some time - Triple J has gone from playing a really critical role in the way that people discover music to being yet another option thanks to the various online services, while Triple J has backed a few duds musically (bands/genres/trends - take your pick) and people have seen through it and found alternate listening sources. Music trends move a hell of a lot quicker than they did a few years ago - for a station that has traditionally tried to guide or match the trends, failing to keep up is a fast way to have listeners exit.

The last few times I’ve tried to listen to Triple J, I’ve found it almost unlistenable - be it poor music selection or terrible hosts, and it’s a bit of a shame. I am one of those regional youth of the 90s whose musical world was opened by Triple J coming to town.

Maybe its time to widen the youth focus of the station a little wider

Its amazing that people still blame Richard Kingsmill, despite not directly being involved in the music selections for some time.

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IMO, Double J is what Triple J should be - it plays a wide range of genres and styles of contemporary music, from rap to rock to reggae, with some classics thrown in.

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I find triple j now musically similar to KIIS FM, Nova and the regional Hit music stations. More commercial-sounding every day. That is triple j’s downfall.

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I’d be surprised if many people younger than 20 listen to it, or much radio, to be honest. Why put up with radio where you won’t enjoy every second or third song when you can have a computer-curated playlist generated for your exact taste, and have done since you first discovered music.

I agree there’s some unlistenable music and shows on it, but of course I’d say that given I’m a grumpy 30-something now…

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I’ve noticed that Triple J has been quite aggressively playing bumpers promoting Double J in the last couple weeks, both promoting the former long time Triple J presenters like Zan Rowe, and also clips of songs with the phrasing ā€œwhat triple j used to playā€.

I mostly stand by what I said a couple months ago - it’s sounding tired, has a really average crop of presenters that often sound like they’re struggling and is making more and more questionable playlist decisions / is no longer a trendsetter and clearly focusing on what is popular on tik-tok, particularly for decisions surrounding overseas artists.

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It does need to evolve somewhat. Maybe the ā€œtriple jā€ brand is no longer required on FM radio. Perhaps they should re-invent themselves online as a music aggregator app service (expand the Triple J Unearthed website for example) while keeping the online/DAB streams.

Then replace it with Double J on FM nationally. There probably already is a genuine national audience for Double J on FM. The incoming Federal government did promise Double J on FM during the election campaign so maybe this is an opportunity for them to make good on that.

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It’d be a hell of a call to kill Triple J off from FM, but I see the logic in your point. That or Triple J morphs from the youth station focussing on new music only to something more of a ā€˜hits and memories’ format with its unique edge. So still keep introducing us oldies to a mix of new music but throw in some old school tracks as well. And then Triple J Unearthed bridges the gap a bit more between its current format and what is now FM Triple J.

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I still think they just need some better production. Reign in the long gabfests, make it snappy and commission some new sonic branding. They could probably squeeze in an extra song an hour.

I don’t think Triple J sounds too commercial - for me it is a weird music selection targetting an audience who either don’t listen to radio or don’t exist.

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