Triple M Network

[bacco007]

@OnAir

Triple M targets 25-54 males. If we pick the middle of that age range and go 40 years old - they were 20 in 2004 when rap/RnB was having a huge moment

I’d imagine that a decent percentage of that cohort would have also listened to Triple J during the 90s

[OnAir]

Yep absolutely.

[RabbitEars]

The Triple M network doesn’t use the word “rock” in its positioning now. It’s more Adult Hits.

[Radiohead]

And there has been precious little rock released in the last 15 years, particularly from known artists.

And if there were more rock bands around, more twenty somethings would go to gigs and get into it the way we did back in the 80s and 90s.

[OnAir]

Yes, that doesn’t help - rock seems to have been shunted into an ‘indie’ only umbrella.

[JBar]

Not to mention the snobbery about what qualifies as rock.

The music by a band like 5 Seconds of Summer should be considered to be in the rock genre but they are pushed aside and labelled as pop/indie/alternative.

[RabbitEars]

@JBar

Not to mention the snobbery about what qualifies as rock.

The music by a band like 5 Seconds of Summer should be considered to be in the rock genre

For me, rock is anything with a guitar, bass and drums. And this will no doubt piss a few off here, but yes that includes P!nk.

[Radiohead]

@RabbitEars

For me, rock is anything with a guitar, bass and drums

Agree. Pink is “rock” enough.

[AustralianAerial]

But as to your earlier point, it’s about song selection - Just Like A Pill? Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely)? Sure.

Runaway? Probably not. And even the regionals wouldn’t be caught dead playing a turd like Cover Me in Sunshine… unless Ed Sheeran or Whitney Houston somehow released a cover version, but I digress.

@OnAir

They just played Hold the Line by Toto (I hate that song, so I’m biased) - released in 1978 - most of their target audience wasn’t alive when that song was released.

Why a station targeting 25-54 year olds isn’t basing itself around the mid-nineties is beyond me. It’s not 1982 any more, and that’s a good thing - with such variety to choose from (and a lot to discard…!) with respect to genre, mood and feel, you can easily program a station around it. Take what Perth does well, age it up by 5-10 years and you’d be on the money.

[Radiohead]

@AustralianAerial

Why a station targeting 25-54 year olds isn’t basing itself around the mid-nineties is beyond me. It’s not 1982 any more, and it’s a good thing

80s music still fit the upper end of their target demo.

[AustralianAerial]

I agree. Today’s 54 year old was born in 1971 - their musical awakening would on average have been somewhere between '84 and '87.

So playing Maneater or Jessie’s Girl for the 10,000th time is appealing to who, exactly?

80s music has it’s place - I just don’t think building so much of the playlist around it is the right call, particularly the early half of the decade, and especially so when song selection is uninspiring.

[AustralianAerial]

@OnAir

Triple M targets 25-54 males. If we pick the middle of that age range and go 40 years old - they were 20 in 2004 when rap/RnB was having a huge moment - Outkast released Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, D12 had huge hits, 50 Cent had just come into prominence, Kanye released The College Dropout. That still continues now with other artists in that genre too.

Also to hark back to this point - the last time I heard Triple M on a work site was when Triple M Tradie Radio was still around on DAB/LiSTNR, which had your D12s and Outkasts alongside Pearl Jam, Nirvana et. al.

[RabbitEars]

@AustralianAerial

But as to your earlier point, it’s about song selection - Just Like A Pill? Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely)? Sure.

Runaway? Probably not. And even the regionals wouldn’t be caught dead playing a turd like Cover Me in Sunshine

Oh absolutely. Regionals play Who Knew. Probably wouldn’t put that on metro. It’s about selection and a good beat.

Listening to Melbourne Radio Wars and they think the same as me in regards to 2MMM. There’s nothing there in breakfast that makes you want to listen. It’s going to be a hard slog for them and Jimmy and Nath.

[AustralianAerial]

Beau Ryan isn’t as popular as some media people like to think he is. Certainly not enough to build a breakfast show around.

I maintain that Jimmy and Nath are on the wrong network and should be on 2MMM breakfast, with Mike E & Emma on 2Day.

[RabbitEars]

@AustralianAerial

So playing Maneater or Jessie’s Girl for the 10,000th time is appealing to who, exactly?

It’s all about familiarity sadly. People just want their “comfort food” (replace food with songs)

Drives the rest of us nuts though.

[RabbitEars]

@AustralianAerial

maintain that Jimmy and Nath are on the wrong network and should be on 2MMM breakfast, with Mike E & Emma on 2Day

Yep!

[AustralianAerial]

@RabbitEars

It’s all about familiarity sadly. People just want their “comfort food” (replace food with songs)

Drives the rest of us nuts though.

My issue is that playing (particularly average) songs from, say, 1981 and 1982 is not really comfort food for the target demographic you’re actually positioning for.

Let the 55+ year olds go to Magic/2UE/4BH or Smooth if they want to hear Rick Springfield’s Greatest Hit every 6-8 hours.

[1323ZM]

@RabbitEars

The Triple M network doesn’t use the word “rock” in its positioning now. It’s more Adult Hits.

Interestingly, despite a massive decrease in the number of classic rock radio stations in the US in recent years, 2024 saw a slight increase to 642. Meantime there’s been falls in the number of stations with Variety and Classic Hits formats.

Given that SCA look to the states for guidance in pretty much everything they do, they may wish to think twice before ditching rock.

[thesub1]

Hence why I keep saying the network needs to reposition and run a similar log to Triple M Perth.

And yes, I’d have to agree they should put Jimmy & Nath on 2MMM Breakfast - to bring back the youthful cheeky sound.

[OnAir]

@AustralianAerial

Why a station targeting 25-54 year olds isn’t basing itself around the mid-nineties is beyond

This is Channel X’s last 20 minutes or so in NZ - 71% of their listeners are 25-54 and it’s growing rapidly in NZ. Just needs to lean into a quality RnB or rap track every so often in my mind. The lesser-known tracks are probably is a little bit much for Triple M to get away with - but this is a mix from 1980s/90s/2000s and 2010s…it can be done.

Is it a perfect mix? No…
Does one track/artist stand out like a sore thumb? Yes. But believe it or not, there are Finger Eleven fans out there