Triple J

Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian content than commercial networks.

The station was set up under the Gough Whitlam government, wanting to extend the appeal of the ABC to young Australians. Initially broadcasting as 2JJ or Double Jay from 19 January 1975, it stood apart from commercial stations with its lack of private advertising and its fringe music programming. Following a transition to FM in 1981, the station rebranded as 2JJJ or Triple J as it expanded regionally throughout the 1990s. Two spin-off digital stations were launched in the early 2010s: Double J aims to appeal to more mature audiences, and Triple J Unearthed plays only unsigned, local musicians.

Despite declining ratings in their target 18–24-year-old demographic, Triple J maintains a strong podcast and social media reach, and continues to have a significant impact on the Australian music landscape. More broadly, it has been praised for making popular culture accessible for young people across regional Australia. Triple J supports major music festivals and domestic tours, and organises its own events like One Night Stand. Every year, it broadcasts the Hottest 100, a public poll of the years' most popular music, and runs the J Awards, a music award series. Triple J annually champions Ausmusic Month and founded the nationwide Ausmusic T-Shirt Day initiative in 2013 to raise money for music industry charity Support Act. The network's online discovery platform, Unearthed, provides pathways for independent artists to be broadcast on the network and featured on national festival lineups. However, Triple J has long been criticised for promoting a homogenous national music scene.