Triple J Door Continues To Swing With Music Head Meagan Loader Exiting

In what has been a tough week for music staff at the ABC, Head of Music and Creative Development Meagan Loader is exiting the building tomorrow (Friday) according to her social media.

Loader’s role saw her responsible for the likes of triple j, Double J, Rage, Unearthed, ABC Country and more. She was with the ABC for thirteen years and was an integral part of the launch, growth and development of Double J.

She said in a post “Genuinely, my heart is full and forever grateful for the opportunity.”

Prior to her time at the ABC, Loader was the Program Manager at Sydney community station FBI, launching the station and creating a new cultural force for Sydney.

The Music has reached out for details around her departure, but in the same week as the announcement of stalwart Richard Kingsmill’s redundancy as well as time called on weekend announcer Jess Perkins, it’s clear that whatever the circumstances, this will be the biggest shakeup of senior management at triple j, perhaps since the 1990s.

In 1990, ABC management parachuted in ex EMI managing director Barry Chapman, brought across to clear the decks and set triple j on a new path. The station was more formally playlisted with critics at the time complaining of the new commercial direction of the station.

The latest changes come after the arrival of new ABC Head of Radio Ben Latimer who landed at the ABC earlier this year having previously been a Content Director at commercial network Nova.

The circumstances around Loader’s departure are not yet clear, with no official statement yet being released by the ABC, but The Music has been contacted by several senior Australian music industry figures concerned about what Loader and Kingsmill’s departures will mean for the ABC’s committment to Australian music going forward.

Earlier today, ex-triple j announcer Bridget Hustwaite blasted the treatment of Richard Kingsmill and questioned the understanding of the new management team around the knowledge and strategy behind the station and its Australian music commitment.

Following Barry Chapman’s shakeup in 1990, triple j’s ratings improved, institutions like Hottest 100 and Unearthed were founded and triple j went national. Ben Latimer flagged earlier this month that he’d be “taking a better look at the music preferences for younger audiences” and while staff changes have been made, the station has yet to articulate what practical changes that might mean to the on-air sound and playlist.

Where things will land time will tell, but one thing’s for sure, triple j in 2024 is certainly going to be different to what’s come before.