EXCLUSIVE: triple j Doubles Down On High Rotation

Australia’s national youth radio network triple j has rolled out a new strategy over the last few weeks, trying a dramatic overhaul of its rotation system.

For much of the last decade or more, high rotation singles were played on the station around 15 times each week, with a broader selection of tracks spinning as low or medium rotations on less than ten spins.

The long-standing system created a wider range of music for listeners, but often frustration from artists looking for more cut-through in a market where commercial radio is not an option for many. 

Radio Monitor data now reveals that over the past few weeks a transformation has occurred with high rotation tracks now tipping in excess of 30 spins each week. This week’s big tracks include Ocean Alley, Dom Dolla, Mallrat and Old Mervs, with the station’s commitment to Aussie music still well above its self-mandated 40% quota. 

Twelve months ago, across the same dates (February 28 - March 6) the highest spun songs were between fourteen and seventeen plays, around half of what they currently are receiving, which has been confirmed by triple j. 

Speaking to The Music, ABC Head of Music Emily Copeland said the changes have come about in consultation with artists.

“We've heard from local artists and their teams about the challenges of gaining visibility in a market where a few international acts seem to dominate a large share of voice across music platforms and algorithmically curated content,” Copeland said.

“With triple j’s focus on Australian music and acts that resonate with young audiences, we wanted to ensure that the artists we’re backing through our weekly adds are getting enough rotation to cut through with audiences – across the entire triple j ecosystem.”

Copeland agreed that triple j has a unique role to play in the breaking of new music, particularly in the current climate where Australian music is struggling to impact on domestic charts, even underperforming historically on this year’s Hottest 100 countdown. 

“We want Australian audiences to love and demand Australian music wherever they choose to consume it, and studies have shown that increased familiarity with a track also increases its likability. I think it’s important for triple j to play a part in growing the familiarity of the tracks that we think are the best new releases.”

When questioned about the station’s balance between commercial appeal and new music championing, Copeland reiterated the station’s quota position and commitment to Australian music. 

“The songs added to triple j aren’t necessarily ‘big songs’. For many of the tracks that we add, it is their first national-reaching radio airplay. Without significant support on other radio, this means that triple j is doing a lot of the work from a radio perspective in growing the familiarity for these songs.

“triple j is important to the Australian music industry because it doesn’t program based on what’s trending, or on what is researching well with our audiences. This allows us to champion artists and sounds early, and to bring music to audiences which may not be traditionally radio friendly.”

Heading off criticism of strategies such as higher rotations that have traditionally been more aligned with more commercial music operations, Copeland makes the point: 

“The idea of ‘commercial music’ is an interesting one – because it is not a genre of music. Ultimately, when people talk about commercial music, they are referring to music that has been commercially successful, and I would love to see more local artists have huge commercial success.

“triple j continues to play many Australian tracks before other radio stations, or before they have become ‘commercially successful’, which can provide these artists with their first access to a broad radio audience.”

As maths dictates, where there’s big winners, there also must be losers and the additional support for high rotation songs is coming at the expense of the lower rotated tracks, with fewer tracks getting low and medium rotation support. 

The Music spoke to several managers, pluggers and industry figures, all who declined to go on the record about the changes. Most tentatively applauded the move, with the additional support seen as a boost for the quest to get more Australian hits. 

“It’s very difficult these days to see triple j airplay moving the needle when you’re only getting a dozen spins a week. It doesn’t sell the tickets and records it used to,” said one manager.

“Now, [the increased rotation] hopefully has the chance to make a difference and given the dire chart predicament of the charts, if it gives [those artists] a bigger audience to hopefully give us more homegrown hits then it’s probably a good thing for Australian music overall.”

Another manager said the “proof would be in the pudding”, but was concerned about the overall ecosystem that triple j has built if the new plan does not impact as hoped. 

“The station has consistently supported a lot of Australian artists and if the number of artists it supports all of a sudden drops, I’m not sure we know yet what that does in a cultural sense. But if you’re one of those artists that is getting the additional support, you wouldn’t be complaining, so we’ll see what the impact is, I guess,” they said. 

triple j’s thirty-odd spins per week for its highest rotations are still not quite hitting the dizzying repetition heights of commercial radio, with Nova’s high rotation currently at 40-45 spins, Fox FM around 45-50 and Kiis also around the 50 mark. Western Sydney’s CADA, triple j’s biggest direct challenger for the youth audience currently hits between 60 and 70 spins per week for their list, giving it the highest rotations in the country, still double triple j’s new rotations. 

CADA was launched in 2022 as part of the ARN network (also home to Kiis and Gold), with the format led and created by Emily Copeland prior to her time with the ABC.

In Sydney, where the two stations currently go head to head, in the latest GFK ratings survey, triple j leads in the 18-24 demographic with a cumulative audience of 39,000, while CADA is nipping at their heels with 36,000. triple j’s national metro and regional reach gives it an unparalleled ability to break songs nationally, evidenced by the continued strength of their annual Hottest 100 and initiatives like Unearthed. 

At the other end of the spectrum, older stations go for more variety with Triple M, Gold and Smooth’s most spun tracks only getting around 10 weekly spins each. Older audiences tend to listen to stations for longer, giving a higher opportunity for repetition fatigue for listeners.

Copeland hopes that the changes, combined with triple j’s focus on multi-channel audiences, will help the station play its part in finding pathways for Australian music to better connect with domestic audiences. 

“Understanding that increased familiarity can increase the likability of a track, we are hoping for this change to have a positive impact on Australian artists, driving more cut through with audiences, regardless of where they land over the long term.

“The spread of songs that we have across the schedule is designed to find a balance between building familiarity and avoiding repetition. Beyond playlisting, we also back Australian artists on our digital channels which have an immense ability to reach even more music lovers with 4.4 million followers across triple j social accounts and over 1 billion views of triple j’s YouTube content.”