Triple J Unearthed
  • Australia
FrequencyDAB (ABC/SBS multiplex)
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatIndependent Australian music
Ownership
OwnerAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
History
Founded1995 (as talent competition)
First air date
5 October 2011
Links
Websitetriplejunearthed.com

Triple J Unearthed is an Australian digital radio station and online music discovery platform. It is a sister station of Triple J, owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Unearthed began in 1995 as a regional talent competition open to unsigned musicians. In 2006, the Unearthed website was launched as a way for local artists to have their music heard by the station's team and listeners. As of 2023, the platform hosts over 170,000 tracks from over 85,000 independent musicians. Its success led to the launch of a dedicated digital radio station in 2011, which only plays Australian music uploaded to the site.

Cited as a "revolutionary idea" that "arguably changed the entire Australian music landscape,"[1] the Unearthed brand has been responsible for discovering some of Australia's most celebrated musical acts, including Flume, Missy Higgins, Vance Joy, Gang of Youths and Grinspoon. The network continues to host initiatives to progress independent artists in the industry, including Unearthed High, an annual award given to high school musicians to have their work recorded professionally.

Formats

Talent competition (1995–2005)

Missy Higgins says her 2001 Unearthed success led to her initial record deal and subsequent success.[2]

In July 1995, Triple J launched its regional Unearthed competition,[3] asking independent musicians to send in their demos. The winner's track would be professionally recorded and played on the station.[4] Over the years, several now-notable Australian artists had been discovered through the initiative, including Missy Higgins (2001), Killing Heidi (1996) and Grinspoon, the first winners in 1995.[3][5] As of 2006, Triple J had travelled to over 43 regions around Australia and "unearthed" over 100 bands, most of which had gone on to independently release albums and score distribution deals.[3]

Website (2006–present)

In 2006, former Triple J manager Linda Bracken ideated an online platform that would allow unsigned musicians to be heard by the station's team, as well as by listeners.[6] She was inspired by the similar New Music Canada initiative by CBC Radio 3.

The future of a band's success in Australia shouldn't rely on someone's ability to hire a publicist and an A&R guy.

— Linda Bracken

With funding from the Australia Council for the Arts,[3] Bracken and software engineer Ann Chesterman – who saw the idea as "being at the heart of the ecosystem of Australian music" – built a prototype for the Unearthed website.[6] The site's launch, on 9 August 2006, marked "a new beginning" for the Unearthed brand.[3] Thousands of tracks were uploaded within the first week of the site being online.[6] By 2010, about 100 songs were being uploaded onto the Unearthed website every day.[6] As of 2023, it hosts over 170,000 tracks from over 85,000 independent musicians.[7]

In 2021, the website received its first major redesign since its initial launch.[8]

Digital radio station (2011–present)

Seeing the success of the website, Unearthed executive producer Stephanie Carrick and ABC Music director Chris Scaddan ideated with creating a dedicated digital radio station to accompany the online platform. It was launched on 5 October 2011,[9] on digital radio in the five major Australian capital cities, and via the Unearthed website.[10]

Initiatives

Unearthed High

Gretta Ray won Unearthed High in 2016.[11] She released her second studio album in 2023, which debuted at number 17 on the ARIA Charts.[12]

Every year since 2008, Triple J Unearthed has held a competition aimed at musicians and bands in high school. The winner receives mentoring, recording opportunities and airplay on Triple J. Recent acts to have found success with the initiative include Hockey Dad (2014), The Kid Laroi (2018), Genesis Owusu (2015) Japanese Wallpaper (2014) and Gretta Ray (2016).[13]

Celebrating 15 years of the competition in 2023, Triple J held a one-night, all-ages concert during Vivid Sydney featuring notable past entrants, including Lastlings and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers.[13]

List of Unearthed High winners, selected finalists and Indigenous Initiative winners
Year Winner Notable finalists Indigenous Initiative Winner
2008 Tom Ugly – –
2009 Hunting Grounds – –
2010 Stonefield – –
2011 Snakadaktal – –
2012 Asta Montaigne –
2013 Lunatics on Pogosticks Vancouver Sleep Clinic –
2014 Japanese Wallpaper Hockey Dad –
2015 Mosquito Coast Genesis Owusu –
2016 Gretta Ray Lastlings, Ninajirachi Tia Gostelow
2017 Arno Faraji Ninajirachi Becca Hatch
2018 Kian The Kid Laroi River & Isles
2019 George Alice – Aodhan
2020 Teenage Joans – Rudeboy E
2021 The Rions – Kayps
2022 Jacoténe – Proud Noongar Boys
2023 Lee – Inkabee

Indigenous opportunities

As an extension of Unearthed High, the Indigenous Initiative commemorates the best First Nations artist. Notable past winners have included Aodhan (2019), Becca Hatch (2017) and Tia Gostelow (2016).[14] The network also holds an annual competition open to Indigenous Australian artists, with the winner selected to play at the National Indigenous Music Awards. Past winners have included Thelma Plum, Baker Boy, Alice Skye and Dallas Woods.[15][16] Unearthed has also run a number of First Nations specific competitions that has seen artists added to festivals such as First & Forever and Treaty Day Out.[17]

Festival lineup additions

Triple J often holds competitions that see a winning Unearthed artist join a major music festival's lineup. In the past, winners have performed at Splendour in the Grass,[18] Groovin' the Moo,[19] Falls Festival,[20] Big Day Out, Laneway Festival and A More Perfect Union.[21]

Artist collaboration competitions

Unearthed occasionally run competitions where winning artists can work with renowned producers or songwriters.[22] In 2023, Flume released a half-finished track, and Unearthed artists were encouraged to share how they would complete the song to win – the final track, produced by Blacktown rapper Isaac Puerile, received national airplay.[23][24] The same year, Unearthed artists were given the opportunity to work with award-winning songwriter Sarah Aarons.[25]

In the past, these competitions have also seen entrants remix songs from Lorde and DMA's,[26][27] as well as creating "DIY supergroups" out of samples from notable artists provided by Triple J.[28]

COVID-19 grants

In June 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Unearthed handed out 16 grants to artists on the platform valued at $7,000 each, to record new music, produce music videos and promote their work.[29]

Impact

Writing for online magazine Tone Deaf in 2022, Holley Gawne wrote Triple J has been "so successful ... in boosting the profiles of some of the industry’s biggest and brightest."[30] Triple J music director Ruby Howe said Unearthed "was a pretty revolutionary idea."[1]

Notable alumni

Flume originally uploaded his debut single to the Unearthed website.
"Riptide" by Vance Joy received early success on Unearthed.

In its first form as a regional talent competition, Unearthed discovered then-local musicians Missy Higgins and Sophie Koh, and bands Grinspoon, Killing Heidi and Sick Puppies.[1]

The launch of the website led to the rise of hundreds of more artists and according to The Music, "arguably changed the entire Australian music landscape."[1] Flume, one of the "world's most prominent producers" according to Rolling Stone,[31] debuted with a single on Unearthed titled "Possum" in 2011.[30] Brisbane indie pop band Ball Park Music began uploading to the site in 2008,[30] while Gang of Youths uploaded a demo as well as their debut single "Evangelists" in 2013.[22]

When a then-unsigned Vance Joy uploaded "Riptide" to the platform, Howe said his team played the track "about 100 times on Unearthed radio" prior to its enormous success – the track is now certified 16× platinum and ended up polling at number one in the Hottest 100 of 2013.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Griffiths, Neil (10 November 2016). "Picking Hits, Missing The Boat On 'Riptide' & Building A Legacy: Ten Years Of Unearthed". The Music. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  2. ^ "The Sound Of Missy Higgins". Mackay and Whitsunday Life. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hanna, Michelle (9 August 2006). "Unearthed… a new beginning". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Can you dig it?". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  5. ^ Condon, Dan (17 August 2017). "The J Files: Grinspoon". Double J. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "10 years of triplej Unearthed.com". Double J. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Home". Triple J Unearthed. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023. Established in 1995, triple j Unearthed has kicked off the careers of thousands of Australian musicians. With over 170,000 tracks from around 85,000 different artists, it"s also the spot to meet your new favourite artist.
  8. ^ "Welcome to the new triple j Unearthed website!". Triple J. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  9. ^ Bull, Gerry (25 August 2011). "On Wednesday 5 October 2011 triple j and ABC Radio will launch a second triple j station: triple j Unearthed". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. ^ Murray, Jim (25 August 2011). "Triple J Launch Unearthed Radio Station". Tone Deaf. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Gretta Ray Wins 2016 Triple J Unearthed High Competition". The Music. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Genesis breaks the top 5". Australian Recording Industry Association. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Celebrating 15 years of triple j Unearthed High". RadioInfo. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Unearthed High for 2023 is Officially Open". Triple J. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Wanna play the National Indigenous Music Awards?". triple j. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Dallas Woods takes out the Unearthed NIMAs comp". triple j. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  17. ^ Pulford, Adam (2023-03-28). "Deadly lineup for Treaty Day Out Naarm!". First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  18. ^ "Acts on Unearthed, we wanna add you to the Splendour in the Grass line up". Triple J. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  19. ^ "A round of applause for your six Groovin the Moo comp winners". Triple J. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Wanna play Falls Festival alongside Lil Nas X, Chrvches and more?". Triple J. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Gang Of Youths to pick two local acts to play handpicked festival". Triple J. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  22. ^ a b Zylstra, Tione (20 July 2023). "Unearthing Aussie Artists: The Triple J Effect". Purple Sneakers. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  23. ^ Lynch, Jessie (24 April 2023). "Here's Your Chance To Make A Song With Flume For Triple J's UNFINISHED Competition". Purple Sneakers. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Let's Hear it for Isaac Puerile, our Unfinished: Flume Comp Winner". Triple J. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  25. ^ "It's the songwriter whose work has topped global charts for weeks and now YOU can create a tune with her!". Triple J. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  26. ^ Jenke, Tyler (2017-10-18). "triple j have announced the finalists for their Lorde remix competition". The Music Network. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  27. ^ Staff Writers. "triple j announces 2018 Unearthed remix competition with DMA'S". scenestr - Pop Culture & Entertainment. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  28. ^ Bruce, Jasper (2020-04-20). "triple j Unearthed announce DIY Supergroup loop competition". NME. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  29. ^ "16 Aussie artists are about to Level Up with triple j Unearthed". RadioInfo. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  30. ^ a b c Gawne, Holley (26 January 2022). "The best Aussie artists discovered through triple j unearthed". Tone Deaf. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  31. ^ Lowther, Laura Jane (18 February 2021). "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time – #9: Flume". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

External links

Triple J
Triple J Unearthed
Double J
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Authority control databases
Categories