Welcome back to another installment of “The AU Crew Poll”, where we take a look at what our contributors have to say about pressing matters in the realm of the music industry.
This week, an announcement was made by the ABC to launch a new radio station, Unearthed, in a move to promote aspiring musicians and show support for the Australian music industry. The station will commence on Wednesday 5th October and broadcast unsigned and independent music 24 hours a day.
In conjunction with this exciting news, we asked our contributors to tell us what is their favourite radio station at the moment and why. Coincidentally, the majority of contributors prefer Triple J, edging out FBi by one single vote.
Here are some responses as to why the featured radio stations are the number one choice:
Triple J
“Triple J seems to be less reliant on large brand-name musicians to attract a listener base and caters to any number of demographics or musical tastes. As a personal fan of most genres of music, the eclectic mix of rock, hip-hop, electronic, dance, and everything in between, resonates with me in a way that few other stations do.” – Daniel Wittingslow
“Although I don’t listen to the radio all that much, Triple J is a fantastic source of new music for me. If I am getting bored of the music on my itunes, I’ll often tune into the radio for a few days and more often than not I discover a new band, or song that I really like and would then go ahead and listen to more of that artist/band, or go and watch them live. They cover all bases including music news updates and their program Hack is such a good way of getting important issues on the radar of youth in the country. They have incredible radio hosts like Zan Rowe, and Richard Kingsmill who really know their stuff and clearly have a passion when it comes to music.” – Amy Freshwater
FBi
“FBi – because I didn’t grow up listening to anything but AM radio, I don’t have any emotional connection with Triple J other than how it is now, and FBi introduced me to local, independent and great music. Also the presenters are given great leeway with what they play, which is the heart of diversity and something that the central programming of Triple J or other ‘big’ stations have.” – James O’Doherty
“FBi looks after the little guys who are on their way up, as well as looking after the big guys who were once little guys and are overwhelmed with exposure from the masses. It’s like a family that got to choose each other.” – Annette Wilson
Based on votes for FBi (Sydney), 2SER FM (Sydney – “It’s a combination of good underground music and good subjects that don’t restrict themselves to mindless natter.” – Philippe Perez), RTR FM (Perth – “It plays a large amount of local music” – Tony Lendrum), SYN FM (Melbourne) and 3RRR FM (Melbourne – See Below), the poll indicates that there is a growing appreciation for community radio stations as an alternative to mainstream radio, as it allows the presenters to broadcast a range of diverse music to suit all tastes, without any restrictions.
“3RRR consistently provides not only quality but varied programming and intelligent interviews/segments… I personally love that I can turn on RRR anytime of the day and be introduced to some new artist of any genre of popular music and they are also a much needed supporter of local artists of all kinds. While JJJ is also a strong supporter of Australian content it is perhaps limited by being the national youth broadcaster, wheras RRR has broad appeal.” – Alex Watts
Given the responses we received, the arrival of Triple J’s Unearthed should be welcomed with open arms… ears.
