The launch of triple j’s digital sister station Double J was largely met with jubilation from listeners. After all, they now had a new place to go where they could hear quality music from local artists and those abroad.

However, some musicians are still confused about the editorial decisions that determine whether their music will be played on triple j or Double J. Indeed, a musician who previously received steady triple j airplay can suddenly become a Double J artist within the span of two albums.

Speaking recently to The Weekly Review, Australian singer-songwriter Josh Pyke reflected on the success of his latest album, But For All These Shrinking Hearts, which almost topped the ARIA Albums Chart with relatively little radio support.

“I haven’t had a whole lot of radio support for this record … I’m not a pop star if you know what I mean,” he said. “What it reflects is that I have a passionate fan base. It’s how I can continue making music for a living 10 years later.”

Pyke paid it forward to fans by embarking on a series of intimate “fan first” performances earlier this year, a special gift to the Pyke tragics that have allowed the affable musician to sustain a 10-year career in music.

“In the week of release you get updates about how it’s selling,” he said, “and there was a good portion of the week where [But For All These Shrinking Hearts] was number one – ahead of these popular artists like Meghan Trainor.”

The album ultimately came in at number two, behind Trainor, which, as The Weekly Review notes, is a considerable achievement considering Trainor is beloved by Top 40 stations and Pyke’s album received comparatively little radio support, including from triple j.

Though triple j have been big supporters of Pyke’s music in the past, he told The Weekly Review he was “disappointed” the station failed to play his new album, though it was a feature record on Double J and its singles received considerable rotation on the digital station.

“It’s not like I think I was owed or anything like that,” he said. “And I know you need to clear the path for young, emerging artists coming up. But … they didn’t play anything, they didn’t even mention that the album came out.”

“I feel like that’s slightly strange considering I’ve been such a part of the playlist for so many years.” However, Pyke has no intention of changing his sound to secure triple j airplay, something some local artists have allegedly done.

“I think there are lots of artists that do think … ‘OK, this is what’s going well on the radio at the moment’,” he said. “That’s one way of doing it … but it’s not the way I want to be a musician.”

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According to triple j’s Assistant Music Director Nick Findlay, some artists are better off on Double J. “Double J and Unearthed have the ability to play more music in the day than triple j does because they’re digital radio stations…” Findlay said during an Australian Music Week panel.

“Take out the five or six one minute breaks an hour that presenters have and we’ve calculated that up… it ends up being a lot more songs,” he added. “There used to be a time where we’d be like ‘It’s a really good song, but it’s just not suitable for the triple j demographic.’”

“Now with Double J, we have that place where we can cherish and nurture different bands.” According to Findlay, Double J and triple j Unearthed have certain advantages over the network’s flagship station that are even more beneficial to artists.

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