Getting on Australian radio

The short version

Radio still matters. Not because one spin changes your life, but because radio people are real ears, and a play on the right show puts your song in front of someone on the drive home who would never have found it on a playlist.

In Australia there are three doors. triple j Unearthed is the national front door for new, unsigned artists. Community radio is the biggest, friendliest network of specialist shows in the country, and you reach it through Amrap. Commercial radio is the hardest door, and for most first releases it is not the one to knock on yet.

None of it costs money to try. What it costs is a bit of prep, some patience, and good manners. Here is how each door works, straight from the people who run them.

triple j Unearthed: how uploads work

Unearthed is the ABC's discovery platform for new Australian music. To upload, you need to be an Australian citizen or resident, and you can't be signed to a major label. You don't need a manager: every artist is judged on the strength of the songs ^[2]. If you are in a band, every member needs to be an Australian citizen or resident unless the ABC agrees otherwise ^[5].

It only takes original music. Covers aren't accepted, and remixes of other people's songs are out because of copyright. You can remix another Unearthed artist only with their express permission, and samples are fine only if you've been licensed by the copyright holder ^[1]. Music that promotes hatred, gratuitous violence, pornography or gratuitous profanity won't be approved ^[1].

Uploading is simple: make an ABC account, add an artist profile, then use the green Manage Tracks button on your profile to upload your audio and fill in the form ^[7]. Under the Artist Agreement you can upload one to three tracks ^[5]. If you're under 18 you'll need a parent or guardian's permission to accept the terms ^[5].

Every track gets listened to in full before it's approved ^[7]. The ABC's own help pages give two different timeframes: one says approval can take up to 10 business days ^[7], another says the usual wait is about 14 to 28 days and longer in busy periods, and to email the team if it's been pending for more than four weeks ^[6]. Plan on a month to be safe.

1. Create an ABC account and log in.
2. Add an artist profile with a unique artist name, your genres and a short bio.
3. Upload your best one to three original tracks, mixed and mastered.
4. Wait for approval. Use the time to tell your fans the track is coming.

Unearthed and AI: read this before you upload

This is the big one for some of our artists. In the triple j Unearthed Artist Agreement, you promise that you have not used generative artificial intelligence technology in any significant way in creating the tracks, and that covers the music, the lyrics and the sound recording ^[5]. The agreement doesn't define what counts as significant ^[5].

Our honest read: if an AI tool wrote your lyrics, generated your vocal or made the track, Unearthed is not the place for that song. Using a plug-in to tidy a mix is a different thing, but because the line isn't defined, if you're unsure, ask the Unearthed team through the ABC help centre before you upload. Signing the agreement means you're giving your word, and you also agree to cover the ABC if your warranties turn out to be wrong ^[5].

We welcome AI-made music at our label with honest labelling. Honest labelling also means respecting each platform's own rules. Pitch your AI-assisted tracks where they're allowed, and keep your fully human tracks for Unearthed.

Unearthed: how plays and reviews work

Airplay on the Unearthed digital station is decided by a panel of Unearthed staff. Each track is listened to in full at least once and judged on its own merit, and triple j and Double J presenters browse the site too ^[3]. The station mostly plays recent uploads, though older tracks do pop up ^[3].

Nobody will ring you if you get played. There's a running feed of songs played on the Unearthed site, so check it yourself ^[3]. Track pages also show tags if a song has been played on triple j, Unearthed or Double J.

Reviews are short written comments from staff and fans. With so many uploads each day, not every song gets a staff review. You can ask staff and presenters directly, and the ABC suggests getting family, friends and fans to leave reviews too ^[8].

One more thing worth knowing: you don't have to be on Unearthed to get played on triple j. You can also send music through the triple j contact form, and artists who skip Unearthed aren't penalised ^[3].

Community radio: the friendliest door in the country

Community radio stations are run by and for their communities, and a lot of them are driven by presenters who build their own playlists. That means a person, not an algorithm, decides what goes on ^[11]. Under the Community Radio Broadcasting Codes of Practice, most community stations must play at least 25% Australian music across each calendar month, so they actively want local songs ^[9].

Amrap (the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project) is run by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). It's a free platform where community radio presenters discover and download new Australian music ^[10]. Only presenters and staff at licensed community stations can download from it ^[9].

As an artist, you sign up at amrap.org.au as an Artist (labels and managers use a PR-Agent account), then upload a release ^[9]. The current rules from the CBAA: tracks must be performed by Australian citizens or residents, commercially released within the past 12 months, supplied as WAV files, with cover art at least 1500 x 1500 pixels. You can submit one release a week and processing takes ten business days. CBAA checks every submission for broadcast suitability, including audio quality and content, and wholly AI-generated music is not accepted ^[9].

Once you're live, you can search for broadcasters and message them with a link to your release, and you can see download and airplay data in your account ^[9]. Airplay isn't guaranteed. Each presenter decides, and reaching out works better than uploading and waiting ^[9].

• Free for artists and stations ^[10].
• WAV files, released in the last 12 months, art at least 1500 x 1500 px ^[9].
• One release per week, about ten business days to process ^[9].
• Download and airplay data shows in your account ^[9].

Commercial radio: the honest reality

Commercial stations run tight playlists and set their own Australian content level within the industry code. ARIA, the recording industry body, says stations classify themselves and can sit anywhere from no local content up to 25%, that part of the quota must be releases from the previous 12 months, that local content can air any time between 6am and midnight, and that quotas don't fully apply to digital-only stations ^[12]. ARIA has pushed for changes in a code review, including prime-time Australian music and a flat 25% for every station, but at the time of checking those were proposals, not rules ^[12].

What that means for you: commercial radio adds very few new independent songs, and the ones it does add usually come with a story already. Unearthed plays, community radio charts, real streaming numbers from real fans, gigs and press. Build those first. When you have them, commercial radio is a conversation worth having, usually through a radio plugger (a specialist who pitches songs to radio for a fee).

How to pitch radio without being annoying

Presenters are flat out. One major community station's music coordinator gets around 150 to 300 new tracks a week ^[11]. Your pitch has a few seconds to land. Keep it short, warm and useful.

APRA AMCOS advice for community radio: send streaming or download links, never big MP3 attachments; write a punchy elevator pitch; have a very short bio and a longer one ready; research which presenters and specialist shows actually play your style; and build relationships rather than just firing off music ^[11]. If you want an interview, pitch around something real like a release or a tour, between one month and two weeks before the date ^[11]. When you get a spin, say thank you ^[11].

Our own rule of thumb on lead time (this is our opinion, not an official rule): get your Amrap upload done the week your song comes out, and start presenter emails two to four weeks before release day with a private link, so the song is on their radar when it lands.

• The one-sheet (a single page that sells the release) should include: artist name and town, song title, release date, genre and two sound-alikes, a three-line story about the song, a clean-or-explicit note, a private stream link and Amrap link, your socials, and one contact email.
• Say if the track is AI-assisted. Honest labelling saves everyone an awkward conversation.
• Address the presenter by their show name and say why the track fits it.
• One follow-up, a week or so later. Then let it go.

What airplay actually earns

Two different rights get paid when your song goes to air, and they're collected by two different organisations.

APRA AMCOS pays songwriters and publishers for the song itself (the words and music). triple j Unearthed reports every song it plays to APRA AMCOS, and if you're a member you can be paid royalties for it ^[4]. Joining is free if you write songs and at least one has been performed live, broadcast or made available to stream ^[13]. Register each song with its title, performer, duration, co-writers and splits so the money can find you ^[14]. APRA AMCOS pays domestic royalties quarterly ^[14].

PPCA pays for the recording (the master). PPCA licenses the recorded performance while APRA AMCOS covers the composition ^[15]. For Australian recordings, income for each track is split 50/50 between the registered featured artist and the label, and if the artist doesn't register, their share goes to the label ^[15]. If you own your own masters, you can also register as a licensor, which covers independent artists who hold the rights in their recordings ^[16]. PPCA works out the pot after each financial year and pays in December ^[15].

Be realistic. A handful of community radio spins won't pay the rent. But it's your money, it adds up across a year, and it only arrives if you're registered. Write songs and perform on your recordings? Register with both ^[15].

Common mistakes

• Uploading to Unearthed with significant AI use and ticking the box anyway.
• Uploading a cover or an uncleared sample. It won't get approved ^[1].
• Uploading a two-year-old release to Amrap. It has to be from the last 12 months ^[9].
• Attaching a 40 MB WAV to a cold email ^[11].
• Not joining APRA AMCOS or registering with PPCA, so the royalties sit unclaimed.
• Paying anyone who guarantees radio play.

Questions people ask

Sources

General information, not legal or financial advice. Last checked 2026-10-26.

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