J Play published its last ever run of data this week

After 12 years as one of the most relied upon and visited B2B resource for the Australian music industry, tracking every song triple j plays, every day, J Play published its last run of data this week.

J Play’s parent company, The Brag Media, has penned a farewell letter to the site and its users, read it in full below.

For over a decade, triple j has been the main platform in which artists were signed by labels and booked on festivals. However times have changed.

Now the music industry looks at many other data sets including new trends on streaming services like Spotify, media coverage on music sites as well as broader playlist data from services like AirCheck and Radiomonitor. All things we cover on The Industry Observer.

More than that though, triple j has begun releasing their own weekly Top 50 rankings; all in the midst of crippling funding cuts and restructures at the ABC. Just more proof that triple j is by far the best performing public sector broadcaster, with a rock star team to boot! How they continue to deliver such amazing services for both the music industry and music fans with the little budget they have should be admired and praised by politicians around the country.

We have so much pride and gratitude for everything J Play has delivered the music industry over the years. We’re grateful for the stories we’ve been able to tell along the way – even if they were told through the unaesthetic look of data. We’re grateful for the spotlights we were able to shine on signpost moments for artists, like those who were just dipping their toes into the limelight with an Unearthed Addition.

What started as a passion project in 2006 for J Play founder Paul Stipack to showcase the artists and songs that are played on triple j, became one of the local music industry’s widest used resources.

Updated and controlled from Stipack’s home office, J Play told the stories that triple j, with its massive youth audience of music fans, just couldn’t.

While much of triple j’s 18-24 demographic weren’t interested in just how many spins an artist received on say, Mornings with Linda Marigliano, J Play’s audience was. And while many may not have felt a tingly buzz when they used J Play to trace an artist’s ascent on the broadcaster, from first spin to full rotation, J Play’s audience did.

J Play’s creator has an incredible story; since J Play’s launch in September 2006, Paul Stipack been lovingly listening to each hour and entering all the details into a massive database.

Watch our mini-doc ‘Uncovering J Play’ below:

“When J Play launched back in 2006, it was a simple idea… give the listeners a way to know what’s being played on the j’s,” says J Play founder Paul Stipack.

“Back then the presenters still used CDs, there was no twitter playlist feeds and no Shazam. It grew quickly and garnered support from many of the local record labels and the wider local music industry. 

“Flash forward to today and the landscape is much different,” he adds. “triple j now provide reasonably accurate play list feeds. Resources like Shazam, Radiomonitor, AirCheck etc. make it so much easier to discover and track airplay details. So with a heavy heart, it’s time to step away from J Play.

“It’s been an amazing 12+ years pouring over everything played on triple j, so many great musical discoveries (and a few not so great too!). It’s been a pleasure connecting people with those tracks that resonate.”

For now, this huge library of statistics isn’t going anywhere. While it will no longer be updated as The Brag Media and Paul turn their attentions to other ventures and projects, J Play’s database of over 40,000 songs, 11,000 artists and 15,000 playlists will remain available for the foreseeable future.

J Play was there to service the music industry and act as a valuable resource for as long as it needed it, now the industry looks at more for analysis. The Brag Media will continue to offer analysis and more via this publication, The Industry Observer. Stay up to date with the latest happenings in the industry by subscribing to the newsletter.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.