Two spin-off digital stations were launched in the early 2010s: Double J aims to appeal to more mature audiences, and Triple J Unearthed plays only unsigned, local musicians.

In another first for the industry, their roster also featured presenters who did not come from a radio background, including singer-songwriters Bob Hudson[17] and John J. Francis,[18] and actor Lex Marinos.

[19] Other notable foundation staff and presenters in January 1975 were Chris Winter, Marius Webb, Ron Moss,[8] Arnold Frolows, Mark Colvin, Jim Middleton, Don Cumming, and Mac Cocker.

[22] Austin explained that station staff threatened industrial action in July 1975 due to the transmitter issues, but officials of the BCB still refused to meet with 2JJ representatives.

[4] After the station hosted an open-air concert in Liverpool, New South Wales, in May 1975 featuring Skyhooks and Dragon,[23] city's Sun newspaper claimed that attendees were "shocked" by "depictions of sexual depravity and shouted obscenities", which allegedly caused women in the audience to clap their hands over their ears, prompting Coalition frontbencher Peter Nixon to call for the station to be closed down.

[26] To celebrate the relaunch, the station organised a concert in Parramatta Park on 18 January 1981, featuring Midnight Oil and Matt Finish, who performed to a crowd of 40,000 people.

[14] His tenure generated controversy, most notably in 1990, when all senior announcers in the Sydney office were fired, including the most popular presenters Tony Biggs and Tim Ritchie.

In 1996, the total was brought to 44, with the new additions including Launceston, Tasmania; Albany, Western Australia; Bathurst, New South Wales and Mackay, Queensland.

Grunge music came to the fore, and bands such as Spiderbait, the Beasts of Bourbon, and The Cruel Sea attained critical and popular success, boosted by Triple J's playlist.

[37] Adapting to the digital streaming age, in 2004, the station began to release podcasts of some of its talkback shows, including Dr. Karl, This Sporting Life, and Hack.

when you aged out of the youth radio station In August 2021, the Triple J Twitter account posted a riff on a popular pick-up line, which attracted widespread criticism and accusations of ageism.

[51][52] Writing for NME, journalist Andrew Street said the controversy renewed discussion about the lack of airplay of older artists on the station, with many being "deemed Double J-ready" in their mid-20s.

[61] In May 2024, Triple J hosted the inaugural Bars of Steel Live event in Parramatta, showcasing hip hop and rap artists from all across Western Sydney.

Early presenter Gayle Austin reflected in 2006 that before Triple J, "Australian music didn’t have much production put into it because there wasn’t much money made out of it.

[75] Writers have pointed to increased air time for international pop stars like Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Nas X as proof of this, and that Billie Eilish's win in the 2018 Hottest 100 was an outcome "unthinkable even a few years earlier.

[79] In June 2024, Sydney software engineer Harrison Khannah launched Triple J Watchdog, a similar online resource that tracks each week's top songs, musicians and genres, with additional statistics like artists' country of origin, pronouns and their amount of Spotify monthly listeners.

The Triple J name is stylised in all lowercase, a marketing decision made in 1981[80] that according to writer Ben Eltham of Meanjin, is one that reflects "a particular world-view that takes brand identity seriously".

Hack, the station's flagship current affairs program, is broadcast every weekday evening and features investigations into relevant issues affecting young Australians.

From July 2024, presenters on daily programs include:[90] Triple J Unearthed is an online music discovery platform and digital radio station that features only unsigned Australian artists, focusing on discovering new local acts.

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).

The most recent J Award winners for Australian Album of the Year were Smiling With No Teeth by Genesis Owusu in 2021, Angel in Realtime by Gang of Youths in 2022, Drummer by G Flip in 2023, and Zorb by Sycco in 2024.

[102] In response to controversy surrounding the Australia Day debate, and a petition and survey indicating that the majority of their listeners would like it to be changed,[47] it was announced in November 2017 that future countdowns would be aired on the fourth weekend of January to avoid associations with the public holiday.

Hosted by Peter Garrett, the list of performers, all of whom are the beneficiaries of the station's support, included Hilltop Hoods, the Presets, the Cat Empire, You Am I, Daniel Johns, Joelistics, Ball Park Music, Adalita, Vance Joy, and Gotye.

In November 2009, Triple J hosted a tribute concert series for Paul Kelly called Before Too Long, which was run over two nights at Melbourne's Forum Theatre.

[75] With a more adventurous music catalogue than that of commercial radio, especially throughout the 1980s, Triple J were responsible for popularising some of Australia's most well-known acts, including Midnight Oil, Nick Cave, Silverchair and the John Butler Trio.

[119] They have also been given credit for creating local audiences for overseas acts, like Blondie, Devo, Garbage and the B-52s – 2JJ was the first radio station in the world to play the latter's debut single "Rock Lobster".

Labels would previously only import recordings that they knew would yield good commercial return, leaving them often unwilling to take risks on local releases from unknown acts.

[123] Music director of Triple J Unearthed, Dave Ruby Howe, acknowledged there were some similar sounds on the discovery platform, but said bands purely chasing airplay will get caught out.

Notably, Nova, who had also branded themselves as a competitor youth station, had a "clearly borrowed" catalogue from Triple J, but was slightly more conservative with its song selections.

[125] Former Australian Recording Industry Association staffer Danny Yau said that Triple J's nationalisation from the early 1990s created a new role for local community radio stations, particularly Sydney's FBi and Melbourne's 3RRR, to fill the broadcaster's gaps with more niche regional content.