Junkee Media, formerly known as Sound Alliance, is a

digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...

company based in Australia.

History

Junkee Media was founded in 2000 when Matt Callander, Libby Clark, and Andre Lackmann launched their dance music website ''inthemix''. The website began as a part-time hobby for the three, who were soon joined by Neil Ackland. Ackland discovered the site online and got in touch with its creators. Sound Alliance acquired ''Mess+Noise'' in October 2008 from failed media group

Destra Corporation Destra Corporation Limited, previously known as Sprint Corporation and Ehyou, was an independent Australian media and entertainment company based in Richmond, Victoria founded by Domenic Carosa. Destra grew through a series of acquisitions and ...

. ''Mess+Noise'' has been operating since 2005 when it began as a bimonthly print publication. In 2006, Tim Duggan co-founded the national

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

site ''Same Same'' with Sound Alliance. Sound Alliance launched ''Junkee'' in March 2013, an online title aimed at an audience aged 18 to 29 years. The publisher told its audience that Junkee would be built on principles uncovered in a comprehensive youth survey of a few thousand 18- to 29-year-olds. Sound Alliance used ''Junkee'' to trial

native advertising Native advertising, also called sponsored content, partner content, and branded journalism, is a type of paid advertising that appears in the style and format of the content near the advertisement's placement. It manifests as a post, image, vide ...

, which is now used across all of its publications as of October 2014. Sound Alliance formally rebranded itself as Junkee Media in July 2015. CEO Neil Ackland told media the name change reflected the company's transformation from being a music-only publisher to becoming a youth-focused lifestyle publisher. In September 2015, Junkee Media sold the LGBT title ''Same Same'' to Evo Media. In 2016, oOh! Media purchased an 85% shareholding in Junkee Media. It acquired the remaining 15% several years later. In April 2017, ''FasterLouder'' was rebranded to Music Junkee, and a new site targeting

Generation Z Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2 ...

, ''Punkee'', was launched the following month. In November 2018, Junkee Media closed down ''Inthemix'' after 18 years. In December 2021, Junkee Media was sold to RACAT Group. Oh!media retained Junkee's branded content and production arm, Junkee Studio.

Publications

* Junkee, a

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

and

political satire Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned. Political satir ...

site *Punkee, is an

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

and

site aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds *AWOL, a youth travel site produced in partnership with

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

, was founded in 2014

Awards

''Junkee'' was named media brand of the year at the 2014 Mumbrella Awards. Qantas and Junkee Media's ''AWOL'' was named the content marketing strategy of the year in 2015. In 2011, Sound Alliance was named to the Digital Media Top 10 Power Index, lauded for disrupting their larger traditional media competitors. Sound Alliance was named one of Australia's best places to work in both 2010 and 2009 by the publication '' BRW''. ''Punkee'' was named the media brand of the year at the 2018 Mumbrella Awards. Junkee Media was named publishing company of the year - large publishers at the 2018 Publish Awards.

References

{{reflist Publishing companies established in 2000 Publishing companies of Australia 2000 establishments in Australia