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Junkee Media, formerly known as Sound Alliance, is a digital media 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. Mess+Noise has been operating since 2005 when it began as a bimonthly print publication. In 2006, Tim Duggan co-founded the national LGBT 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, 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, 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 and political satire site
• Punkee, is an entertainment and pop culture site aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds
• AWOL, a youth travel site produced in partnership with Qantas, 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

1. ^ Sinclair, Lara (22 June 2009). "Sound Alliance beats advertising blues". The Australian. News Corp.
2. McMillen, Andrew (7 August 2009), A Conversation With Neil Ackland, Sound Alliance Managing Director, archived from the original on 21 February 2014
3. Shrivell, Denise (31 July 2009). "Digital People - Neil Ackland". Digital Ministry. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012.
4. Toller, Annie (3 August 2015). "What went wrong at Mess+Noise?". Daily Review. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016.
5. Miranda Ward (10 July 2015). "Junkee Media names Tim Duggan publisher following rebrand and appoints head of video". Mumbrella. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
6. "Youth publisher launches mobile-first title Junkee.com". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015.
7. Duggan, Tim (11 March 2013). "Welcome To Junkee". Junkee. Sound Alliance. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
8. Micallef, Rachael (16 October 2014). "Sound Alliance formalises native advertising team". AdNews. Yaffa Media Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015.
9. Christensen, Nic (2 July 2015). "Sound Alliance rebrands as Junkee Media, says half its revenue now comes from native". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015.
10. Mason, Max (3 July 2015). "Half of Junkee Media's ad revenue coming from branded content". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020.
11. Homewood, Sarah (2 July 2015). "Sound Alliance rebrands to Junkee Media". AdNews. Yaffa Media Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016.
12. Miranda Ward (30 September 2015). "Junkee Media offloads LGBTI community hub SameSame to Evo Media for undisclosed sum". Mumbrella. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
13. Hayes, Alex (24 June 2016). "Ooh Media buys Junkee Media in surprise move". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016.
14. Ward, Miranda (7 December 2021). "oOh!Media offloads Junkee Media to RACAT Group". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
15. Miranda Ward (4 April 2017). "Junkee Media rebrands The Vine as Punkee while it retires FasterLouder in favour of Music Junkee". Mumbrella. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
16. Samios, Zoe (31 May 2017). "Junkee Media officially launches Punkee". Mumbrella. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
17. "A Farewell From inthemix: Thanks For All The Memories". Junkee. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
18. Ward, Miranda (7 December 2021). "oOh!Media offloads Junkee Media to RACAT Group". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
19. Ward, Miranda (7 December 2021). "oOh!Media offloads Junkee Media to RACAT Group". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
20. Samios, Zoe (5 September 2018). "Building Punkee: Moving beyond The Bachelor recaps". Mumbrella. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
21. "Qantas and Sound Alliance launch youth travel title AWOL" (Press release). Qantas. 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015.
22. "The Mumbrella Awards: 2014 winners". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
23. "The Mumbrella Awards: 2015 winners". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016.
24. Priestley, Angela (8 November 2011), "Digital Media, no. 9: Sound Alliance", The Power Index, archived from the original on 6 July 2015
25. Gardner, Jessica (24 June 2010). "Labour of Love". BRW. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
26. Francis, Damian (28 June 2018). "Mumbrella Awards winners for 2018". Mumbrella. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
27. Francis, Damian (20 September 2018). "Mumbrella Publish 2018 award winners revealed". Mumbrella. Retrieved 16 May 2019.

• Publishing companies established in 2000
• Publishing companies of Australia
• 2000 establishments in Australia