Richard Kingsmill
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Richard Kingsmill is an Australian radio announcer and music journalist. He worked for ABC radio station triple j from 1988 until his redundancy in December 2023, and was the station's longest-serving presenter. From 2017 he was group music director of triple j, triple j Unearthed, Double J, ABC Country, and ABC Local Radio.
Early life and education
Richard Kingsmill studied mass communications at Macquarie University in the early 1980s. After working at community radio stations in Lismore, Kingsmill moved to Sydney to find a job, and did some training at educational radio station 2SER while studying at university.<ref name=2ser2019>Template:Cite web</ref> 2SER was run jointly by Macquarie University and the University of Technology Sydney.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
While at 2SER in 1988, Kingsmill made a four-part series on the Australian music industry called Money, Not Harmony.<ref name=nfsa>Template:Cite web</ref>
His career at the ABC started in 1988 as a producer for triple j.<ref name=mediaweek2023>Template:Cite web</ref> He presented on-air for the first time in 1990.<ref name=cashmere/>
He introduced and hosted the shows The J Files<ref name=2ser2019/> (8 years<ref name=abcfarewell/>) and the Australian Music Show (10 years<ref name=abcfarewell/>), and was co-founder of triple j Unearthed in 1995,<ref name=mediaweek2023/><ref name=abcfarewell/> a fact of which he is very proud, in particular "being able to uncover the likes of Missy Higgins, Grinspoon, G Flip, and Genesis Owusu".<ref name=themusic2023>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kingsmill began hosting triple j's new releases show on Sunday evenings, named for the current year, in 1996. This show continues as of 2023 as one of the highest-rating shows.<ref name=abcfarewell/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1998, Kingsmill hosted an Australian music-themed program on Rage, for Australian Music Week.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, he presented the triple j Hottest 100 of All Time on Rage with Zan Rowe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2003, Kingsmill was promoted to the position of music director<ref name=mediaweek2023/> after the retirement of Arnold Frolows, who had been in the position since the inception of Double Jay (as triple j was then known) in 1975.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From 2004 until 2019, he curated the annual "One Night Stand" live concerts in remote or regional towns.<ref name=abcfarewell/>
In 2009, Kingsmill was the initiator and curator of Before Too Long: Triple J's Tribute to Paul Kelly.<ref name=abcfarewell/> The show ran over two nights at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne in November, with various artists performing tracks by Paul Kelly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The concert was recorded for a 3× CD<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a 2x DVD of the same name released in February 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2011, Kingsmill created Straight To You: triple j’s Tribute To Nick Cave.<ref name=abcfarewell/>
In January 2012, he took a break for six months to travel overseas, with Nick Findlay stepping in as acting music director.<ref name=cashmere/>
In 2015, Kingsmill selected the artists for the live concert "Beat The Drum: Celebrating 40 Years of triple j" The soundtrack once again took out an ARIA.<ref name=abcfarewell/>
In 2016, he started The Funhouse on Double J, which in 2023 celebrated its 350th show and is one of the station's most loved programs.<ref name=abcfarewell/>
Over the years, he hosted hundreds of interviews with well-known musicians, including David Bowie, Radiohead, Björk, Nick Cave, Daft Punk, Flume, Gotye, Lana Del Rey, and Kendrick Lamar.<ref name=abcfarewell/> In 1998, a remarkable interview with Tori Amos went to air live on the J Files.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2017, Kingsmill became group music director, coordinating the team of music directors for four stations on the ABC national network: triple j, triple j Unearthed, Double J and ABC Local Radio.<ref name="indobserver">Template:Cite web</ref> He also oversaw music content at ABC Country,<ref name=winter2023/><ref name=2ser2019/> and in 2023 another station, triple j's Hottest, was added.<ref name=mediaweek2023/><ref name=themusic2023/>
In December 2023, he announced his departure from the ABC, having been made redundant as part of a restructuring of the triple j network.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=winter2023>Template:Cite web</ref> During his time at triple j, Kingsmill managed to double the amount of airtime given to Australian artists, from 30 percent to 60 percent.<ref name=themusic2023/> The station's audience increased from 980,000 in 2006<ref name=mediaweek2023/> to 3 million in 2022.<ref name=eltham2023/>
Recognition and awards
- 2010: Before Too Long: Triple J's Tribute to Paul Kelly, winner, Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album in the ARIA Awards<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=abcfarewell/>
- 2011: Straight To You: triple j’s Tribute To Nick Cave, winner, Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album in the ARIA Awards<ref name=abcfarewell/>
- May 2012: Voted International Music Director of the year at the Worldwide Radio Summit in Los Angeles<ref name=abcfarewell>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 2014: sections of Kingsmill's 1999 radio interview with the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith were used in the 2014 documentary of Elliot's life, Heaven Adores You<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Heaven Adores You (2014) Director:Nickolas Rossi</ref>
- 2015: 2015 ARIA Award, Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album, for Beat The Drum: Celebrating 40 Years of triple j<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 2015: Named no. 1 in the Australian Music Industry Directory's list, "Power 50"<ref name=abcfarewell/>
Influence and legacy
Kingsmill was triple j's longest-serving presenter.<ref name=cashmere>Template:Cite web</ref> Ben Eltham wrote in a 2015 article in Meanjin that Kingsmill's musical preferences (mainly in hip hop, indie rock, and pop music) influenced what was played on triple j, and that he has shaped its identity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Eltham later (2023) wrote of him as a "kingmaker", who had the power to make a musician's career, and artists ignored by him resented this. Eltham commented that this type of power has now passed to platforms such as Spotify and TikTok rather than individuals, playlists are determined by AI, and major labels dominate the industry.<ref name=eltham2023>Template:Cite web</ref>
The longevity and present format of the TV program Rage was inspired by Kingsmill's radio show in which he hosted artists who would talk about music that they liked. An ABC staff member took this idea to management in 1998, after Rage had been running without any presenter for three years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kingsmill appeared in the 1998 Radiohead documentary Meeting People Is Easy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2019, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia published excerpts of Kingsmill's 2SER radio series, Money, Not Harmony. Archivist Liz Guiffre wrote: "Kingsmill would go on to become an extremely important part of the industry he so carefully documented here".<ref name=nfsa/>
Personal life
Kingsmill's older brother, Mark Kingsmill, was the drummer in the Australian rock band Hoodoo Gurus.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>