The ABC is creating a new triple j radio station dedicated entirely to playing unsigned and independent Australian music.

Triple j Unearthed started as a band competition in the 1990s, turned into a music sharing website and is now becoming a new ABC digital radio station.

Launched in Melbourne on Thursday night by the ABC's managing director Mark Scott, triple j Unearthed will begin broadcasting 24 hours a day from October 5.

Triple j's manager Chris Scaddan says the station will be unique.

"The station itself will be very different to triple j," he said.

"There's no breakfast show, there's no drive show. [It is] very much going to be driven by the music, by the artists themselves and the community that surrounds Unearthed.

"We've just found there's such an abundance of fantastic Australian music - far more than we can possibly give airplay to on triple j - that we need a whole new station dedicated to playing Australian music."

He says it is an exciting time for aspiring musicians.

"People talk a lot about artists such as Grinspoon, Missy Higgins, Killing Heidi who were all discovered in early days of Unearthed," he said.

"More recently because it's online it means that all the music that's submitted to Unearthed is available for everybody to listen.

"So we've had even more bands and artists coming through who have been able to get that first kick in their career."