Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has revealed that he has made nothing from album sales outside Australia.
Parker was this week’s guest on Reddit’s ‘Ask Me Anything’. One fan asked, “How do you feel about people downloading and streaming your music for free?”
Parker responded, “I feel like music will be free sooner or later, and i think I’m all for it. There’s all this talk of music needing a monetary value, this ownership of music, even that it needs a physical form. But intrinsically… it’s MUSIC, it should be better than that. Some of my most important musical experiences were from a burnt CD with songs my friend downloaded for me at a terrible digital quality… I didn’t care… it changed my life all the same. For me the value of music is the value you extract from it”.
He then added, “You want to know a story? Up until recently, from all of tame impala’s record sales outside of australia I had received…. zero dollars. Someone high up spent the money before it got to me. I may never get that money. Then Blackberry and some tequila brand or something put my song in an ad. Then I bought a house and set up a studio”.
Parker has come to terms with the current state of the music business. “I know what you’re thinking… “wait so…when I bought an album I was helping some businessman pay for his mansion on an island somewhere, and when some dude bought a mobile phone he was helping to pay an artist? WHHHYY?” I’ll tell you why, IT’S MONEY. It doesn’t always go where you want it to go. It’s like a shopping trolley with a bung wheel”.
He says listening to music is the most important thing a fan can do for an artist. “As far as I’m concerned the best thing you can do for an artist is LISTEN to the music…fall in love with it…….talk about it………get it however you can get it….Let the corporations pay for. This is just my brain rambling remember, I’m sure there are holes in my theories… for example I realise not everyone’s music is suited to a mobile phone ad, and it would be lame if artists tailored their music for that purpose”.
Tame Impala will release their third album ‘Currents’ in July.
01 “Let It Happen”
02 “Nangs”
03 “The Moment”
04 “Yes I’m Changing”
05 “Eventually”
06 “Gossip”
07 “The Less I Know The Better”
08 “Past Life”
09 “Disciples”
10 “‘Cause I’m A Man”
11 “Reality In Motion”
12 “Love/Paranoia”
13 “New Person, Same Old Mistakes”
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Never miss a story! Get your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to the Noise11 Music Newsletter here
Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio
Follow Noise11.com on Facebook and Twitter
