Tame Impala have been on a roll on the awards circuit lately. In addition to earning several nods at the recent WA Music Awards, the Perth outfit recently took home their first ARIA Award and they’re up for several more at this Thursday’s ceremony.
However, the Kevin Parker-led project can now add another (somewhat dubious) accolade to their ever-expanding list. They are officially one of the most pirated music acts on the internet, a title they share with the likes of Drake, Beyonce, and Nicki Minaj.
Digital Music News recently shared a list of the 100 most popular music downloads on The Pirate Bay, aka the web’s go-to destination for pirated content, and Tame Impala’s latest acclaimed full-length effort, Currents, is there front and centre.
We’re not sure if that’s an honour Parker was hoping for, but if his past comments are anything to go by, he’s not particularly fussed about fans downloading his music illegally. Speaking to BBC 6 Music back in September, Parker shared his thoughts on the matter.
“There are some CDs I saved up for months to buy when I was doing a paper round, I’d literally spend two months saving up to buy a CD,” Parker said when remarking on his early experience of buying music.
“But then later in life my friend would burn me a CD that he’d downloaded illegally and it was just as much of a powerful experience, even though the sound quality was kind of crappy.”
“For me that shows that it’s not really how much you pay for it or even whether or not it’s physical, it can still have an effect on you,” he added. “I’m not sure what that says about artists making money in the future,” he conceded.
“Obviously artists need to make money but I also believe that if you do something good the wealth will find you some way. If music was free I think it changes the experience but it doesn’t necessarily cheapen it. It doesn’t make it any less profound.”
“I used to download music illegally, everyone has,” Parker admitted. “Nobody is innocent. If someone says ‘I love your album but I downloaded it for free’ then good! I don’t want his 20 bucks.”
Image via Digital Music News
