Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker offers opinion on illegal downloading

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has given his take on the downloading of music for free in a new interview.

Talking to Mary Anne Hobbs on BBC 6 Music, the frontman seemed to think that the downloading of his music without payment was something that was unavoidable, and okay if it means a new fans discovers his songs. Parker said: “I guess I’m not saying that I think music should be free, but I do think that if people can get it for free, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them. It’s kind of a waste of energy to try and force them to pay for it if they don’t have to.”

Parker then went on to say that he himself has downloaded music illegally in the past, and that “no-one is innocent”. “Everyone has done that. If someone says, ‘Hey man, I love your album, it really got me through a breakup, but I downloaded it for free,’ I’ll be like, ‘Good! That’s good!’ Maybe he didn’t have the money for the album, but if he still listened to it and it’s an important part of his life, that’s all I can ask for. I don’t want his twenty bucks.”

One thing Parker is happy for asking money for, though, is licensing fees for using Tame Impala’s music on television and in film, as the corporations are “the ones with the money”.

Tame Impala recently announced their biggest UK shows ever, set for February 2016. Listen back to Kevin Parker discussing illegal downloading with Mary Anne Hobbs below.