Between the gaining popularity of music streaming services and ever-declining CD and MP3 sales, there's a lot of discussion floating around about how we'll pay for art in the future. Kevin Parker, frontman of the Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, weighed in on the debate this morning in a BBC Radio 6 segment answering the heady question - should music be free?
He said as long as people can get music for free, there's no point in trying to stop them because ultimately people are going to choose the more cost effective option, especially for a generation that has grown up with that level of access.
Parker himself is one of those people. He said he grew up both saving up money from a paper rout to purchase CDs and also illegally downloading music. He said those download still had a powerful effect on him and didn't "cheapen" the art or make it less profound.
"For me, it just shows that it's not really about how much you pay for it or even whether or not it's physical-it can still have the same effect on you," Parker said. "I'm not really sure what that says about artists making money in the future. Like, obviously artists need to make money and stuff like that, but if you do something good or if you make good art or make good stuff, the wealth will find you in some way. Not to be kind of overly spiritual about it, but it's not the kind of thing that's worth complaining about."
He went on to talk about how much music has come to define our lives and our personalities and fans should seek that out in whatever way is best for them. If that means ordering vinyl and placing a needle down, great, and if your experience is better served through a music-streaming app - go right ahead.
"Whatever allows music to enrich your life to the fullest," he said.
Listen to the full interview below or over at BBC Radio 6, with Parker's segment coming in at around 2:07:30 in, according to Pitchfork.