Tame Impala Signs Label Deal With Columbia Records

Tame Impala’s new release heralds a new era, and not just sonically.

Kevin Parker’s chart-topping, award-winning project today drops "End of Summer", an electronic banger, his first through a new contract with Columbia Records, part of Sony Music.

With that arrangement, Parker’s recording and publishing are both under the same roof.

Parker was, of course, one of the frontline artists for Steve “Pav” Pavlovic’s Modular Recordings,  once the hottest label on earth with a roster that included Wolfmother, Cut Copy, Ladyhawke, The Presets, and The Avalanches, the latter coming in at No. 1 on Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s list of 50 Great Electronic Acts of All Time.

Modular Recordings left the independent universe in 2015, when Universal Music Group absorbed the entirety of the joint venture, a disputed action that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Since then, Tame Impala records have been released through Universal Music Australia here, Interscope in the United States, and UMG labels in other countries.

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On the publishing side, Parker has a 15-year-plus history with Sony Music Publishing. 

That deal announced in May 2024, Parker already sold his entire catalogue to the major music publisher, extend his global deal, and encompassing future compositions, whether they are solo endeavours or collaborations.

Parker has been with Sony Music Publishing since 2009, ahead of the release of Tame Impala’s acclaimed debut album, Innerspeaker from 2010. A decade on, Sony Publishing forged a new exclusive deal to represent Parker on a global basis.

Parker also written for the likes of Rihanna, Gorillaz, Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Travis Scott, Kali Uchis and Mick Jagger, who he namechecks on the Slow Rush track “Posthumous Forgiveness”.

His recent contributions include several tracks on Dua Lipa’s latest album Radical Optimism, which debuted at No. 1 on the UK Official Albums Chart.

The release of "End of Summer" follows several teases. Earlier this month, Parker got tongues wagging with a social post in which he wrote “Been busy,” followed a winking emoji.

And at a Barcelona club in June, he previewed a new cut after saying the words million have wanted to hear: “Do you guys want to hear a new Tame Impala song?”

Tame Impala have collected ARIA Awards, APRA Awards, a Brit Award, and earlier this year, a Grammy, by way of a collaboration with Justice.