For over a decade, Nickelback has had the curious role of a band that’s seen immense success and intense backlash at the same time.
While the dubious honor of being popular and unpopular all at once has been shared by bands like Creed and Limp Bizkit, neither were able to sustain that reputation for as long as Nickelback has.
In recent years, however, the Canadian band’s image has enjoyed a positive bump thanks to how fertile their song “Photograph” has proven for memes. It may not be able to compete with the towering dankness of Smash Mouth, but it’s made a nice little niche for itself.
And that niche just got a whole lot nicer for the band in the wake of an odd tweet from the U.S. President last week.
Last Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted out his own take on the “Photograph” meme with an image intended to rile up his supporters.
In it, former Vice-President Joe Biden and his son Hunter are depicted on a gold course with a person Trump labels as “Ukraine gas exec.”
As has been the president’s wont lately, this tweet seemed to imply that the Bidens had inappropriate business dealings in Ukraine.
As ABC News reported , Trump’s phone call asking Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his suspicions and his administration’s withholding of almost $400 million in military aid to Ukraine inspired the recent impeachment inquiry by House Democrats.
However, if you were to see Trump’s “Photograph” tweet the day after it was posted, you would instead encounter this.
While the text of the Tweet remains publicly visible, the actual clip and the photograph are no longer available due to a copyright claim from Warner Music Group.
But whether the band supported the clip’s removal or not, the story surrounding this tweet has proved beneficial for Nickelback.
As Billboard reported , “Photograph” received a 38% increase in both audio and video streams between October 2 and 3.
It was streamed 558,000 times between September 30 and October 1, and then 772,000 times after Trump’s tweet appeared.
Not only that, but actual downloads of the song ballooned by 569% over the course of those fateful two days.
While that certainly seems like a staggering percentage, it’s also a little misleading.
As Billboard reported , that massive increase actually translated to a total of 1,000 downloads.
h/t: Billboard
