The frontman thinks musicians have it harder than ever with obstacles always in the way for hopeful creatives, but Hawkins has queeioned the direction of the industry
They’ve landed a No2 album but The Darkness don’t know if that equals success anymore. Scoring a Top 10 album isn’t as important as social media numbers, going viral or even headlining Wembley arena as they recently did.
Frontman Justin Hawkins said: “I don’t even know if we’re trying to sell records now. What are we trying to do? Sell tickets, or what’s the idea? What does success look like? Do we even know what that looks like now? Is it social media numbers? That doesn’t feel like success to me. Is it just your rising stock? Is it getting photographed coming out of the hairdresser…. does that count as success?”
The rockers believe musicians have it harder than ever, and music seems to be the least important element. Justin added: “The struggle is it never ends, there’s always obstacles. Sometimes it’s just your age. But I think for me it’s trying to exist and trying to have an artistic endeavour in a world where the industry, they just move the goalposts all the time.”
The Darkness rebuilt their audience after quitting then returning a decade ago, but they don’t rest on their laurels.
Justin went on: “You have things like expectation and your relationship with your audience. Do you want to be a cult band? Do you want to service your existing audience or do you want to try and think broader?
“Any sort of career in the arts is hard. I would imagine it’s difficult for everybody, and obviously the internet’s made it way more difficult.
“You dunno how to monetise, and that’s obviously how you make your living. That’s still the thing that counts.
“That’s the one thing that hasn’t changed.”
The Daily Star previously reported that The Darkness said they’d be willing to form a supergroup with rock titans Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro.
The British glam rockers started plotting the star-studded collaboration during an exclusive chat with Daily Star’s Sam Huntley at the Hard Rock Café in London.
During their sit-down chat with Daily Star, the band spilled their honest opinions on the Britain’s biggest rock and pop stars today – including Harry Styles and Liam Gallagher.
Singer Justin Hawkins said Harry Styles was a “good role model for everybody” when asked what he thought about the former One Direction star, who just headlined Wembley Stadium with his Harry’s House tour.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
