YMAS' Josh plans to help 'graveyard of talented artists' who 'deserve better'

04 February 2024 , 19:23

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YMAS' Josh plans to help 'graveyard of talented artists' who 'deserve better'

You Me At Six frontman Josh Franceschi is eyeing up a career helping emerging and talented artists.

It comes less than a week after the British rocker and his bandmates revealed that they will be splitting next year following an impressive 20 years in the music industry. Of their eight studio albums, seven have achieved the top ten with Cavalier Youth (2014) and Suckapunch (2021) reaching the top of the Official UK Charts. But Josh, 33, admits that he "worries" about aspects of the music industry and how various artists have been treated over the years.

Over the years, several huge musicians, including BRIT Award nominee Raye found themselves in loopholes with major labels before finding ground-breaking success as an independent artist. But actions such as this leave the frontman "frustrated" and he hopes that one day, he may be in a position to change this.

You Me At Six frontman Josh (centre) has teased his plans for when the band split

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Josh admits that he and his bandmates, Matt Barnes, Max Helyer, Chris Miller and Dan Flint have remained friends since they formed but have also had their challenges over the years. "That's the unit that we've had, we're not always perfect, we're human," he said before adding: "We make mistakes and sometimes we let ourselves down or let one another down but we are a family.

"It's because of our family, our best friends and our partners that we've never gotten ahead of ourselves, we've never really got overly bogged down with stuff that has been difficult." Going on to discuss the industry, he added: "I do worry when I see what goes on in the music industry. It's tough out there, for sure.

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"There are graveyards, full of incredible artists that deserve so much better and deserve to be treated better if there had been more due diligence and people who had a better responsibility to nurture those talents and haven't and that does frustrate me." The musician went on to add: "Maybe that's something I'll be able to pursue after You Me At Six and be able to be involved in maybe helping that situation."

Last week, the band announced their decision to split after two decades (PR Supplied)

The music industry has been notorious over the years, with talented artists and bands emerging and later vanishing but the Weybridge-born musician says that the band have always remained resilient. "We've never believed when people told us we were s**t or we've been dropped by major labels or whatever," he commented, before going on to say: "We've just gone 'Look, you want to be in the music industry? This is the f**king music industry', there are a lot of sharks and nasty people in it.

There's also some incredibly warm and wonderful people who love music, care about people and show empathy and understanding. It's just about trying to surround yourself with as many the right ones as it is to avoid the wrong ones." The group recently returned to their management team Raw Power after a decade away but despite the band working hard over the years, he credits their team for enabling them to continue after their 2021 album, Suckapunch.

"They were a massive part of why this band was able to continue after Suckapunch, we'd already started this conversation then. We've been lucky, we've had a great ecosystem that has protected us and in turn we offer protection, love and encouragement to one another."

While Josh admits aspects of the music industry 'frustrates' him, he's beyond grateful for the team that You Me At Six have behind the band (Redferns)

Although the group have announced their upcoming split, they have a string of UK performances this month and Josh admits that he won't accept any tears from fans. "These shows have nothing to do with all the touring we're doing. It's a tour that we've always had in place.

"I'm seeing so many comments like 'I can't believe this, I was so looking forward to next week and I feel like I'm going to cry the whole time', but I'm going to make a point of being on stage, early on being like 'This is a celebration, you've got a whole year to mourn, relax, get a couple of jars down you, jump around and we'll go home happy. I'm looking forward to it.

"It's going to be wicked and I'm really excited to see our fans again. We've always liked being able to share pivotal moments with our bands career, we always seem to be on tour when it's happening, whether it's album releases. This is my favourite thing to do is to be around the people that have created us and built this whole community around us, I want to be with them, I'm looking forward to it, it's going to be a great string of shows, for sure."

But fear not if you didn't manage to grab tickets for the upcoming tour, the band will be headlining Slam Dunk festival in May, before embarking on a world tour next year to celebrate their achievements before disbanding. Following the news of their split, fans took to social media to share their heartbreak. Singer-songwriter Josh Roe-Parkin said: "Well this just ruined my day. The reason I joined a band, the reason I do what I do. From 2005-2025, thanks for everything." One devastated fan wrote: "April Fool's is still far away y'know. Thank you for all the memories, my teenage years were just that bit easier thanks to you guys." A second penned: "This is actually breaking my heart. You canceled your American tour this past year and now you’re closing the band. You have been my favourite band since 2008! I don't know how to deal with this news."

Daniel Bird