The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has explained why he believes rock music is struggling today, pointing to the need for financial backing and a lack of genuine passion among modern musicians, in comments posted on Instagram.
Hawkins was asked to reflect on the state of rock music and why the genre no longer produces major stars in the way it once did. He focused on how the economics of the music industry have changed and how this has affected the type of people who can pursue careers in rock.
“Name a rock star. You can’t do it, can you?” Hawkins said. “Well, I don’t know whether it’s a cultural shift that makes, you know, the idea of being successful in music more accessible, but the thing that people started to buy into was the idea of the boy next door being able to sell out stadiums.”
He went on to explain what he saw as a problem with this shift. “That kills things like mystique because you take a look at one of those people and you know what their upbringing was. You know the kind of people they hang out with. You hear them in an interview and you think, well there’s absolutely nothing interesting about this person.”
Hawkins highlighted the financial barriers that now exist for musicians starting out. “Now it’s people who come from privilege, you know, it’s like to be able to sort of exist in the music realm and make a touring company that’s profitable is almost impossible. So the only people that actually do it have got loads of money anyway, and they’ve got nothing to lose. There’s a safety net, and the safety net never used to exist.”
He drew a contrast between today’s musicians and those from earlier eras. “So people were spiky, they were prickly, they took every opportunity they could. And if it meant shooting down their rival, like in the Wild West, that’s what you had to do. And I think that’s where those rivalries came from. And that’s why they don’t exist anymore.”
Hawkins concluded with a stark assessment of what this means for rock music. “Because the only people doing music are rich kids. And they aren’t rock stars because they don’t fucking matter. Music doesn’t matter anymore.”
The comments were made as part of a wider discussion about the economics of making it in music without financial support from family or other sources.
Hawkins has built a platform to discuss these issues through his YouTube channel Justin Hawkins Rides Again, launched in 2021, where he offers comedic analysis on songs and artists alongside coverage of news in the music community. The channel has given him a visible voice in discussing the state of rock music and industry trends.
The Darkness frontman has been outspoken about challenges facing rock music throughout 2026. Earlier in the year, he criticized a performance at the MTV VMAs, saying that “if the future of rock needs auto-tune to carry a song, then we are in trouble” and describing it as “another nail in the coffin of rock n roll.” Hawkins has doubled down on his concerns, warning that rock music could be “in trouble” if it continues moving in the direction he believes the genre is heading.
Hawkins’ current involvement with The Darkness includes preparation for their largest headline tour in 20 years. The band announced UK arena dates for December 2026, following the release of their latest album Dreams On Toast in March 2025, their first full-length album since 2021’s Motorheart. The tour marks a significant moment for a band that reunited with all four original members in 2011 after Hawkins had left the group in late 2006.
