Blue are “still learning” how to navigate the modern music industry since their return.
The boy band – which consists of Duncan James, 44, Simon Webbe, 43, Antony Costa, 41, and Lee Ryan, 39, – ruled the charts with hits such as ‘All Rise’ and ‘One Love’ in their early 2000s heyday but have now returned to music with their new album ‘Heart and Soul’ and Duncan explained that while he is “happy” to have had the experiences of CDs, record store signings and TV appearances, the group now have to try to be “relevant” in a “very different” world of social media platforms and music streaming.
Duncan said: “It’s a very different industry now to how it was back in the day. Everything is very very different with social media. But I’m really happy that we had the experiences that we had, like the TV shows that were around that we did like‘ Top of the Pops’, ‘CD:UK’ and ‘SM:TV’. I’m glad we had the Woolworths, the store signings like that that we did and worked our way up. It’s a very different world than what we’re used to but it’s about adapting and trying to be relevant in this new world. We just want the music to speak for itself, we’re all really proud of this album. “
Meanwhile, bandmate Antony added that he “doesn’t understand” the concept of streaming music on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music because of how disproportionate the figures can be when compared to CD sales.
In the joint interview, he exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “It’s just that time has moved on. We’re still learning, I’m still learning. I don’t personally get streaming, I get why it’s there but if I buy a single on a stream then I’m assuming that I’ve helped and supported that artist but you’ve gotta play it 10,000 times for it to count as a single sale. I don’t get it, I don’t get it. It’s not like back in the day when go to a record store, buy a CD and it counts as one sale. I’m still getting my head round it and it baffles me to this day!”
Blue’s new album ‘Heart and Soul’ is out now and they tour the UK in December.