When Josh Franceschi was younger, he dreamed of headlining arenas with his band. On the other hand, an appearance at the House of Commons was almost certainly not an objective.

However the You Me At Six singer has now accomplished both feats, with his passion for stopping ticket touts, and re-sale sites that lead to massive mark-ups in prices, leading to him speaking before the Culture, Media and Sport committee’s evidence gathering session last year.

“It’s one of those situations where you only realise what’s going on when it happens to you,” he says, speaking over the phone before a gig in Germany.

“We hadn’t toured for about a year and when tickets being sold on happened to us I went ‘hang on, how is no-one talking about this?’ That’s how I got involved in it all, really, and it spiralled from there. I think their days are numbered because there’s too much pressure coming from all sides now, and at some point it’s going to stop.”

Franceschi and his band have an admirable commitment to cracking down on touts, including playing a small gig last year where tickets could only be bought in person. However his views are not shared by everyone.

The current You Me At Six tour comes to the SEC next Thursday night, but Peter Duthie, the chief executive of the Scottish Events Campus, which also includes the SSE Hydro and the Armadillo (Clyde Auditorium), was quoted earlier this year as saying that “supply and demand” was a factor in the re-sale market.

This is an argument that Franceschi does not buy in the slightest.

“I think that there will always be demand for a fan-to-fan resale service, when someone can’t attend a gig, but 30% of tickets going on sale on secondary sites straight away is not a side effect of anything.

“That’s got nothing to do with the industry we’re in, that’s a deliberate movement from the people involved to bleed the fans dry, sometimes with, sometimes without, the aid of management companies, bands or venues.

“There are things going on where people feel they are above having a moral and ethical obligation not to scam people, because that’s what the secondary market is. It’s a scam… At some point fans are going to go ‘this is bollocks’, to buying tickets for anything, because within minutes it’s sold out and on sale on these websites.”

Ticket touts are just the latest issue to face the music industry. The rise of online streaming has been an ongoing problem for over a decade now, and although Franceschi does see some shoots of recovery, he also feels the majority of bands aren’t getting what they deserve.

“Everyone ridiculed [Metallica drummer] Lars Ulrich when he said that file sharing would cripple the music industry,” he says.

“Everyone said he was greedy, but although we’re coming into a new era where streaming is sort of helping a bit, you still have artists not getting paid what they should be. There’s an elite few getting paid and the rest of us are on monkey’s money for it.”

It is not all bleak news, however. You Me At Six have now celebrated over a decade making music together, an impressive feat in modern times. The Surrey group’s early pop punk days have gradually shifted over the years, into well honed arena rock and now, on this year’s Night People, becoming a heavier, moodier sound.

The album is arguably the band’s most mature and cohesive work to date, and came after a period of reflection that saw Francheschi, at the height of the group’s success, ponder whether he was ready to go through it the album and touring cycle again.

“We’d had 10 years non stop. Obviously in the music industry momentum is one of those things that can catapult acts to new heights, but it got to a stage where I was mentally and physically drained, and I said to the rest of the band that if we go straight into another album or tour then I don’t know how well I’m going to be able to perform.”

Instead of flinging himself back into things, the singer went and enjoyed domestic life, including buying a house and getting engaged. It was a period of time that he feels he needed, both for his own sake and for the band.

“I didn’t want to get to 30 and realise I had no life outside of the road,” he reflects.

“I wanted a balance of work and happiness, and the good thing about music is that those things usually marry up easily, because music lets you be creative in your work. But sometimes you need to take a step back and get some perspective on where you are.

“I literally needed to stop singing and clear my head and then come into the writing process fresh. I had felt completely bereft of ideas and completely over being in a band, and that’s a dangerous place to be in when you remain in that negative headspace. It can do damage to not just the creative side but also the person as well.”

The rejuvenation of the group carried over in their choice of recording studio. The band’s drummer Dan Flint had created a personal studio, where they initially met to throw around ideas. From there they rejected a return to recording in Los Angeles, where they had worked before. Instead they plumped for Nashville, where they teamed up with producer Jacquire King.

“We needed somebody who would come in and switch it up for us, even down to the way we behaved. We’d be coming in every day without fail – I think Matt missed one day because he had a virus and that was it.

“LA is very much a melting pot of pop culture and fame chasing. There are some cool communities and groups, but in Nashville it is all about the song. You’d go down the main strip downtown and every bar has a band playing, so I would come in from a night out and just want to get the acoustic guitar out and work on a song.”

The result means it is a fresh and re-energised fivesome heading for Glasgow next week.

“I wasn’t expecting to be in my mid twenties and still be in You Me At Six, but here we are, and it’s almost like the shackles are off,” adds Franceschi.

“The pressure is off, maybe not within the industry but for us five, we don’t feel it. We feel calm and good about what we are as a band, and I’m just enjoying it more now.”

You Me At Six play the SEC in Glasgow on Thursday.