Muse learned lessons ''the hard way'' about music industry ''sharks'' ripping artists off.

Frontman Matt Bellamy has warned aspiring artists about ''dodgy people'' who try to take advantage of musicians, and explained while it could seem like paranoia, it actually comes from experiences the group had early in their career.

Speaking to NME in a series giving advice to aspiring bands, Matt revealed: ''Look out for sharks. There's plenty of dodgy people out there that are looking to rip you off.

''So just take it easy. Sorry to be paranoid, but in the early years we got taken, taken many times and learned the hard way. So, look out for sharks - what can I say?''

Meanwhile, the 'Time Is Running Out' singer's bandmate Chris Wolstenholme - who completes the line- up alongside drummer Dominic Howard - recently explained why Muse are taking a break from album's after 2015's 'Drones', and instead putting their focus on putting out singles.

Speaking about the 'Plug in Baby' hitmakers adapting to the changes of the music industry, bassist Chris previously said: ''I think the industry has changed too much since we started, certainly since we put our first record out.

''But even in the last five or six years, streaming has become the way that most people seem to listen to music this days and I think that's affected the way people listen to music. People tend not to consume themselves in entire albums like they did when I was younger.

''It seems to be that the whole industry and the platforms for listening to music are catered around people listening to individual songs and creating their own playlists and things like that.''

He added it's less pressurised just dropping singles and means they don't have to worry about the relentless album promo cycle.

He said: ''So I think it was something that was worth a try, just putting out the odd single here or there. ''There's less pressure as well. We decided after 'Drones' we were going to take a little bit of time off, and that we wouldn't tour heavily this year but we didn't want to disappear completely.