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Muse's Will of the People NFT album release: Rock group will break new ground with world's first-ever Official Albums Chart-eligible 'Digital Pressing'
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Muse are bidding to become the first act to reach the Official Albums Chart with an album delivered as an NFT (non-fungible token).
Warner Music UK and the British rock band - comprising Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard - have partnered with eco-friendly music web3 marketplace Serenade for the release of what will be Muse's ninth studio album Will of the People; set to be released on August 26.
The record, which includes the singles Won't Stand Down and Compliance, will be a world-first 'Digital Pressing'; a brand new, limited edition and collectible music format. This Digital Pressing will prove the first new Official Albums Chart-eligible format since the inclusion of album streams was introduced in 2015.
Will of the People will also be available on the usual physical formats (vinyl, CD and cassette), as well as download and streaming services.
MORE: Muse's full Official Charts history so far
While NFTs have always been chart eligible, as long as they conform to the existing chart rules, Will of the People is the first album with a chance of charting which has been prepared for release.
To date, while previous albums have been made available bundled with an NFT - such as The Amazons' upcoming release How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me? - no release has yet charted with the album itself being in NFT format.
A Digital Pressing is a standalone, chart-eligible digital release (as opposed to being part of a wider release ‘bundle’) designed by Serenade to cater for a super-fan’s appetite for scarcity, exclusive content and community recognition.
Living on the blockchain and offering web3 capabilities such as verifiable ownership and the ability to trade on secondary markets, a Digital Pressing will also accrue accurate, perpetual royalties for artists, copyright holders and content owners.
MORE: The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2022 so far
Martin Talbot, Chief Executive, Official Charts Company says: "Over their seven decades, the Official Charts have always strived to move with the times, reflecting consumption of new formats and all new ways of distributing music, as they have evolved.
"Just as vinyl, 8-track, cassette tapes, CDs and even MiniDisc, DCC and DAT have been welcomed into the charts, we will also welcome Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) - and we will be delighted when the first album delivered as an NFT contributes to the chart, with Serenade and Muse leading the way this summer.
"NFTs are a new, exciting format, the potential for which is only just beginning to be explored and I am sure will play a part in the Official Charts for years to come."
Sebastian Simone, Vice President, Audience & Strategy of Warner Records UK adds: "We're thrilled to be partnering with Serenade and the Official Charts Company on the first chart accredited NFT album format.
"Muse have always been at the forefront of technological innovation and were one of the first music artists to pioneer in Web3 back in 2020. Their fans have an appetite for collectible rarities and this format brings them closer to Muse than ever before, propelling them into a new space and offering an entirely unique experience."
Max Shand, Serenade Founder comments: "As a simple, standardised and chart eligible format, Digital Pressings will be a gamechanger on the global stage, and we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without the support of the visionary teams at Warner Records and the Official Charts Company, who all want to give artists every opportunity to bring creativity and innovation into their campaigns.
"I have always been a huge fan of Muse, so I am beyond excited that they will be the first artist to release a Digital Pressing with Serenade."
Muse's Will of the People will be released August 26 via Warner Music UK and Helium-3.
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Geoffrey St. John
Muse have hit rock bottom.
No wonder I stopped caring after Simulation Theory.
Black Midi are better.
Marcus Latonks
oh get over yourselves
AUCF
Angry UK Chart Fan
NFT is confusing, no matter how much I read about their purpose and stuff.
Michael Angelo H.
Because it's deceitful. - NFTs, while they could eventually have a good purpose, currently exist to increase costs and make people money because of forced scarcity. - It's vague because it's new and unregulated. But because it's unregulated, it's attractive to people, especially opportunists (such as companies), as well as hackers. - The crypto-world is like a digital "Wild West" and most are not gonna survive.
Also note how companies are always vague about their explanations as to why they're doing NFTs:
"Muse have always been at the forefront of technological innovation and were one of the first music artists to pioneer in Web3 back in 2020. Their fans have an appetite for collectible rarities and this format brings them closer to Muse than ever before (How??), propelling them into a new space and offering an entirely unique experience (How??)."
JH
John Hawkins
Yes it is not clear from the article what someone buying the NFT actually gets or why it is relevant to the chart. The album is available in the usual physical formats, downloads and streams; so it is not allowing them to hear something that the rest of us can not. I do not see what is the "unique experience" being promised here.
It seems to give some bragging rights. You are listed as having bought it. This sounds like what economists have called 'conspicuous consumption' - spending money just to show off that you have lots of it. It is tradeable, which may attract some speculators (gamblers) who buy it because they think they can sell it to someone else who themselves expect to sell it at an even higher price.
The charts are trying to measure the 'popularity' of a song (or collection of songs) by measuring how many people are buying a physical copy to be able to hear it when they want or selecting it from a streaming service. The NFT does not seem to fall into this category. It is more a collectible related to the band. So it seems more like buying a poster to put on your bedroom wall, which has never been included in the charts.
I've read elsewhere the Muse NFTs are limited to 1,000 which is probably too small to affect materially the charts anyway.
I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who understands more about it, and particularly from anyone thinking of buying one why they want one.