Muse NFT album to be eligible to chart in UK

Image credit: Raph_PH / CC by 2.0

Muse are set to become the first music act with a chart-eligible NFT album.

British rock group Muse and Warner Music UK have partnered with the environmentally friendly web3 music marketplace Serenade for the release of Muse’s ninth studio album, The will of the people. The record, which is due for release on August 26, contains the singles “Won’t Stand Down” and “Compliance” and will be available on physical formats (CD, vinyl and cassette) in addition to download and streaming services. The world-first Digital Pressing version will be a limited edition and the first new chart-eligible format since the inclusion of album streams in 2015.

NFTs have always been eligible for maps, provided they conform to existing map rules, but The will of the people is the first publication with the possibility of mapping that has been prepared in an NFT format. While previous albums have come with an NFT, no releases have yet charted where the album itself was in an NFT format.

Serenade defines a Digital Pressing as a stand-alone, chart-eligible release – as opposed to being part of a wider release like a package – designed to satisfy a “superfan” appetite for exclusivity and community recognition.

“What a fan wants is something simple and understandable, but it gives them a sense of closeness to an artist and a sense of recognition from other fans,” explains Max Shand, founder of Serenade.

Shand describes Muse Digital Pressing as “the black T-shirt of NFTs” – a digital format that is easy to buy and practical in function. Unlike most NFTs, buyers do not need an existing crypto wallet. Serenade’s website handles the purchase, where a digital wallet is created, and NFT is transferred automatically. Still, if a user has an existing crypto wallet, they can use that instead.

“There’s been a lot of noise about NFTs being the future of music, the future of entertainment, the future of ownership,” says Martin Talbot, CEO of the UK’s Official Charts Company (OCC). – It is great that this is about to become a reality.

OCC made NFT albums chart-eligible several months ago, but this will be the first release where the provider is approved as a chart-returning digital retailer. Talbot says the Muse release did not force an update to the OCC’s map eligibility rules, but will be the first in the format to meet the entry criteria.

“As a simple, standardized and chart-eligible format, Digital Pressings will be a game changer on the global stage and we would not have been able to achieve this without the support of the visionary teams at Warner Records and the Official Charts Company,” adds Shand added, “I’ve always been a huge fan of Muse, so I’m incredibly excited that they will be the first artist to release a Digital Pressing with Serenade.”

The Muse NFT release is limited to 1,000 copies globally. Buyers will receive a downloadable version of the album in high-resolution FLAC files with their own custom cover digitally signed by the band. Buyers will have their names listed on the associated list of buyers for recognition.