Noel Gallagher distributes NFT digital pressing in key chart battle with Foo Fighters | Digital
It is one of the most memorable map battles in recent years.
Heavyweight rock acts Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Foo Fighters will head-to-head in the race for No.1 this week.
The first sales flash of the week after a single day of sales put Council Skies past Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds ahead of Foo Fighters’ But Here We Are with just four sales.
Since then, management has changed hands and both acts have passed 30,000 sales. In the first official Midweek sales chart on Monday, Noel Gallagher was at No.1 on 29,696 and Foo Fighters at No.2 on 29,581. It has now come to light Foo Fighters has today progressed with less than 500 copies.
With marginally superior streaming, as reported by DSPs with a time delay, Foo Fighters are well positioned to take advantage of the second half of the week.
However, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have a late format addition which falls tomorrow morning – the last day of sales to count towards the map race.
The fourth full-length album from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will be made available as an NFT: digital pressing via record store for collectibles Serenade will give exclusive access to a video recording of the record. Owners of Council Skies’ digital pressing can unlock high-quality WAVs of the record, two video diaries documenting the recording of the record, plus digitally signed cover art in an exclusive colored version.
While NFTs have fallen out of favor in 2023 after a reputation hit to the formathelping companies like Serenade build the format into release campaigns and change preconceptions about how it’s used by artists. Muse’s 2022 No.1 album Will Of The People was the first map-accredited release with a Web3 product, which was also powered by Serenade.
Council Skies is the 15th chart-accredited album to be released through Serenade, with more in the pipeline. Noel Gallagher NFT digital pressing lands at 10am via Serenade and label Ignition. It complements a physical and streaming campaign supported by The orchard and The right music.
“It caps off an exciting week in the UK charts, and a brilliant campaign from Noel and the team,” said a statement. “This latest digital press release from Serenade continues to prove the value of the future-proof format, connecting fan and artist like never before.”
Fans can sign up via Noel Gallagher’s official site from today for digital pressing alerts. As with the Muse release, the number will be under 1,000 globally, although the bulk will be in the UK as the band’s biggest market. With 500 extra sales from an NFT, it can make all the difference in the map race.
In total, Noel Gallagher has had 12 No.1 albums with Oasis and his own project. If Gallagher goes No. 1 this week, it will extend his unbroken run of studio albums on the chart to 11.
Foo Fighters’ 11th studio album would be their sixth chart-topper if they manage to stay ahead at the end of the week.
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