Will Of The People (through Warner Recordings) by Muse is virtually set to win the U.K. chart crown, making history in the process.
Using NFT technology, Will Of The People ought to become the region’s first-ever ruler.
The eighth studio album from the British alternative rock group was issued in a limited-edition “Digital Pressing,” a ground-breaking standalone format made possible by a collaboration between Warner Music U.K. and green NFT specialized marketplace Serenade.
According to a statement from the Australia-based Serenade, the chart-eligible digital release was created to “cater for a superfan’s demand for exclusivity, unique material, and community acknowledgment.”
Founder Max Shand provided further social media context.
10/ The 1000 true fan model, and the reduced 100 web3-fan hypothesis, challenges the need to reach a broad audience to build a sustainable career, but for artists at the start of their careers looking to the traditional music industry to find success, the charts really do matter
— Max Shand 🌳,🌴 (@max_shand) August 29, 2022
He adds in a Twitter thread that “Muse’s groundbreaking ‘Digital Pressing’ is the first of many to come. With every release, we will help musicians who wish to provide their listeners a more in-depth musical experience through interesting, collectible web3 formats that make sense.
Muse is most likely to achieve a seventh U.K. No. 1 without any records standing in their way. At the halfway point of the week, Will of the People is outselling the whole Top 10 list, according to the Official Charts Company.
The album’s influence on the Official U.K. Chart is not new. The first NFT effort to chart properly was Aitch’s debut Close To Home, which debuted last Friday (September. 26) at No. 2.
With How To Be A Person Like Other People (Mo’Betta), which debuted at No. 4, veteran indie-rock band Embrace might make its ninth Top 10 entry in the U.K., farther down the chart explosion. The British band, formed by Danny and Richard McNamara, launched their career in the greatest manner imaginable with The Good Will Out in 1998, the first of three No. 1 singles that year.
With his most collaborative studio album to date, God Did (Epic/We The Best), which debuted at No. 5 on the updated chart, DJ Khaled may set a new career high. DJ Khaled’s greatest chart position in the United Kingdom among his 13 albums to date is No. 6 with 2019’s Father of Asahd.
Finally, Blondie’s debut boxed collection, Against The Odds 1974-1982, may help the pioneers of the punk period land a 15th spot in the U.K. Top 40. With their career retrospective, Debbie Harry and company land at No. 11 on the Official Chart Update.
