Muse’s NFT album becomes first to hit the UK charts — but does it land?

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First shared by @joshdalton on #web3

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, NFT projects have frequently sought to distinguish themselves by seeking approval from elite industry institutions. Whether through partnerships with art institutions, household names, or global superstars, getting that all-important stamp of legitimacy can be an existential matter in an emerging market still plagued by scams and reputational issues.

In this vein, English rock act Muse has released their ninth studio album, Will of the People, as a chart-eligible NFT. While NFT albums were approved by the UK charts a few months back, this is the first release that meets the eligibility criteria, making it the first new format to be accepted by the charts since album streams were first included in 2015.

Muse launched the NFT today through the platform Serenade. Like Serenade’s previous collaboration with the BRIT Awards, which offered NFTs for just £10, this drop was clearly designed for mainstream adoption, allowing fans to purchase the NFT without a personal crypto wallet.

However, on #web3, some community members noted this drop shares common pitfalls with other big name celebrity drops we’ve analyzed — namely, social media outcry within fan communities, and a lack of commitment on the part of the artists to publicize the launch. So far, Muse doesn’t seem to have promoted the drop on any static social media posts — a common technique employed by celebrities with large social media followings who wish to avoid visible controversy on their social media pages.

In contrast, several members expressed optimism that an institution as traditional as the UK charts was able to collaborate successfully with a Web3-native platform like Serenade in the first place. While it’s arguable whether or not this collaboration solves any real burning logistical issue (charts have become increasingly irrelevant for many music fans), it does serve as a symbolic victory, proving the viability of projects that connect Web3 with the traditional music industry. As Josh Dalton (Community Manager at Serenade), notes:

“My general take is that finding current use cases for the traditional music industry is important, as is partnering with global artists.

Web3 tools / technologies will open up a more equitable industry for artists and creatives, but unfortunately the suggestion that this change will be driven almost entirely by independent artists is unrealistic.

Sales data going to the charts won’t make a difference for 99% of artists, however what it does show is that the traditional industry is open to learning and changing, which hopefully will lead to more positive movements across the board.”

— @joshdalton

@BlackDave also stressed the importance of use cases which connect the traditional music industry with Web3, but observed that unless artists truly get behind these projects, the likelihood is that they’ll fail to drive mainstream adoption, and instead, remain in Web3 circles:

“Getting the guys on the inside (the trad music industry) to accept what’s happening here is massively important — but getting fans to accept it is equally important.

& if the artists don’t use their platform to inform or whatever then we just end up selling to ourselves and I’m not sure that serves growth.”

— @BlackDave

This is yet another case study which suggests that the route to mainstream consumers embracing Web3 faces as many reputational barriers as it does technical hurdles. Case in point: As @Mr Trick and @fascinated pointed out today, Muse still hasn’t posted about the NFT drop on social media.