Muse have announced plans to release an NFT version of their new album ‘Will Of The People’.

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The non-fungible token edition of the band’s ninth LP will become the first release of its kind to qualify for the charts in the UK. It is the first new format to be added since album streams in 2015.

The Muse NFT album will retail for £20 and will be limited to 1,000 copies globally when it is released on August 26. It will be sold via the “eco-friendly” NFT platform Serenade.

Buyers will get a downloadable version of the album – complete with a different sleeve – as high-res FLAC files and Muse will digitally sign it, while each of the 1,000 buyers will have their names permanently listed on the linked roster of purchasers.

The UK’s Official Charts Company made NFT albums eligible for the charts several months ago but this is the first release where the vendor is approved as a chart-return digital retailer.

“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,” said Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company.

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“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.”

Meanwhile, frontman Matt Bellamy last year released three new songs as NFTs, with one recorded on one of Jeff Buckley’s guitars.

Muse also recently shared their new single ‘Kill Or Be Killed’, the fourth to be lifted from their new LP after the title track, ‘Compliance’ and ‘Won’t Stand Down’. ‘Will Of The People’ can be pre-ordered here.