What a win for Sturgill Simpson. In an era where streaming music isn’t just the norm but ultimately the standard for consuming music, having a physical-only release is incredibly risky. While of course, the largest artists on the planet, such as the Taylor Swifts, Morgan Wallens and The Weeknds of the world may be able to get away with it, it comes with a risk, especially when you’re a cult hero such as Sturgill Simpson, AKA Johnny Blue Skies. As time passes, however, it seems as if the risk was not only worth the reward but Simpson is experiencing record-breaking album sales upon the release of his new album under the Johnny Blue Skies moniker, Mutiny After Midnight. If you haven’t been keeping up with the album’s complicated rollout, let me give you a quick rundown. Back on February 13th, Simpson would turn heads by officially announcing Mutiny After Midnight’s release on March 13th. However, there was a catch — it would be released exclusively on physical media, only having a CD, vinyl and cassette release. While this may have seemed like an out-of-left-field move for most artists, given the dedicated, non-traditional fanbase he’s gained over the past decade or so, it actually made a lot of sense. For Simpson, it was a way to not only give a middle finger to streaming services, which have never been profitable for independent artists, but it was also another form of protest, something that the entirety of the album was based upon. In a bold move, however, on Sunday, March 1st, Simpson ended up posting the album early. Essentially “leaking” his own album nearly two weeks early, the “Swamp of Sadness” singer posted the entirety of Mutiny After Midnight onto YouTube. In typical Sturgill fashion, he simply left this message on social media to guide all of his fans to the early release “Ooops…. might’ve just posted the whole fuk’n album on YouTube…. for the real ones.” For an entire week, Sturgill and JBS fans were able to stream the album they were previously told would be un-streamable, and it was glorious… until it wasn’t. After just eight days of being on YouTube, it was then removed from the platform, once again making March 13th Mutiny After Midnight’s “official” release date. Upon the album’s intended release on March 13th, he explained why they decided to do that while also thanking fans for their support. To explain it as quickly as possible, Sturgill and Co. knew that the album was eventually going to get leaked online in some capacity and wanted to get ahead of it themselves, in addition to showing support for independent record stores. Additionally, he’d signal that the album will most likely find its way onto streaming in the coming months as well. “Thank you very much to everyone for joining in on all the fun and being such good sports over the past few weeks. We made this record with a sense of immediacy and in the moment expression with the pure intention of simply having fun and making people forget about everything else, even if for only 44 minutes. Thank you to everyone that ‘gets it’ and to all the writers for the kind words and love. We had originally planned a physical only release for at least the first 4 to 6 weeks to support and show solidarity with independent record shops and to promote an increasingly bygone physical and tangible connection between music and music fans… the almost mystical bond and stems from holding a new piece of artistic expression in your hands while hearing it for the first time. There were some hiccups (and some opportunists) thus some in the moment adjustments that only led to more fun and chaos. Personally, I’m just here for the chaos. Plus I’ve always really wanted to leak my own record.” As Sturgill said himself, there were certainly some hiccups involved with the album’s rollout in its entirety. The question that remained, however, was, “Did it affect Mutiny After Midnight’s impact and overall sales?” The short answer is no, not at all. On Sunday, Mutiny After Midnight debuted at #3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 59,000 total units (all physical, of course) in its first week. In turn, it became the first album exclusively available on physical formats to reach the top 10 in nearly three years, with the last to do so being Taylor Swift’s Record Store Day-exclusive vinyl release Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions back in May 2023. Before Swift, the last time a physical-only release cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 was Garth Brooks’ The Anthology back in 2017. One thing to note, as Simpson does in the caption, is the fact that Swift’s Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions and Brooks’ The Anthology were both a limited Record Store Day release and a box set, respectively. In other words, this was the first time an original, non-exclusive album released physically cracked the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 in well over 15 years. In response to the accomplishment, Simpson would take to Instagram and simply post an image of Popeye with the caption, “Put that in yer pipe and smoke it…” View this post on Instagram Not only did he crack the Top 5 on the Billboard 200. Thanks to the hefty 59,000 physical units, the “Situation” singer was able to top both Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative as well as their Americana/Folk Albums chart, going #1 in a rare double-up. Unsurprisingly, Mutiny After Midnight also debuts at #1 on their Top Album Sales, Indie Store Album Sales and Vinyl Albums chart, marking the fifth time he’s topped the vinyl-only chart. Incredibly, this marks Simpson’s highest-selling week in his entire career and also ties 2016’s Grammy-winning A Sailor’s Guide to Earth for his highest-charting album on the all-genre Billboard 200 to date. While there have certainly been some critics of the album’s rollout, from its physical-only release to its eventual “leak” on YouTube, it’s pretty safe to say that all the chaos worked out well in the long run for the “Turtles All the Way Down” singer. Regardless of your thoughts on the inherently risky album rollout, it’s pretty safe to say that the gamble paid off big time. Before you go, fire up the one track that’s available online now, “Situation.” The post Johnny Blue Skies Tops The Rock & Americana Charts As ‘Mutiny After Midnight’ Debuts #3 On All-Genre Billboard 200 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.