The buyer was later revealed to be the cryptocurrency group PleasrDAO, which has claimed it paid $4 million in cryptocurrency via an intermediary. These “trade secrets” also shroud the exact price that the government raked in when it sold the album to an undisclosed buyer in 2021. Sadly - for those of us intrigued by the extortionate objects that rich fraudsters such as Shkreli spend their money on - images of the actual CDs, song titles, and lyrics are redacted, with the government citing “trade secrets”. The art piece conceived by the group also includes a 175-page leather-bound lyric book and a gold-leafed certificate of authenticity. Shared by the US government thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, documents including the photos and bill of sale were obtained by Buzzfeed News this week (January 5).Īcross 54 images, Wu-Tang Clan fans (or anyone interested in what an album valued in the millions actually includes) can view the current condition of the album, which is housed in a nickel silver box, inside a cedarwood box, covered in black cow leather with velvet lining. Now, the saga continues with the release of new photos showing the legendary record-slash-art-piece.
#Wu tang clan once upon a time in shaolin plus#
Forbes notes that the buyer will also receive deluxe liner notes in the form of a 174-page book wrapped in leather by a master bookbinder plus one more special touch from artist Yahya.Īfter all this effort at ceremony and secrecy, let’s hope whoever shells out millions of dollars to own this album finds it more rewarding than A Better Tomorrow.Back in July last year, Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-a-kind album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was sold by the US government for an estimated $4 million, following its forfeiture by Martin Shkreli (AKA the ‘pharma bro’ once named America’s “ most hated man”). As of now the sole copy of the album is being stored in a silver-and-nickel-plated box and jewel case at the Royal Mansour hotel in Marrakech.
The final tracklisting will only be revealed to the buyer. Once Upon A Time In Shaolin contains 31 tracks and was recorded over six years. We felt that retail commercialization and mass replication would dilute the status of the album as a one-off work of art and compromise the integrity of our statement. It’s a unique original rather than a master copy of an album. And that’s what Once Upon A Time In Shaolin is.
Owning a Picasso doesn’t mean you can sell prints or reproductions, but that you’re the sole owner of a unique original. When you buy a painting or a sculpture, you’re buying that piece rather than the right to replicate it. He or she can tour the album around the world and host listening sessions, but they aren’t allowed to reproduce it for sale. The site contains a Q&A with key contributors, and among the revelations is that the eventual buyer won’t be allowed to publicly release the album for 88 years according to copyright law. Forbes notes that an auction site has gone live through Paddle8, an upstart auction site that has sold works by Damien Hirst, Julian Schnabel and Jeff Koons. That might be all most of us hear from the project for the rest of our lives. Last spring the world got a brief preview of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, the secret Wu-Tang Clan album that will be released in a limited edition of 1 and auctioned off to the highest bidder.
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