beincrypto.com
On Oct 20, NFT collectors group ‘PleasrDAO’ confirmed that it became the new owner of the one-of-a-kind album, ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ by the Wu-Tang Clan. PleasrDAO describes itself as “a collective of DeFi leaders, early NFT collectors and digital artists” with a “formidable yet benevolent reputation for acquiring culturally significant pieces with a charitable twist.”
Information about the US government having sold the album first surfaced in July, but at the time no details had been released regarding whom it had been sold to (or how much it had been sold for). Now, six years after the month and year in which the album was originally auctioned off, its new owner has decided to reveal itself.
PleasrDAO has announced that it was responsible for purchasing ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ from the US government, and that it will be minting its ownership of this landmark piece of musical history as an NFT on the blockchain. Only one copy of ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ exists right now, but a public release of the album is contractually forbidden before the year 2103.
However, “listening parties” are allowed according to the contract and PleasrDAO has also announced that it is currently looking into ways that it can share the album with listeners.
The Journey Of Wu-Tang’s Secretive Seventh Album
Martin Shkreli originally purchased ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ at auction, reportedly for the sum of $2 million, which was at the time the highest value music transaction in history. It is so rare because only one copy was ever released, and it has been in private ownership since it was originally purchased by Shkreli at auction in Oct 2015.
Shkreli was forced to forfeit the album in 2017, among other possessions, due to a government seizure of assets as a means of paying off the $7.36 million debt he owes the government whilst serving a federal prison sentence for securities fraud. His date of release is currently scheduled for Oct 11, 2022.
Oct 20, just a few days ago, PleasrDAO announced that it had purchased this secretive album from the US government in July 2021 the record for a record-breaking $4 million meaning that its former owner, disgraced pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli had successfully sold it for double the amount that he had originally paid.