Wu-Tang Clan To Allow Public Release Of Unique LP In 88 Years

About this time last year, the Wu-Tang Clan announced that they would be creating a new studio full-length, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, but that, as a form of artistic statement, only one copy would ever be pressed, putting its original predicted price well into the seven-figure range.

However, since the arrival of an auction page on ascendant selling platform Paddle8 through which interested parties can bid for the coveted release, a growing number of outlets — beginning with Forbes — have noticed the particularly eyebrow-raising copyright clause underscoring ownership of the album: that the successful bidder won't be able to recreate the work for 88 years, or until 2103, give or take (dependent on actual sale date).

In an interview with Paddle8, Wu-Tang members RZA and Cilvaringz elaborated on the caveat, explaining the decision stems from art-world precedents that see works by (relatively) obscure artists sell for millions while musicians' output is valued for less than a dollar a pop on iTunes.

"We initially wanted the buyer to do whatever they wanted with it," Cilvaringz explained. "But when we realised how much commercial interest there was, we began to understand that allowing it to play out in that way would undermine its trajectory as an artwork, even if no amount of replication could touch the original.

"We felt that retail commercialisation and mass replication would dilute the status of the album as a one-off work of art and compromise the integrity of our statement."

Added RZA: "When you buy a painting or a sculpture, you're buying that piece rather than the right to replicate it. Owning a Picasso doesn't mean you can sell prints or reproductions, but that you're the sole owner of a unique original. And that's what Once Upon A Time In Shaolin is. It's a unique original, rather than a master copy of an album."

As for the reasons behind the 88-year copyright window? 

"Anyone who knows the Wu-Tang Clan knows we often apply numerology, mathematics and symbolism to the things we do," RZA told Paddle8. "There were eight original members of the Clan when we made Protect Ya Neck and M.E.T.H.O.D Man. The individual numbers of this year also add up to the number eight. The broker of this work carries the number eight in its name. The number eight on its side is a symbol of infinity, as it was used on our album Wu-Tang Forever.

"You can call it a mathematical coincidence, but it's always had great symbolic significance for us. For us, it also addresses the issue of music's longevity in a time of mass production and short attention spans. Nothing about this record revolved around short-term gains, but rather around the legacy of the music and the statement we're making."

Once Upon A Time In Shaolin has been six years in the making and will boast 31 new tracks. The single copy in existence (all back-ups have been destroyed, reports Stereogum) is being kept in a fancy silver/nickel box at a Marrakech hotel, in case you thought any of this was remotely insincere. 

Although some have suggested the album's release strategy — and its probable life of being played at exclusive non-profit listening parties and exhibitions for the next nine decades — is tantamount to elitism, the Clan maintain its end-game is the exact opposite, and is, in fact, undertaken with independent artists in mind.

"When recorded music loses its monetary value, it's the little guy who suffers most," Cilvaringz said. "Artists at the top of the tree have other potential revenue streams … But an independent musician starting out has none of those options. He needs the thousand copies of his album to be worth something. Recorded music is the work of art."

"Exactly," RZA added. "And if recorded music is worthless, the independent artist can't make a living … Like we said, this is about the big picture: limiting the album to one copy will not immediately reattach value to all recorded music, but the debate the our approach has sparked might eventually lead to a change in the perception, value, and appreciation of music as a work of art, and that is why we feel the sacrifice is worth it."

So, if any of our grandchildren happen to stumble on this article in 2103, once Once Upon A Time In Shaolin is on every iBrain or whatever nightmare dystopia has overtaken the planet, we hope it still holds up, even for classical  music.