Martin Shkreli say it’s “highly likely” many people have a copy of the super rare Wu-Tang album ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’

Martin Shkreli has told a judge that it is “highly likely” many people still possess a copy of super rare Wu-Tang Clan album ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’.

It comes after a federal court order in August saw Judge Pamela K. Chen order Shkreli to surrender his copies of the rare Wu-Tang Clan album, which he bought at an auction for $2million (£1.56m). The judgement stemmed from digital art collective PleasrDAO suing the former pharmaceutical entrepreneur for copying and playing the ultra-rare album without permission in June.

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Recorded in secret between 2006 and 2013, the project became the most valuable album ever made, and reportedly features contributions from all surviving members of Wu-Tang Clan, as well as two guest appearances from Cher. The unique copy was housed in a silver, jewel-encrusted box, alongside leather-bound liner notes and a wax seal of the Wu-Tang Clan logo.

No digital downloads or streams were made available, and after pressing the CD, the Clan stored it in a high-security vault at the Royal Mansour Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco. It later went to auction the following year, however, came with the conditions that the purchaser could not commercially exploit the music until the year 2103.

The agreement also stipulated that the album could be played at listening parties, and a 13-minute medley was later played to only around 50 art experts, fans and prospective buyers at a one-off event at New York’s MoMa in 2015.

When ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ went to auction, it was bought by Shkreli for $2million. The entrepreneur became notorious when he hiked the price of a drug used by cancer and Aids patients by 50-fold overnight.

Despite the restrictions outlined at the time of the sale, Shkreli played clips of the album during a livestream in 2017 , then tried to sell the album on eBay. He received an offer for $1.2million (£940,000), but the sale was never completed. He was then forced to hand over the album following his conviction for securities fraud, when $7.4million (£5.8m) worth of assets were seized by a federal court.

Martin Shkreli pictured in 2017. CREDIT: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Now, on a sworn statement on Monday (September 30), Shkreli said that he had turned over all of the copies in his possession, but it is still “highly likely” that there are more out there due to him distributing it.

“I shared the musical work several times several years ago, I cannot recall each and every time that I have shared the musical work,” he told the judge (via Billboard). “It is possible, and indeed I find it highly likely, that one of the many people who viewed, heard, or otherwise accessed the musical work via my social media recorded the musical work and retains a copy of the same.”

He also said that he had “searched [his] devices, electronic accounts, and other personal effects” and handed over any copies “under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America.”

As well as handing over the copies of the ultra-rare album, Judge Chen also requested that Shkreli share the “names and contact information of the individuals to whom he distributed the data and files.”

Speaking to the judge, he said: “Between 2015 and 2021, I recall occasionally sharing the musical work, primarily by sending digital files of the musical work to others via email, [and] also saved copies of the musical work on USB or other drives and gave those drives to others.” He also said that he “cannot recall” each of those occasions, and that he had “shared the musical work on my social media pages or livestreams” at least three times. The most recent time was this year.

Wu-Tang Clan perform in Las Vegas, 2024. (Photo by Shy McGrath/Getty Images)

According to him, it was likely that someone could have made a copy of the record during these public streamings.

Billboard reported that a spokesperson for Shkreli did not respond to its request for comment.

Pleasr’s lead council shared a statement with the outlet, saying that the comments made by Shkreli in court “fails to comply fully with the court’s order, and is at points inconsistent with prior statements.” They also added: “Pleasr is exploring its options concerning going back to the court.”

The 88-year restriction on the LP was chosen as there were eight original members of Wu-Tang clan, because the numbers of the year 2015 added to eight, and because the number rotated made the symbol for infinity.

After Shkreli was found to be breaking the rules of the sale, the US Department of Justice sold the record to Pleasr for $4million (£3.1m) in 2021, in a bid to cover Shkreli’s debts. The collective said at the time that it would find a way to make it accessible to fans and the rest of the world.

Since then, the album has reportedly been played to the public for the first time at an art gallery in Tasmania back in June.

The post Martin Shkreli say it’s “highly likely” many people have a copy of the super rare Wu-Tang album ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ appeared first on NME.