News: Wu-Tang’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ Album Has Sold

Wu-Tang Clan’s one of a kind album, Once Upon A Time has reportedly been sold. The album has been purchased for millions by a private ‘American Collector’ who cannot sell the LP commercially for 88 years.

Paddle8 representatives confirmed the sale of Wu-Tang’s to FORBES during interviews for a magazine story on the auction house. When contacted for comment, Azzougarh referred FORBES to Paddle8; a company representative reached by email today would not offer any details on the album’s buyer or when it was sold.

Part of the mystery of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin‘s sale may have to do with the elaborate restrictions around its release. At the time Paddle8 was announced as Wu-Tang’s chosen auction house, Azzougarh said legal language around the album would prevent a buyer from releasing it commercially for nearly a century.

“After 88 years the copyright, which includes public and commercial rights, automatically transfers to the owner of the work,” he explained. “However, it will still be his or her choice at that [point] to release it or not release it.”

Regardless of who the buyer is, it seems unlikely the album will be made available for public consumption anytime soon, and perhaps not within our lifetimes. Still, there is a way for Wu-Tang fans to get a taste of Once Upon A Time.

Last year FORBES visited Azzougarh in Morocco, where the record was sitting under lock and key at the Royal Mansour Hotel. We filmed a mini-documentary on the album—and brought back a 51-second snippet for the world to hear. Azzougarh has also suggested that the group might permit a buyer to take the album on a tour of sorts, making it available for listening in carefully-secured ticketed exhibits at museums and art galleries. The Wu-Tang faithful can only hope.

via Forbes