The world's most expensive album makes its way to Tasmania

Few people have ever heard Wu-Tang Clan's legendary seventh studio album. That's because only a single copy was ever made and the masters were destroyed. But visitors to the Mona gallery in Hobart will get a chance.

Wu-Tang Clan fans were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime experience on Saturday afternoon, as they became some of the lucky few to listen to the hip-hop collective's legendary seventh studio album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

Fans started arriving at Hobart's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) as icy wind and rain lashed the building's exterior.

They were taken down a series of hallways, then to a security checkpoint where they had to deposit everything in their pockets.

After a scan with a metal detector, they were led through a nondescript door and into MONA's recording studio, followed by a group of security guards who locked the doors.

Behind that door, a 30-minute mix of music was played from the album, which was completed in 2013 after six years of secret recording.

It's the most expensive album ever sold, and from June 15 to 24, it's on loan at MONA as part of a broader exhibit — with a waiting list of 5,000 people wanting to hear it, but unable to secure a spot.

Hobart hip-hop artist Hayden Kovacic was one of the lucky ones, and on his way inside, he said it was a dream come true.

"I thought I'd be dead before it was publicly released," Mr Kovacic said.

"They're my biggest inspiration, bro. They're my inspiration for how I do everything.

"Wu-Tang is life."

Listeners laud a unique artistic experienceWu-Tang Clan leader Robert 'RZA' Diggs and producer Tarik 'Cilvaringz' Azzougarh decided to keep the 31-track album a secret as a protest against what they saw as the devaluation of music in the digital era.

It means very little is known about the tracks, with only sporadic details reaching the public over the past decade — such as its cameos with Cher and FC Barcelona soccer players.

The MONA listening event offered fans the most insight yet.

It didn't disappoint.

"The production was off its head. Classic '93 to 2000 Wu-Tang. Cilvaringz killed that," Mr Kovacic said.

"I hope lots of people get to hear it one day."

Cameron McBryde travelled from Brisbane for the day and felt like it was more than just an audio experience.

"It's cool to think that there is a piece of music that we've just listened to, that is treated like a piece of art," Mr McBryde said.

"You can't send it to your friend or anything like that... and that's very special.

"I don't know another song or album anywhere else in the world that holds that same value."

Legal dispute over alleged unauthorised streamingWhile the fans had their unique listening experience, the album is now part of a bitter legal dispute — and its secrets might reach the public sooner than thought.

Ever since its release, the album has generated debate about the power of streaming services, how music can be retained in its purest form and, most recently, whether any music can truly be kept secret in the digital era.

It was sold to 'pharma bro' Martin Shkreli for US$2 million in 2015.

Best known for raising the price of lifesaving drug Daraprim by 5,500 per cent, Mr Shkreli was jailed in 2017 for committing security fraud — and had to surrender the album as part of a US$7.4 million forfeiture order.

Digital art collective PleasrDAO bought the physical copy for US$4 million in 2021, and said that earlier this year it bought the copyrights and exclusive rights for a further US$750,000.

But it's become concerned that it might not be the only copy of the album in existence.

Following his release from prison in 2022, Mr Shkreli allegedly mentioned during various live streams that he "made MP3 copies" of the album, and had played it on YouTube.

"Of course I made MP3 copies, they're like hidden in safes all around the world … I'm not stupid. I don't buy something for two million dollars just so I can keep one copy," Mr Shkreli is alleged to have said.

Further comments and online activity by Mr Shkreli are included in a complaint filed by PleasrDAO in Brooklyn federal court in the United States on Monday.

Earlier this month, Mr Shkreli is alleged to have started a live stream on social media platform X where he played the album, during which 4,900 listeners tuned in.

The quality of that stream is unclear, but one response described it as sounding "like talking on