Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin Album Now Selling Partial Ownership as an NFT

Wu-Tang Clan's one-of-a-kind album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, has been in the news a lot lately.

Wu-Tang Clan’s legendary album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, has been making headlines once again. After announcing that the album would be played publicly at an exhibition at Australia's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) from June 15-24, the digital art collective PleasrDAO, who currently own the album, filed a federal lawsuit against former owner Martin Shkreli for copying the album and playing it for online audiences without permission.

Now, PleasrDAO is selling partial ownership of the album. According to a press release, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin “has been digitized and encrypted,” which means it's been turned into a non-fungible token (NFT) that can be purchased for $1 on www.thealbum.com.

Purchasing an NFT of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will grant buyers access to an album sampler and also advance the album's release by 88 seconds at a time. As of right now, the album is set to be fully available to the public on Monday, October 8, 2103.

In a press statement, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin producers RZA and Cilvaringz said, “Mass replication has fundamentally changed the way we view a piece of recorded music, while digital universality and vanishing physicality have broken our emotional bond with a piece of music as an artwork and a deeply personal treasure.”

"This album sale is more than just about the music; it's about redefining how we think about ownership of music and fan collaboration in the digital age,” added PleasrDAO member Matt Matkov.

PleasrDAO bought Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $4 million in 2021. The new digitized edition of the album features new artwork by Hassan Rahim. The encrypted album is being distributed in partnership with Privy, Crossmint, and Holograph, and is built on Base. Cryptocurrency is not required to purchase the NFT.