Wu-Tang's Clan 'Once Upon A Time in Shaolin' Will Be Out in About 88 Years

Good news: one day, the general public will be able to listen to Wu-Tang’s Clan million-dollar album, Once Upon A Time in Shaolin, in its full glory. The really bad news: that day will probably come once many of us aren’t around to listen to it anymore. Forbes have been doing some solid reporting on Wu-Tang Clan’s one-copy LP, and in their most recent report on the project, the outlet is reporting that the project’s owner won’t be able to share it publicly and commercially for another 88 years. Thanks to a pretty powerful copyright placed on the album by the Wu, that’s the amount of time it will take before “public and commercial rights” to the LP are transferred to whomever ends up purchasing the album’s lone copy. “It will still be his or her choice at that [point] to release it or not release it,” Wu-Tang producer Cilvaringz tells Forbes. Forbes reports that RZA “has already acknowledged that it would be possible for the eventual buyer of Once Upon A Time to release the entire album for free at any point, thereby skirting the 88 year requirement,” but because of the sheer amount of cash involved here, the Wu-Tang producer and rapper doesn’t think that’s exactly likely.

For those wanting to hear previews of the album/art piece, “a 13-minute compilation” featuring the LP’s music will be shared this evening during an MoMA PS1 event hosted by Wu-Tang Clan and the auction house Paddle8. Expect audio of that to hit the internet in the coming days.