Once Upon a Time in Shaolin - wikipedia Once Upon a Time in Shaolin Once Upon a Time in Shaolin Studio album by Wu - Tang Clan Released 2015 Recorded 2008 -- 13 Genre Hip hop Length 110 : 12 Producer Cilvaringz RZA Wu - Tang Clan chronology A Better Tomorrow ( 2014 ) A Better Tomorrow 2014 Once Upon a Time in Shaolin... ( 2015 ) The Saga Continues ( 2017 ) The Saga Continues 2017 Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is a double album by the New York hip hop group Wu - Tang Clan that was limited to a single copy sold in 2015. It is the most expensive single album ever sold. One double - CD of the album, which was recorded in secret over six years, was pressed in 2014 and stored in a secured vault at the Royal Mansour Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco. The album was auctioned to the highest bidder through auction house Paddle8 in 2015. It was subsequently revealed that the winning bid of $2 million was placed by American businessman Martin Shkreli. A legal agreement with the purchaser states that the album can not be commercially exploited until 2103, although it can be released for free or played during listening parties. Shkreli shared the intro and part of two tracks after Donald Trump was elected president, after threatening to destroy the album. In 2017 Shkreli allegedly livestreamed the album to YouTube after a verdict was reached in a criminal case against him. On September 6, 2017, Shkreli placed the album up for auction via eBay ; it received 343 bids and sold for $1,025,100 USD. Contents 1 Background 2 Response 3 Track listing 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Background The concept to offer a musical work in a single form was conceived by Wu - Tang Clan producer Cilvaringz and was based on music exploitation as a commissioned commodity in the Baroque, Enlightenment and Renaissance ages. The idea was later developed further with Wu - Tang de facto leader RZA into a concept presentable to the public. The album reportedly features the singer and actress Cher as a guest on two of the album 's tracks. The album was auctioned to the highest bidder through auction house Paddle8 in 2015. A winning bid for the album was accepted by the Wu - Tang Clan on May 3, 2015, and was followed by months of legal diligence. Due to the unprecedented nature of the sale, new and unique legal structures were written for the sales agreement. The sale was completed on August 26, 2015, at a price `` in the millions '' to a `` private American collector ''. On December 9, 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek identified the buyer as controversial Turing pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli. In a statement emailed to Bloomberg, RZA noted that the sale had been agreed upon before Shkreli 's controversial price hike of Daraprim, an anti-infective agent most commonly used in immunocompromised patients with toxoplasmosis. In the statement, RZA added that the group had donated a `` significant portion '' of the proceeds to charity upon hearing who the buyer was. Among the charities Wu - Tang Clan donated to were the Children 's Literacy Society, the Hip Hop Chess Federation and TTAC, an institution focused on showcasing alternative cures for cancer. The actual sale price was never revealed by the auction house or the Wu - Tang Clan, but Bloomberg reported and Shkreli later confirmed that he had purchased the album for $2 million. Response The elegant casing for the album Many fans reacted negatively to the news of the single - copy album, believing that the album would not be available to the public until 2103. Wu - Tang member Method Man spoke out against the 88 - year commercial ban, blaming fellow member RZA and producer Cilvaringz. RZA replied that the 88 - year ban was necessary to maintain the integrity of the album as a work of art and deflect any notions of a grand marketing or publicity stunt. According to him, the number 8 bears symbolic significance because there were eight original members of the Wu - Tang Clan, the numbers of the year 2015 add up to eight, Paddle8 has eight in its name, and a rotated eight is the symbol for infinity that was used on their second album Wu - Tang Forever. Wu - Tang later released an official statement saying that, although the music can not be sold to the public until 2103, the owner may exhibit or distribute the music for free. The Guinness Book of Records certified the album as the most valuable album in existence, outpricing the previous most expensive records in the world held by Elvis Presley and The Quarrymen, later to be known as The Beatles. On March 3, 2015, the album was detained at JFK Airport for three hours while border control determined the contents of the silver box holding the album. In February 2016, artist Jason Koza sued RZA, Cilvaringz, Paddle8 and Shkreli in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for the alleged unauthorized use of his artwork on the album. Track listing The track listing remained a secret for the buyer. Paddle8 released a track list of working titles the group used during the recordings. The track listing has been compiled by Complex magazine. Shaolin School `` Entrance ( Intro ) '' ( 1 : 57 ) `` Rivals '' ( 4 : 12 ) `` Staple Town Pt. 1 ( Interlude ) '' ( 0 : 44 ) `` Ethiopia '' ( 7 : 55 ) `` Handkerchief '' ( 0 : 49 ) `` Staple Town Pt. 2 ( Interlude ) '' ( 1 : 10 ) `` The Pillage of ' 88 '' ( 6 : 52 ) `` Centipedes '' ( 7 : 14 ) `` The Widow 's Tear '' ( 3 : 55 ) `` Sorrow '' ( 5 : 45 ) `` Shaolin '' ( 6 : 14 ) `` The Saga Continuous '' ( 6 : 58 ) `` Shaolin Soul ( Exit ) '' ( 3 : 41 ) Allah School `` Sustenance ( Intro ) '' ( 0 : 43 ) `` Lions '' ( 6 : 08 ) `` Since Time Immemorial '' ( 2 : 32 ) `` The Slaughter Mill '' ( 6 : 31 ) `` The Brute '' ( 3 : 24 ) `` Iqra '' ( 7 : 23 ) `` Flowers '' ( 5 : 49 ) `` Poisoned Earth '' ( 4 : 34 ) `` Freedom ( Interlude ) '' ( 2 : 25 ) `` The Sword Chamber '' ( 4 : 05 ) `` Unique '' ( 2 : 32 ) `` The Bloody Page '' ( 5 : 09 ) `` Salaam ( Outro ) '' ( 1 : 31 ) See also Musique pour Supermarché, another single - copy album References Jump up ^ Greenburg, Zack O'Malley. `` New Details Emerge On Wu - Tang Clan Secret Album Sale ''. Retrieved 14 September 2017. Jump up ^ Tshepo Mokoena ( 8 January 2015 ). `` Wu - Tang Clan : unique copy of album will be sold by online auction ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2015. ^ Jump up to : Shawn Christ ( 6 March 2015 ). `` Wu - Tang Clan Issue Statement to Clarify ' Once Upon a Time in Shaolin ' Release ''. Music Times. Retrieved 7 March 2015. Jump up ^ Hell Freezes Over as Martin Shkreli Performs a Public Service Gizmodo, November 9, 2016 Jump up ^ Lars Brandle ( 28 January 2016 ). `` Martin Shkreli Considers Destroying or Leaving Wu - Tang Clan 's ' Shaolin ' in a Remote Place ''. Billboard. Retrieved 10 November 2016. Jump up ^ Saul, Emily ( 2017 - 08 - 04 ). `` ' Pharma Bro ' plays $2 M Wu - Tang Clan album to celebrate verdict ''. New York Post. New York. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Wu - Tang Clan - Once Upon A Time In Shaolin - Rare CD ! - eBay ''. eBay. Retrieved 6 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` Forbes Asks Cilvaringz How The Idea For One Copy Conceptualized ''. Jump up ^ Evan Minsker ( 24 November 2015 ). `` Wu - Tang Clan 's One - of - a-Kind Album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin Has Been Sold ''. Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 December 2015. Jump up ^ Zack O'Malley Greenburg ( 24 November 2015 ). `` Wu - Tang Clan Secret Album Sold By Paddle8, But To Whom ? ''. Forbes. Retrieved 20 December 2015. ^ Jump up to : Leonard, David ; Hordern, Annmarie ( 9 December 2015 ). `` Who Bought The Most Expensive Album Ever Made ? ''. Bloomberg Businessweek. Jump up ^ Devin Leonard ; Annmarie Hordern ( 9 December 2015 ). `` Pharma 's Bad Boy Exec Paid $2 Million for Wu - Tang Clan 's New Record ''. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 20 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` TTAC Confirms Donation Wu - Tang Clan ''. Jump up ^ Justin Hunte ( 16 December 2015 ). `` Martin Shkreli Plans To Bail - Out Bobby Shmurda ''. HipHopDX. Retrieved 20 December 2015. Jump up ^ George Palathingal ( 20 February 2014 ). `` Wu - Tang Clan 's Method Man slams ' stupid ' release plan for Once Upon a Time in Shaolin ''. Smh.com.au. Retrieved 7 March 2015. Jump up ^ Guinness World Records ( September 1, 2015 ). Guinness World Records 2016. Macmillan. p. 187. ISBN 978 - 1910561027. Retrieved 29 November 2015. Jump up ^ Baker, Soren ( 6 March 2015 ). `` Wu - Tang Clan 's ' Once Upon A Time In Shaolin ' Album Seized At Airport ''. HipHopDX. Retrieved 7 March 2015. Jump up ^ Gardner, Eriq ( February 9, 2016 ). `` Wu - Tang Clan 's $2 Million Album a Target in Copyright Lawsuit ''. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 10, 2016. Jump up ^ Koza v. Diggs, no. 16 - 00965, ( S.D.N.Y., Feb. 9, 2016 ) Jump up ^ `` You 'll Never Hear the New Wu - Tang Clan Album, But This Is What It Sounds Like ''. Complex. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015. External links Official site of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin Wu - Tang Clan Ghostface Killah GZA Inspectah Deck Masta Killa Method Man RZA Raekwon U-God Cappadonna Ol ' Dirty Bastard Wu - Tang Clan albums Enter the Wu - Tang ( 36 Chambers ) ( 1993 ) Wu - Tang Forever ( 1997 ) The W ( 2000 ) Iron Flag ( 2001 ) 8 Diagrams ( 2007 ) A Better Tomorrow ( 2014 ) Once Upon a Time in Shaolin ( 2015 ) The Saga Continues ( 2017 ) Wu - Tang Killa Bees albums The Swarm ( 1998 ) The Sting ( 2002 ) Disciples of the 36 Chambers ( 2004 ) Wu - Tang Meets the Indie Culture ( 2005 ) Mathematics Presents Wu - Tang Clan & Friends Unreleased ( 2007 ) Soundtracks from the Shaolin Temple ( 2008 ) Wu - Tang Chamber Music ( 2009 ) Legendary Weapons ( 2011 ) Compilation albums Wu - Chronicles ( 1999 ) Wu - Chronicles, Chapter 2 ( 2001 ) Legend of the Wu - Tang Clan ( 2004 ) Singles `` Protect Ya Neck '' `` Method Man '' `` C.R.E.A.M. '' `` Can It Be All So Simple '' `` Triumph '' `` The Worst '' `` Gravel Pit '' `` Uzi ( Pinky Ring ) '' `` The Heart Gently Weeps '' Related Discography Anthology Record Labels The Wu - Tang Manual The Tao of Wu Wu - Tang : Shaolin Style Affiliates Affiliates discography Loud Records Wu - Massacre Wu Block Czarface Book Hip hop portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Once_Upon_a_Time_in_Shaolin&oldid=807035061 '' Categories : 2015 albums English - language albums Wu - Tang Clan albums Albums produced by RZA Albums produced by Cilvaringz Music controversies EBay listings Hidden categories : Wikipedia pages semi-protected due to dispute Articles with hAudio microformats Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015 Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Français Polski Português Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 25 October 2017, at 13 : 51. 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Question: who owns once upon a time in shaolin
Answer: American businessman Martin Shkreli