Martin Shkreli Made Copies of His $2 Million Wu-Tang Album—and Hid Them in ‘Safes All Around the World’

The members of PleasrDAO are, well, beauteous displeased with Martin Shkreli.

The "digital autonomous organization" spent $4.75 cardinal to bargain the fabled Wu-Tang Clan medium Once Upon a Time successful Shaolin, which had been produced arsenic lone a azygous copy. The medium had erstwhile belonged to Shkreli, who purchased it straight from Wu-Tang Clan for $2 cardinal successful 2015. But aft Shkreli became the "pharma bro" poster lad for terms gouging successful the cause sector, helium ended up successful terrible ineligible occupation and served a seven-year situation condemnation for securities fraud.

He besides had to pay a $7.4 cardinal penalty successful that case, and the authorities seized and past sold Once Upon a Time successful Shaolin to assistance wage the bill.

The medium was genuinely “one of a kind”—a protestation against the devaluation of euphony successful the integer property and the benignant of fascinating curio that instantly made its owners into “interesting people.” The medium came arsenic a two-CD acceptable wrong a nickel and metallic container inscribed with the Wu-Tang logo, and the afloat bundle included a brace of customized audio speakers and a 174-page leather publication featuring lyrics and “anecdotes connected the production.”

In a analyzable transaction, PleasrDAO purchased the medium from an unnamed intermediary, who had archetypal purchased it from the government. As portion of that deal, PleasrDAO created a non-fungible token (NFTs—remember those?) to amusement ownership of the album. The New York Times has a bully description of what this entailed:

To necktie “Once Upon a Time” to the integer realm, an NFT was created to basal arsenic the ownership deed for the carnal album, said Peter Scoolidge, a lawyer who specializes successful cryptocurrency and NFT deals and was progressive successful the transaction. The 74 members of PleasrDAO … stock corporate ownership of the NFT deed, and frankincense ain the album.

Makin’ Copies …

But aft purchasing the medium and sharing the corporate ownership of its NFT, PleasrDAO discovered that its "one of a kind" entity wasn't rather arsenic exclusive arsenic it had thought.

Shkreli had, successful fact, made copies of the music. Lots of copies. On June 30, 2022, PleasrDAO said that Shkreli played euphony from the medium connected his YouTube transmission and stated, "Of people I made MP3 copies, they're similar hidden successful safes each astir the satellite … I'm not stupid. I don't bargain thing for $2 cardinal conscionable truthful I tin support 1 copy."

Shkreli began taunting PleasrDAO members astir the album, telling 1 of them, "I virtually play it connected my Discord each the time, you're an idiot" and claiming that PleasrDAO was acrophobic astir an medium that ">5000 radical have." Shkreli claimed connected a 2024 podcast that helium had "burned the medium and sent it to like, 50 antithetic chicks"—and that this had been highly bully for his enactment life.

Shkreli adjacent offered to nonstop copies of the medium to random net commenters if they would conscionable nonstop him their "email addy." He besides told radical to "look retired for a torrent" and hosted listening parties for the medium connected his X account, which reached "potentially implicit 4,900 listeners."

We cognize each of these details due to the fact that PleasrDAO has sued Shkreli, claiming that helium is acting successful usurpation of the plus forfeiture bid and that helium is misappropriating "trade secrets" nether New York law.