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Group Makes 1 Copy of New Album, Sells It To 1 Person for $2 Million

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  #1  
Old 12-10-2015, 11:35 PM
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Default Group Makes 1 Copy of New Album, Sells It To 1 Person for $2 Million

Quote:
NY Times: As any record collector can tell you, rarities – particularly one-of-a-kind pieces...could command fortunes. But those discs acquired their value long after...the musicians who recorded them became hot properties...

The Wu-Tang Clan...has decided to skip the value-accrual phase and release...only one copy of The Wu: Once Upon a Time in Shaolin...31-track(s)...that the band has worked on quietly for the last six years...It will be packaged in a hand-carved, silver and nickel box...and...will be “available for purchase and ownership by one individual only.”

...(D)epending on the buyer’s interest in maintaining exclusivity, the music could eventually be released...“The new owner will become master copy owner and owner of the producer’s publishing,” (WuTang Clan producer) Cilvaringz explained in an email...“The publishing rights of the group and appearing artists remains with them.” And if the album is bootlegged, the Wu Tang Clan will have the name and address of the person who has the only known copy.
Okay, but my question to Wu Tang is: what happens to the rest of us?
Quote:
EndGadget.com 4/18/04: The...rap group's original idea for the release was to sell it as an ultra-limited edition package after it completes a world-tour where fans could pay between $30 and $50 apiece to listen to it once, in a single sitting, in a museum...
Oh. And auctioning it off to one person is their idea of a BETTER idea?
Quote:
NY Times: (From) a statement signed by Cilvaringz and (Wu-Tang Clan founding member) RZA...
...Is contemporary art overvalued in an exclusive market, or are musicians undervalued in a profoundly saturated market? By adopting a 400 year old Renaissance-style approach to music, offering it as a commissioned commodity and allowing it to take a similar trajectory from creation to exhibition to sale, as any other contemporary art piece, we hope to inspire and intensify urgent debates about the future of music...and provoke questions about the value and perception of music as a work of art in today’s world.
Sorry, but that just sounds like a fancy-pants way of saying "Fck you fans who can't afford us."

Quote:
...(I)n an effort to free Once Upon a Time in Shaolin...to less-than-rich listeners, two fans have launched...an attempt raise enough cash to buy the album...(in order) to circumvent "some über-rich bastard from keeping it to himself like a collector's item"...and then spread the tunes online gratis...As of this writing, they've only managed to raise $1,103 of the multi-million dollar goal...
Unfortunately, an über-rich bastard materialized:
Quote:
Endgadget 12/9/15: Martin Shkreli has a strong claim to be the most hated man on the internet...(H)e's the arsehole that bought the life-saving AIDS drug, Daraprim, and raised the price from $13.50 to $700 per pill...(T)he smirking hedge fund mogul was the mysterious buyer of the Wu-Tang Clan's one-off album...

As part of...the $2 million deal, Shkreli is now the only person in the world that's entitled to listen to the work, with public broadcast blocked until 2103 at the very earliest.
When not hiking pill prices or paying millions for albums, Shkreli likes to do hours-long Youtubes of him mostly staring into his webcam, which suggests that he's an über-unstable bastard as well as an über-greedy and über-cruel one. (Or is he simply an example of the saying "A fool and his money are soon parted?") At any rate, Shkreli ends up with the album and its exclusivity while WuTang ends up with $2 million dollars -- and, much to their surprise, the image of being a bunch of über-bastards who are as greedy, cruel, and unstable as Shkreli is!


Quote:
SeattlePI.com: “The sale of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was agreed upon in May, well before Martin Skhreli’s business practices came to light,” (Wu Tang Clan member) RZA writes in an email...“We decided to give a significant portion of the proceeds to charity.”

...“I was a little worried that they were going to walk out of the deal, but by then we’d closed,” (Shkreli) says...
Wow, talk about biting the hand that feeds you: Skhreli met WuTang's price, he agreed to their terms, and forked over the money -- that's all he was required to do! They're throwing away six years of work and nearly 2 million dollars because they don't like where the money came from? That's flat out discrimination, LOL!

So as we all bid farewell to Wu Tang's money, hiphop "street cred," and artistic integrity, let's hope Jon takes note of this as he goes forth with his "We super-serve the super(rich) fan" venture. There aren't that many über-rich superfans to go around, and some of them might turn out to also be über bastards...but even über beggars can't be choosy!

P.S. And über props to comedian Dave Chappelle because he saw this coming...
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Last edited by rocknation; 03-10-2018 at 12:35 AM..
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Old 12-11-2015, 12:45 AM
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I find this refreshing:
Quote:
NY Times: (From) a statement signed by Cilvaringz and (Wu-Tang Clan founding member) RZA...

...Is contemporary art overvalued in an exclusive market, or are musicians undervalued in a profoundly saturated market? By adopting a 400 year old Renaissance-style approach to music, offering it as a commissioned commodity and allowing it to take a similar trajectory from creation to exhibition to sale, as any other contemporary art piece, we hope to inspire and intensify urgent debates about the future of music...and provoke questions about the value and perception of music as a work of art in today’s world.
The WTC approach reminds me of another one with a similar premise but a very different development... yet with the same conclusion: everybody's complaining.
Remember that band who sold their album to a company which then gave it for free to millions of people... who never asked for it and took it for an "intrusion into personal privacy" ?!
I guess the WTC guys didn't want to reproduce this fiasco/scandal, that's why they altered the plan... and everybody's complaining just the same. Hmmm... well, not exactly, only their fans, the rest of the world just doesn't care.
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Old 12-11-2015, 01:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Old Joysey View Post
...(T)he WTC guys...altered the plan... and everybody's complaining just the same. Hmmm...well, not exactly, only their fans, the rest of the world just doesn't care.
The key word being "everybody" -- everybody in their fan base, if not everybody in the world.

It didn't occur to Wu Tang that their non-uber rich fans wouldn't take kindly to this? They're part of a musical genre in which "street credibility" is mandatory: it didn't occur to them that their plan would add an entirely new dimension to the meaning of "corporate sellout?" And even if Jesus Christ himself had been the purchaser, there would still remain the question of whether it's seemly to sell or buy one copy of one album and deprive "everybody" else of it for 88 years!

It renders Wu Tang's calls for "urgent debates about the future of music" as ringing a little hollow. Yes, they ended up two million dollars richer -- but, as they found out, at way too high a price.
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You and me and our old friends / hoping it would never end / holding on to never say goodbye...

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Old 12-11-2015, 02:10 AM
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Now haven't you read the latest news?
https://www.yahoo.com/music/wu-tang-...154743155.html
That's a good one, isn't it?!

And what about this one? What a loser!
https://livenationpresents.yahoo.com...t-sole-copy-of

Quote:
It renders their calls for "urgent debates about the future of music" to ring a little hollow. Yes, Wu Tang ended up two million dollars richer -- but, as they found out, at way too high a price.
On the contrary, I interpret their action as a provocative move to make people think and debate.
Or as a great big joke that worked very well:
- yo, man! Let's record an album and sell it to only 1 person.
- yeah, man! Let's say only one person will have the privilege to listen to our art.
- right on, bro! Let's find some a$$hole full of himself and full of dough!
- you got it, bro! Let's screw some rich basturd!
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Old 12-17-2015, 08:54 PM
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Default I hope the check Shrkeli gave Wu Tang has cleared

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Originally Posted by rocknation View Post
When not hiking pill prices or paying millions for albums, Shkreli likes to do hours-long Youtubes of him mostly staring into his webcam, which suggests that he's an über-unstable bastard as well as an über-greedy and über-cruel one.
Gawker:
...(O)n (December 14), his livestream included a 90-minute conversation with a 17-year-old, female high school student who attends his alma mater, Hunter College High School...(H)e accepts her Facebook friend request, demurs her jokey invitations to prom, offers to write her a reference letter, plays her a song, asks where she lives, what her ethnic background is, what her SAT score is, and whether high schoolers are into polygamy. Oh, and how many black people go to her school.

“BRUH SHE’S IN HIGH SCHOOL HANG UP,” a commenter wrote.

“martin pedo” said another.

“how old is she?” another commenters asked.

“NOT OLD ENOUGH” Shkreli replied.

...One of his ex-girlfriends claims (Shrkeli) has a history of offering money for sex, and she posted screenshots allegedly showing Shkreli’s attempts to exchange $10,000 for a round of (oral sex) on her blog.

TMZ:
First, he dropped $2 million for that Wu-Tang record, and now Martin Shkreli wants to be (rapper) Bobby Shmurda's hero...

Shmurda's been held for a year, awaiting trial for weapons charges and conspiracy to commit murder...The controversial pharmaceutical honcho now says he wants to spend another $2 mil to get Shmurda out of jail, simply because they're both Brooklyn kids -- but also because he sees a chance to make a ton of cash...

Shkreli's offer is totally strings attached though -- "I’m not going to do this for free...He’s going to have to do something for me. I don’t know what that’s going to look like yet. He’s going to owe me one, obviously."

Bloomberg:
Martin Shkreli, the boyish drug company entrepreneur who rocketed to infamy by jacking up the price of a life-saving pill from $13.50 to $750, was arrested by federal agents at his Manhattan home early Thursday morning on securities fraud related to a firm he founded.

Prosecutors in Brooklyn charged him with illegally taking stock from Retrophin Inc., a biotechnology firm he started in 2011, and using it to pay off debts from unrelated business dealings. He was later ousted from the company, where he’d been chief executive officer, and sued by its board.

...(F)ederal prosecutors accused Shkreli of engaging in a complicated shell game after his defunct hedge fund, MSMB Capital Management, lost millions. He is alleged to have made secret payoffs and set up sham consulting arrangements...

I love the smell of vindication in the morning -- we've taken down another one, Joysey! Or IS he simply an example of the saying "A fool and his money are soon parted?"
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Remember how we used to talk about busting out? We'd break their hearts together...forever...



You and me and our old friends / hoping it would never end / holding on to never say goodbye...

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Old 12-18-2015, 04:22 PM
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Yep! Once again, Karma proved to be more powerful than Ponzi schemers but... what's gonna happen to the Wu-Tang Clan album???

http://news.yahoo.com/2-million-wu-t...013537717.html
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Old 12-27-2015, 11:54 PM
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Originally Posted by rocknation View Post
Gawker:...(O)n (December 14...Shkreli's) livestream included a 90-minute conversation with a 17-year-old, female high school student who attends his alma mater, Hunter College High School...
His alma what?
Quote:
New York Times: When Hunter College High School announced in March that it had received a $1 million donation...many graduates were stunned to learn who the young donor was: Martin Shkreli, a multimillionaire pharmaceuticals executive...who had ultimately been kicked out for poor grades and poor attendance...

After Mr. Shkreli’s grades tumbled, he went to...an alternative public school where students did internships for credit...“He would come back to Hunter frequently in a suit and with a briefcase, hanging out in the hallways and sort of showing off,” said one classmate...

He cited his Hunter experience as laying the foundation for his success in the business world. In particular, he thanked a math teacher...who still teaches at Hunter...She said that Mr. Shkreli, while bright, often did not put in the effort needed to maximize his potential..."(He)...did not want to do the grit work. I’d have to prod him...”
Portrait of the loser as a young man.
Quote:
When asked...whether Hunter was considering returning the money, a press officer declined to comment...Several classmates say that when they heard about Mr. Shkreli’s gift, they could not help but wonder whether it was meant as a sly act of one-upmanship. “I thought it was weird since he hadn’t graduated,” one classmate said. “It seemed almost like a ‘take that’ move."
I myself was invited to apply for Hunter College High School: they didn't care for my math scores, but I didn't care for their art program. It must be a good school, however if their graduates can spout such pearls of wisdom.
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Remember how we used to talk about busting out? We'd break their hearts together...forever...



You and me and our old friends / hoping it would never end / holding on to never say goodbye...

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Old 11-16-2016, 01:12 AM
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Update: Way to whore for a pardon, Marty!

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Remember how we used to talk about busting out? We'd break their hearts together...forever...



You and me and our old friends / hoping it would never end / holding on to never say goodbye...
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Old 03-06-2018, 04:03 AM
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Quote:
USA Today.com: as he prepares for sentencing on securities fraud and conspiracy convictions, a federal judge ruled...that Martin Shkreli must turn over his interest in so-called substitute assets to satisfy forfeiture requirements for the criminal actions that led to his Aug. 2017 conviction...

(Shkreli's) attorneys...(argued) that the financially-pressed pharmaceutical industry entrepreneur should either forfeit nothing or roughly $500,000 at most...(A) financial search found that Shkreli had "dissipated or otherwise disposed of" proceeds directly traceable to his criminal offenses...(A) declaration identified other Shkreli assets that could be used to "partially satisfy the forfeiture money judgment."

...(The judge) ruled that forfeiture of substitute assets, up to $7,360,450, "is warranted in this case"...They include:
  • Once Upon A Time in Shaolin, a one-of-a-kind album by the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, as well as any proceeds from the album's sale.

  • The album Tha Carter V, by rapper Lil Wayne.

  • A painting by famed Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.

  • An Enigma Machine, one of the tech products British codebreakers used to decipher German messages during World War II.

  • The $5 million in cash currently held in an E*Trade brokerage account as security for Shkreli's bail.

  • All of the Shrkeli's shares and interest in Vyera Pharmaceuticals — formerly Turing Pharmaceuticals, the firm where he gained notoriety by quarterbacking a 5000% price hike for a drug used to treat AIDS sufferers and others.
So it's all over but the actual sentencing. They had let him out on bail, and what thanks did they get?
Quote:
USA Today: A federal judge revoked...Martin Shkreli's bail...ordering him jailed for a threat to former secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

...Shkreli's recent social media offer of $5,000 to anyone who would "grab" some of Clinton's hair for him during her current book tour represented "a solicitation of an assault in exchange for money that is not protected by the First Amendment..." (the judge) said...

"The fact that he continues to remain unaware of the...inappropriateness of his actions or words demonstrates to me that he may be creating an ongoing risk to the community..."
It didn't occur to ANYONE on the defense team to plead insanity?
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rocknation

Remember how we used to talk about busting out? We'd break their hearts together...forever...



You and me and our old friends / hoping it would never end / holding on to never say goodbye...

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Old 03-10-2018, 12:15 AM
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Quote:
'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli is sentenced to 7 years for securities fraud

Martin Shrkeli, the smirking "Pharma Bro" vilified for jacking up the price of a lifesaving drug, was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison for defrauding investors in two failed hedge funds...

The judge ruled earlier this week that Shkreli would have to forfeit more than $7.3 million in a brokerage account and personal assets including his one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album that he boasted he bought for $2 million. The judge said the property would not be seized until Shkreli had a chance to appeal...

(His) attorney (said) that he sometimes wants to hug Shkreli and sometimes wants to punch him in the face, but...his outspokenness shouldn't be held against him...(and that) he deserved a sentence of 18 months or less because the investors got their money back and more from stock he gave them in a successful drug company...

Shkreli, his cocky persona nowhere to be found, cried (that)...he made many mistakes and apologized to investors..."I want the people who came here today to support me to understand one thing, the only person to blame for me being here today is me," he said. "I took down Martin Shkreli."
Sayonara, adios, auf wiedersehen, farewell
This song is "Marty's Folly" -- play it in your prison cell.
You overcharged your victims because your ethics smell
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome
sixty months of living hell.
So barring a pardon from Donald Trump, I hereby give a tip of the hat to my Jovitalk partner in crime(busting) Old Joysey:


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rocknation

Remember how we used to talk about busting out? We'd break their hearts together...forever...



You and me and our old friends / hoping it would never end / holding on to never say goodbye...

Last edited by rocknation; 01-24-2024 at 11:22 PM..
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