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Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘Shaolin’ Was Barred from Release Until 2103. How Is a Group Now Selling It for $1?

Wu-Tang Clan's "Shaolin" album is now "on sale." How is a group allowing fans to pay $1 for an album that was barred from release until 2103?

In a phone interview with Billboard on Thursday, members of PleasrDAO confirmed those limitations: “What people are being offered is the ability to own the encrypted album that they cannot listen to,” said Pleasr’s Leighton Cusack. When asked directly if Shaolin ’s stipulations were still in effect, or if the sale complied with those requirements, Pleasr representative Camilla McFarland declined to go deep into the details: “We can’t necessarily discuss the specifics of those agreements and where that all stands, but we can assure you that all of our activities and releases are fully compliant with the consent and blessing of artists and right holders involved,” she said. Though the deal did permit for-profit listening events at museums and other small venues, it strictly forbade duplicating or otherwise exploiting Shaolin “for any commercial or other non-commercial purposes by any means today known or that come to be known during said time period.”

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