Don’t call this a publicity stunt. Don’t call this a publicity stunt. Don’t call this a publicity stunt. I was about to theorize on the likelihood of this working for any artist at any point in their career, but then I was left with the befuddling question of what Wu-Tang are trying accomplish in the first place. Unfortunately, RZA’s comments on the subject do little to personally satisfy or convince:
We’re about to sell an album like nobody else sold it before… We’re about to put out a piece of art like nobody else has done in the history of [modern] music. We’re making a single-sale collector’s item. This is like having the scepter of an Egyptian king.
Because why not assign an arbitrary value to your as-yet unpropagated piece of art while essentially comparing your cultural significance to the historical importance of a royal figure who was alive thousands of years ago?! The fuckin’ nads on these guys.
Recorded over the past few years but more or less in the works since the recruitment of the album’s primary producer Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh back in 1997, The Wu — Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will initially, presumably, make the rounds at museums, galleries, and festivals. Those wishing to listen to the 128-minute, 31-track double album will be able to do so for a price, “likely in the $30-$50 range,” and only after submission to security measures meant to prevent any type of third-party recording. “One leak of this thing nullifies the entire concept,” notes Cilvaringz, possibly underestimating the ingenuity of preempting music lovers.
So the plan entails, following the album’s tour, the single copy housed in an appropriately Wu-like ancient-looking silver container will be made available for purchase, with a price assuredly “in the millions.” The point, says RZA, is to remind people of the apparently inherent value of music as art, in a world where the ease of copying and distribution has, in his mind, led to it being very nearly “given away for free.” “I know it sounds crazy,” says Cilvaringz. “It might totally flop, and we might be completely ridiculed. But the essence and core of our ideas is to inspire creation and originality and debate, and save the music album from dying.”
If everything goes without a hitch, it’ll be an interesting case study of the value, monetary and otherwise, that we often place on rarity. But beyond that, I think most of us will only be concerned with one thing: is the music any good?
Read the original Forbes article for more details.
• Wu-Tang Clan: http://www.wutang-corp.com
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