SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the legal-expenses-getting-you-down? dept.
Following Martin Shkreli's conviction for securities fraud, he has listed his unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album on eBay. He purchased the album for $2 million in 2015 and has repeatedly threatened to destroy it:
Martin Shkreli may finally release the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, that he purchased back in 2015. The widely despised pharma bro has listed the album on eBay and is currently taking bids. At the time of publish, offers are hovering around $100,000.
The sale includes the double CD and a "finely crafted booklet," as well as legal expenses up to $25,000 "to ensure the final purchase details are mutually agreeable." In the listing, spotted by Page Six, Shkreli writes that he "decided to purchase this album as a gift to the Wu-Tang Clan for their tremendous musical output. Instead I received scorn from at least one of their (least-intelligent) members, and the world at large failed to see my purpose of putting a serious value behind music. I will be curious to see if the world values music nearly as much as I have." Shkreli claims that he will donate half of the sale proceeds to medical research.
[In the listing], Shkreli notes that "at any time I may cancel this sale and I may even break this album in frustration."
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @07:01AM (8 children)
> Instead I received scorn from at least one of their (least-intelligent) members
You don't need particularly low intelligence to feel scorn for Mr. Shkreli, so I'll have to assume this member has at least 3 PhDs.
> the world at large failed to see my purpose of putting a serious value behind music
Let's see... "Culture, n. - The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought."
Since that is the exact opposite of "lock down and then destroy the only copy", I suspect that the value he's putting is not behind music but behind an unnamed douchebag's enormous ego.
> Shkreli claims that he will donate half of the sale proceeds to medical research.
Could've donated the initial $2million he spent on it, but I guess that's not douchey enough.
> Shkreli notes that "at any time I may cancel this sale and I may even break this album in frustration."
No better way to show the world how great you are than throwing a tantrum. Next he'll demand we buy him candy or he "won't move from this spot, mooom!"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @08:13AM (3 children)
His attempt to prove that he isn't as big of a dick as everyone thought, has proven that he is as big of a dick as everyone thought.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @08:53AM (2 children)
He isn't trying anything of the sort. The eBay item description is pretty much made to make people rage even more.
In reality it's just the Goldstein du jour, I find it funny how easily people rage about him.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @10:36AM (1 child)
Oh I see, he's not really an asshole, it's everyone else's fault. Yeah I never thought about it thatWHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ON MAN? Seriously.
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday September 08 2017, @04:41PM
The point is that he's not trying to prove anything; he's satisfied with his reputation as a big dick.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @10:43AM (1 child)
Always figured that guy for just another Joe Random arsehole/sociopath from the investment banker scene, dime a dozen.
But looking at a retrospective of his complete works I now come to the conclusion that he can not be a real person. Literally every one of his publicity stunts is so grotesquely over the top... probability alone would suggest that no single person could accidentally miss the mark by 180° in 100% of cases.
I am now convinced that the guy grew up on 4chan and just took the sociopathic troll thing the logical next step. Imagine all those *chan memes, spoken out loud by Shkreli. It kind of makes sense. Exhibit A: for his first real "coup" he went after an AIDS-related drug. The jokes practically write themselves here.
Not sure whether to bow down and worship the master, or pray for a quick and merciful end of humanity in the upcoming Fire and Fury. Because this seems to be the new normal: GIFT [knowyourmeme.com] extended to RL.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday September 08 2017, @04:58PM
Neither. I'd say let him go free BUT take ALL his assets and money and make it so he can only ever take minimum-wage jobs. For his kind, and all white-collar criminals, that would be hell on earth.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday September 08 2017, @06:09PM (1 child)
The excerpts from jury selection for his case were pretty funny [complex.com], if you missed them.
The relevant one:
"Juror No. 59: Your Honor, totally he is guilty and in no way can I let him slide out of anything because—
The Court: Okay. Is that your attitude toward anyone charged with a crime who has not been proven guilty?
Juror No. 59: It’s my attitude toward his entire demeanor, what he has done to people.
The Court: All right. We are going to excuse you, sir.
Juror No. 59: And he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @07:23PM
I believe that trope is called "murder, arson, and jaywalking".
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Friday September 08 2017, @09:28AM
I know what he's going through. It happened to me. Terrible, horrible times. I went through them too. Times when I sold my prize possession, the Trump Princess. The yacht I bought from the Sultan of Brunei, a 282-footer (Blofeld's headquarters). When I saw a beggar on Fifth Avenue -- seriously downgrading the area -- and I realized, that beggar was worth $900 million more than me. Because I was that deeply in debt. Very humbling! I became very humble, like the Pope. Like @QueenLizII. We are all the same. We're all going to the same place, probably one of two places, you know, but we are all the same. Each and every one of us. Presidents, popes, kings, queens, and businessmen. And I do have actually much more humility than a lot of people would think. I'll tell you, I don't like what @MartinShkreli did with the AIDS. With his AIDS drug. This young guy raised the price to a level that’s absolutely ridiculous. And I don't like what he's done with his hair. He looks like a spoiled brat. Because of that messy hair. But I know what he's going through. It’s payback time and he needs the money. I wish him luck. 🇺🇸
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @10:33AM (1 child)
No, not because of how he raised the money. That was not exactly cool, but perhaps not as bad as everyone seems to think.
But almost immediately he turned around and tried to parlay the purchase into public favour (or at least attention) by playing it in the background during streams or whatever. This really just amounts to showing off his wealth, which is not going to buy him any favour with the public at large.
If he really wanted to do good here, he would have made the album public, or done something—anything—constructive with it. Instead he's alternately threatening to destroy the thing and putting it up for auction, with a $25k bonus to cover legal fees for what you'd think should be a simple transaction. But no, you gotta pay piece of mind tax on it, which is something *he* wants, and should be part of the sale price. He probably wants to load on some terms that make the sale virtually worthless to the buyer.
His attempt at insult is kinda funny. What's more insulting, "least intelligent member of Wu-Tang" (i.e. a non-sociopath, fucking supergenius) or "Martin Shkreli" (that can speak for itself) —? Like he's #2 on the "famously an asshole" list, right after that guy that fed the prostitutes to pigs, just ahead of what... Oracle, I guess?
Anyway here's hoping someone like Trent Reznor buys it and just puts it up, gets mad cred for it and proves Shkreli's disgrace.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @09:01PM
Let us pass the hat around, to collect a bit of money. $2 for Shrek to reduce the CD into dust - Will It Blend comes to mind. And another $2 for Shrek to shoot himself. For just $4 the world becomes a better place. Next up, Zuckieboy, offers $1 an up, dead or dead.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Friday September 08 2017, @11:55AM (2 children)
He might break it in frustration, so what? it's his property and squandering does not affect anybody else.
If this cultural artifact were so important, it should have been released in proper ways. Blame those who released it wrong (tm).
Account abandoned.
(Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Friday September 08 2017, @02:52PM (1 child)
Didn't you know that breaking all existing physical copies of a Wu-Tang Clan album is a way to summon Cthulhu? ;-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday September 08 2017, @06:02PM
Cthulhu has had time to learn about recording studios, and can send his minions for the original masters, or more simply for the original authors...
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday September 08 2017, @12:54PM (1 child)
Mr Shkreli, let me just point out here that your "gift" was not accepted, and your calling them "least-intelligent" suggests that you really don't respect them either. You weren't doing them a favor, you were lording over them using your ill-gotten gains. Why do I say "ill-gotten"? Because your decision to raise the price of life-saving drugs killed people.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @01:05PM
Thug lyfe 4eva, biatch!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 08 2017, @10:11PM
Somebody please do this. Just rub shit in his face.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 09 2017, @12:28AM
>Shkreli claims that he will donate half of the sale proceeds to medical research.
He's going to buy a lot of medical marijuana and see which strain gets him the highest.