It's not as simple as that otherwise they'd just record their own CD, write their own game etc. This is more like hoarding; either related to grief (can't let go of a loved one but can keep hold of random shit) or just good old consumerist "you'll be a great person if you buy this". It's pathetic but hey, we're in a late capitalist, consumer driven society where owning a small piece of plastic is more important than saving tens or hundreds of lives.

Reminds me of the short story by SMBC: http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2834

A lot of the commercial value of art comes from the social signalling that says "I can afford to own this unique and holy relic of personal productivity."

It's the individualised capitalist equivalent of medieval churches competing with each other to buy fragments of the true cross - or some lesser holy knuckle bone, if they weren't in that league.

The Wu Tang Clan album probably exists as a master tape/file somewhere, and possibly also as session backup files, unless they deliberately destroyed everything.

Nice box though.