BitTorrent is stepping up its monetisation efforts by releasing a new content packaging format called BitTorrent Bundle, in alpha mode.
BitTorrent is stepping up its monetisation efforts by releasing a new content packaging format called BitTorrent Bundle, in alpha mode.
The move according to company spokesman Christian Averill, in an interview withTechCrunch, signals productising by BitTorrent and a move away from one off experiments.
The company has already been working with musicians such DJ Shadow to promote new tracks and albums and with author Tim Ferriss to package chapters of his book with other supplementary media material as he tries to increase sales on his newest work.
On the company’s blog Matt Mason, vice president of marketing, said: “It’s a multimedia format. It’s an early build of a new type of torrent file where fan interaction, like email collection or donation, happens inside the torrent.
“We’re collaborating with electronic music innovators Ultra Music to see what happens when you let people choose how they want to connect with content.”
Already the company has gated one of its bundles with music label Ultra in a bid to promote behind the scenes of the documentary of Kaskade’s 2012 Freaks of Nature tour.
In the bundle users will be treated to half the content for free by just entering their email address in what Mason has described as a “functional record store”.
“We don’t need another digital radio station. We don’t need another walled garden or standalone content store. We need ways to place value exchanges within the content itself – allowing these exchanges to travel freely, without barriers or limitations; allowing these exchanges to multiply as content is shared,” added Mason.
He said at first the bundle will concentrate on helping entertainers such as musicians connect with fans by collecting emails although BitTorrent would also experiment with other ways of structuring the bundle including ones where users pay.
