BitTorrent is one of the best things technology has given us, but it has a problem. Since the file sharing system can be used to share music, movies, books, TV shows illegally, major producers and publishers are scared to death to use it in a smart way. Instead, content producers opt for more complicated, more expensive, and less efficient methods for letting people buy and download entertainment products legally.
Apple, Netflix and Hulu prove that, given the opportunity, people are willing to pay for quality entertainment products.
According to Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, when it launches in a new territory, “the BitTorrent traffic drops as the Netflix traffic grows…The best way to combat piracy,” he says, “isn’t legislatively or criminally but by giving good options.”
Creative people like to control things we create, but there’s this unwritten law of life that says, if you try too hard to control every little detail about what you create and how it’s consumed, it goes away.
Imagine going to a great restaurant to enjoy a meal cooked by a world class chef. What if that chef didn’t only cook your dinner, but came out to the table demanded payment in advance and then dictated the size and order of every bite you take? That’s kind of how Hollywood works.
The team behind BitTorrent technology just introduced something new that SHOULD, but probably won’t inspire Hollywood to adopt torrents for digital distribution.
They call it the BitTorrent Bundle, and it’s does exactly what Hollywood should want to do.
BitTorrent Bundle puts commerce into each media file published by an artist. Every file comes with a lock and how the file is unlocked is up to its creator.
Maybe you are willing to give your files away in exchange for an email address … a twitter follow … a Facebook like. Maybe you want actually money for your creation.
What you’re willing to receive in exchange for your digital creation is completely up to you, and isn’t that exactly how it should work?
The first BitTorrent Bundle is a release by the record label Ultra. It’s not just a digital album. It’s a multimedia collection that includes a behind-the-scenes look at Kaskade’s 2012 “Freaks of Nature” tour.
Downloading the Ultra Bundle from BitTorrent gives you half the content free. To get the rest will cost you the low, low price of giving the record label your email address.
BitTorrent Bundles hold the potential to turn sharing from something that might keep an artist from making money from their work into something that helps an artist sell more.
To give it a try visit bundles.bittorent.com. There’s a variety of different types of content to try in the Bundle format. Let us know what you think. Could this change the way you buy digital downloads? I hope so!
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