When you think of the word ‘torrent’, it’s generally the term ‘music piracy’ that first pops into your head. However, a leading US torrent download site is trying to change that perception, and instead make you associate ‘torrent’ with ‘digital music shop’.
File sharing company BitTorrent have announced a new music download concept, called the BitTorrent Bundle, which places a digital music store within a torrent.
Users will be able to download a ‘bundle’ from a range of artists from within the site which acts as a gateway to gain access to exclusive content from the artist as well as the opportunity to purchase the full length album.
As Mashable reports, kickstarting the BitTorrent Bundle is kickstarting with electronic artist Kaskade, the star producer and DJ of Ultra Records (home to Calvin Harris, Deadmau5, and Tiesto). The digital shop in the Kaskade torrent unlocks a free song, a trailer for Freaks Of Nature – an upcoming doco on the musician, and for the price of an email, access to ‘unlock’ digital booklet, photos, and tour video.
Other content can be unlocked through payment to access exclusive content as well as links to sites like iTunes. The idea aims to allow artists to have a greater say in how their music is shared and accessed, while offering fans exclusive features.
A blog post from BitTorrent reads: “Our goal is to move the interaction to where it matters; making it a property of the file, versus the distribution framework; giving artists real data about, and real access to, their fans… The download represents a container that goes with the grain of the Internet.” “Instead of going to the store to get content, the store is actually with that content. It’s like visiting a record store within a song.” – BitTorrent
As the trend of buying music from stores is generally seen to become an outdated entity, the new concept is an interesting imitation of the physical experience of buying music. BitTorrent Bundle will attempt to merge the two experiences by creating a digital music shopping experience within the actual product.
“Instead of going to the store to get content, the store is actually with that content. It’s like visiting a record store within a song or a box office within a movie,” said a spokesperson from the company.
Though BitTorrent have started their new concept collaborated with electronic music label Ultra Music, they have plans to launch a fully fledged publishing platform with further artists and labels later this year, and an interesting step for the site to reinvent itself as a supporter of legal music sharing through creative means.
“We want everyone to be able to create a bundle,” a spokesperson from BitTorrent told Mashable . “We are a technology company and what we see digitally is that each business model is different. Some companies want email addresses and others are looking for a monetary tool. Either way, artists and labels will be able to get creative.”
The concept is based on the idea that while a lot of the content is free, the ‘cost’ for such access – the email addresses fans are providing artists – allows access and connectivity for the musician who in exchange are able to communicate more directly with their fans in a personal manner. It’s alos another link in the chain for artist to guide their music communities into paying for music content – such as a direct link to iTunes or the aforementioned documentary.
“We’re starting with the email address as a way to open the gate to more content, but in the future, there could be other ways to do so, such as paying for access,” says the BitTorrent spokesperson. “Getting access to a fans’ email address is far more valuable than a Facebook Like or Twitter follow because you are directly communicating with your audience and don’t have to go through a social network.”
The new BitTorrent bundle can be seen as the latest move for the website in working to distance themselves from music piracy by working directly with artists.
As previously reported, last year DJ Shadow teamed up with BitTorrent to release his album Total Breakdown: Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era, 1992-1996.
The unique partnership with DJ Shadow was a BitTorrent precursor, designed as a direct attempt to counter the rise of music piracy and still benefit financially from the release. BitTorrent CEO Eric Klinker saying at the time that he saw it as as a new experiment in ways to “monetise the entire torrent ecosystem,” offering “a potentially sustainable way for all artists to monetise BitTorrent.”
