BitTorrent "Bundles" Create Cash Registers Inside Artwork

cagraham writes "BitTorrent has released a new file format called Bundle into closed alpha-testing today, according to VentureBeat. The format allows artists to embed a paywall inside of their work, and then distribute the art for free over BitTorrent. When users open the work they can listen or view part it for free, and are then prompted to either pay a fee, turn over their email address, or perhaps share the work over social media, in order to see the rest. The new format may ease artists concerns about releasing work for free and having to hope for compensation in the future. Artists who have already signed on include Madonna, The Pixies, and author Tim Feriss."

Let me translate that into English:

[Anonymous Coward]

They've reinvented demoware.

What stops people from redistribution?

[SplatMan_DK]

Unless there is yet another crappy DRM scheme buried inside these "bundles", what stops people from simply redistributing a paywall-free version?

Seeding CRM protected files has newer been difficult. It just so happens nobody wants to download them ...

- Jesper

Sharing as a true "free-advertising" model

[taikedz]

Describing the mechanism as a pay-wall probably does the feature a disservice - of course, one way of unlocking is pay, but it is stil possible to view free, and a more useful corollary as demonstrated in the article is that the artist can more effectively drive the user to a retailer of their merchandise (and a preferred one at that), or to their own store.

As usual, persons who specifically do not wish to pay money will not have to, but ensuring a store link for that particular content accompanies the piece in an otherwise free-distribution format

1. -allows sharers to share, and recipients still have a no-pay way of viewing the material
2. -enables artists to edge persons amenable to the idea of paying towards a store, removing the requirement of said consumers to proactively locate a retailer
3. -which subsequently would make the act of sharing a real free-advertising mechanism

This could work really well, so long as sharing gratis and libere is still possible, and if artists using this can provide direct access to the specific item in an international store.

Re:Ya Good luck with that

[Somebody Is Using My]

Alternately (and more likely), people simply won't bother with these bundles.

In other words, expect to see something like this for all these "bundles" on your favorite torrent site:

HOT TORRENTZ* FOR MADONNA'S NEWEST SONG!!!!
          Comment 1: Hey, this is just a demo and it asks for money after 1 minute. Anyone know where I can download the full song?
          Comment 2: yeah, go to http://www.piratestuff.com/torrent1234.html** [piratestuff.com]
File size: 12MB Total downloads: 1 Seeds: 37*** Leechers: 0

Meanwhile, the usual torrent of the MP3 or AVI files without the bundled DRM will have thousands of downloads. Why should people waste their time downloading these bundles and then looking for a crack when it's available elsewhere without the hassle?

* purposeful use of "z" to make it seem cool and illegal, just like a real pirated song!
** not a real link so don't even bother
*** seeders are all the copyright owners wondering why nobody is downloading

Re:What stops people from redistribution?

[pla]

(b) is dumb. No one (statistically speaking) gives a fuck.

You have mistaken giving a fuck out of principle for giving a fuck out of annoyance.

I have quite a few gamer friends. Most of them couldn't give the least damn about the ethics or long term implications of DRM in games. Every single one of them understands what it means when they can't play (for example) a single-player game offline on their laptop in a waiting room or on a plane. And the majority (sometimes with a bit of help, admittedly) of them have "fixed" those problems by grabbing a crack off the internet.

So no, most people have no idea they should oppose DRM. Despite that, most people do hate everything about it without even knowing the target of their ire.