BitTorrent Sessions: Watch The Duck

by BitTorrent on April 25, 2013 in Interview with No comments

Our intrepid film crew (Jeph, Danimal) captured the conversations so we could share them with you. Herewith: a series of small talks about big things.

In this week’s installment: avian mutants and genre mutations with acclaimed trapstep group Watch the Duck. “Everybody sees the duck traveling smoothly on top of the water but nobody sees it kicking hard as hell under it, struggling to stay afloat.” That’s how Eddie Smith III of Watch the Duck characterizes the trio’s work. It’s an apt metaphor for their music. And it’s bigger than that. It’s every artist right now working to project and promote an image; fighting for findability in the most crowded, most innovative era in music history. The group says what we all know to be true: “It’s not like TV is playing videos anymore. And our music doesn’t really fit a radio format.”

How can music distribution work for unconventional, original, and weird artists? A couple words of wisdom, from the kids behind the worldwide takeover of trap. Continue reading →

The BitTorrent Acceleration Program: Supporting Startups

by Farid on April 24, 2013 in Announcements with No comments

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Brave inventors, intrepid tinkerers, awesome doers, and startups everywhere: we’ve got a job for you.

Over the course of the past few months, we’ve been busy in the Lab. We’ve been hard at work on a solution for personal file management; opening up an Alpha version of BitTorrent Sync. We’ve been looking at ways to streamline creative collaboration; using a simple file delivery service we call SoShare. We’ve been exploring search prioritization; helping artists find visibility via BitTorrent Surf. And we’ve been experimenting with the storytelling and monetization potential of BitTorrent publishing; via content releases with media innovators: authors like Tim Ferriss, studios like Cinedigm.

Our goal is to create a more sustainable distribution model for the Internet’s creators and fans.

We’re in this together.

And we want your help.

We’re opening up our innovation lab to new media startups. If you have a publicly available product in sound, film, live streaming, media sharing, or peer-to-peer technologies, we’ll work with you to accelerate your idea’s success. Continue reading →

BitTorrent Sync Alpha Now Open To All

by Brett Nishi on April 23, 2013 in Announcements with No comments

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In January, we opened up a pre-Alpha program for a new syncing tool called BitTorrent Sync. (We are unapologetic literalists here.)

Sync is unlimited, secure file-syncing. You can use it for remote backup. Or, you can use it to transfer large folders of personal media between users and machines; editors and collaborators. It’s simple. It’s free. It’s the awesome power of P2P, applied to file-syncing.

20 thousand people signed on to help us test Sync out; syncing over 200 terabytes of data along the way. With thanks to our intrepid pre-Alpha users, we’re ready to open up the Sync to everyone. Here’s the deal. Continue reading →

Arthur Newman Preview Debuts On BitTorrent

by BitTorrent on April 22, 2013 in Featured Content with No comments

Arthur Newman, Golf Pro

Who is Arthur Newman? The answer is not who you think.

Arthur Newman was one of the most talked-about films at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. Starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, it’s the story of a man who fakes his death to reclaim his life. Wallace Avery (Firth) is a disappointment: a washed up golf pro with no way forward and no way out. He can’t go on like this. And he doesn’t. Avery stages his death, starts over as Arthur Newman, and makes a break for the open road.

Along the way, he meets Mike (Blunt). Beautiful; fragile, she’s also trying to leave her life behind. Together, they take on the world as new people. And they fall in love with the old selves they’ve left behind.

In this week’s Featured Content: an exclusive look at Arthur Newman, courtesy of the good people over at Cinedigm. We’re debuting the first ten minutes of the film, with over fifty behind-the-scenes stills featuring the Oscar-winning cast and crew. This marks the first time Hollywood’s ever premiered content within the torrent ecosystem; a visionary move by Cinedigm, and a significant shift in how the media industry perceives BitTorrent.

Arthur Newman hits U.S. theaters on April 26th. But BitTorrent fans can preview the film today. Get the download, and get inside Arthur Newman’s story.

Free download:The BitTorrent Arthur Newman Bundle

Arthur Newman, Independent Film, And How Hollywood Can Work With BitTorrent

by BitTorrent on April 20, 2013 in Announcements with No comments

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On April 26th, Arthur Newman, starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, hits theaters. And you’ll be able to catch an exclusive preview five days early, right here on BitTorrent.

In partnership with Cinedigm, we’re giving BitTorrent users a first look at the film; marking the first time we’ve ever worked with a major studio to distribute media. It’s about to get real. Curious about how BitTorrent can work to help filmmakers? Tune in on Monday for more.

Friday Download: Ween

by BitTorrent on April 19, 2013 in Featured Content with No comments

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In this week’s FDL: things get weird. Three vintage live shows from Ween. Pop absurdity, lovingly preserved by the archive.org curatorial team. Happy Friday, people.

Friday Download: Ween

1. The Longhorn / Stuttgart, Germany / 2000
2. Princeton University / Princeton, NJ / 2002
3. State Theater / Minneapolis, MN / 2006

BitTorrent Sessions: Shepard Fairey

by BitTorrent on April 18, 2013 in Interview with No comments

In March, we got the chance to catch up with some creators, change-makers, and heroes of the free world at SXSW. Our intrepid film crew (Jeph, Danimal) captured the conversations so we could share them with you. Herewith: a series of small talks about big things.

In this week’s issue: words with Shepard Fairey; the iconic graphic artist who predicted Obama’s Presidential victory in 2008, and our sound system’s demise in 2013. RIP, stereo.

No, this is about more than the speakers that gave out at Empire Auto. This is about the end of records, the gradual dissolution of set imagery and LP culture, and the artist’s desire to preserve it. By making stuff. By murals. By sharing.

Fairey says it better than we ever could: “The more people creating culture, the better. It should be about talent, not about power. The power to share your talent, whether you have a lot of money or not, is something that BitTorrent facilitates. And that’s a great thing.”

Watch Fairey’s mural unfold. Continue reading →

20 Million BitTorrent Mobile Users, And Counting

by BitTorrent on April 18, 2013 in Announcements with No comments

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Just a few short months ago, we hit ten million mobile users. Whew. Just a few minutes ago, we hit twenty million. Internet high five, y’all. Especially you, lucky downloader number 20,000,000. And thanks to everyone who’s joined our mobile family along the way.

Today, we have two top 20 free media and video applications in the US Google Play store: the µTorrent Beta App (#6), and the BitTorrent App (#20). Our µTorrent Beta App is currently the top 5 free media and video app in 16 countries, and listed in the top 10 in 27 countries.

20 million people are now getting their downloads to go. Care to join them? You can grab the µTorrent Android app right here. Give it a shot, and let us know what you think. We’re still in Beta. Your feedback and ideas will help us build something (even more) awesome.

Happy downloading,

The BitTorrent team.

Pretty Lights Debuts New Single At Coachella – And On BitTorrent

by BitTorrent on April 15, 2013 in Featured Content with No comments

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Last year, we worked with Pretty Lights to help break the barriers of sound and access; delivering 3 of his EPs, a new single, and a Bonnaroo tour video to BitTorrent fans. 5 million downloads led to 60 thousand new emails, 30 thousand new Facebook fans, a 700% increase in web traffic, and sold out shows. In just two months. And this is just the beginning.

Today, in partnership with Fame House, we’re releasing breaking new work from Pretty Lights to BitTorrent users all over the world. If you didn’t catch his set at Coachella last night: fear not. You can download the new single, plus two video exclusives, right here on BitTorrent. Continue reading →

BitTorrent Surf Beta Launches Today On Chrome And Firefox

by BitTorrent on April 15, 2013 in Announcements with No comments

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In early January, we launched an Alpha of BitTorrent Surf, a Chrome plugin that brings BitTorrent to your browser.

Today, we’re ready to catch bigger waves. Yep. Puns. We went there. With big thanks and props to our Alpha users, we’re ready to release the Beta version of BitTorrent Surf. Continue reading →

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