Music
DJ Shadow decides to monetize his new compilation using BitTorrent
by Tyler Munro
July 25, 2012
For his new, early-era box set Total Breakdown: Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era, 1992-1996, HypeBot reports that DJ Shadow has paired up with BitTorrent in an attempt to monetize the popular file sharing platform. There’s a reason this is unprecedented, and why he hasn’t put all of his eggs in this one basket: it won’t work.
BitTorrent first and foremost cannot function without a hive. One cannot download without two, and three makes things speed up. It’s based on a concept of grabbing a bit from here and a bit from there, which differentiates it from traditional peer-to-peer filesharing. It’s what makes downloads so fast in spite of any proper file hosting and what makes this such a daring business decision.
When Louis CK broke the mould last year with his $5 comedy special, he pleaded fans not to torrent it. Even as his website was overloaded, he insisted. He released Live at the Beacon Theater free of copy protection and DRM. He charged a minimal fee for two downloads and two streams of an HD, hour long concert. He paid to produce the special out of his own pocket. And still within no time at all, the special found its way onto the Pirate Bay and other such sharing sites.
There’s a reason why the release of Total Breakdown: Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era, 1992-1996 is being spread across so many platforms, and it’s scepticism. DJ Shadow is releasing the compilation on vinyl and CD as well as streaming songs exclusively on a number of platforms. LRG, the clothing company behind the cover art, are also hosting an exclusive download from the album.
That this has been spread so thin goes against BitTorrent’s nature. Compulsive collectors won’t have any reason to legally download the collection off of one platform when so many others are exclusively hosting songs otherwise unavailable. They’ll seek out these tracks and compile them into new torrent packages. Not even exclusive passkeys can prevent that. And before long, the flood gates will open.
For DJ Shadow, one of the sampler’s strongest innovators, it makes sense why he’d take up a partnership like this. But as an artist looking to make a living, it’s easy to see why he hasn’t gone all in. Unfortunately, that’s why it won’t work.
