SoundCtrl – DJ Shadow becomes first artist to get paid by BitTorrent

by Janko Roettgers – via GigaOM

[DJ Shadow] launched a cooperation with BitTorrent Inc.Tuesday that gets him some revenue every time someone downloads a free torrent of his tracks — as long as the downloader also installs the bundled software, that is.

BitTorrent will offer a bundle of three MP3s from DJ Shadow’s upcoming album, Hidden Transmissions from the MPC Era (1992-1996) for download. The package will also include digital artwork, as well as some bundled software that will generate revenue for both the company and the artist.

BitTorrent’s executive director of marketing, Matt Mason didn’t want to go into the details of the revenue-sharing agreement during a phone conversation Monday, and said that this was very much an experiment that would be tweaked as things unfold. “It’s definitely a fair deal,” added DJ Shadow’s manager Michael Fiebach, whose company Fame House LLC has partnered with BitTorrent in the past. The bundled software will include media players like the RealPlayer, but differ from location to location.