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BitTorrent says it's not killing its streaming media service
Last week, Variety published a report detailing some internal turmoil at BitTorrent: the company's CEOs had both reportedly been fired, the recently-launched BitTorrent Now initiative was dead and the company's new LA office / studio had been shut down. Today, BitTorrent has given us more details on the situation at the company -- some of what Variety reported appears to be accurate, but the company has denied BitTorrent Now's demise. The company says it "remains focused on the media space," including BitTorrent Now.
BitTorrent reportedly fires its CEOs, gets out of the media game
BitTorrent has had a big interest in making it easy for creators to distribute and sell music and films, but it looks like that initiative might have just ground to a screeching halt. Variety is reporting that the company has fired its two CEOs, laid off an unknown number of staffers and is shutting down BitTorrent Now, its recently-launched ad-supported video and music streaming platform.
BitTorrent Now heads to iOS devices and Apple TV
BitTorrent hasn't quite shaken off its rep as a tool for piracy yet, but it's sure giving its best shot by making apps that serve up legal content. One of those is BitTorrent Now, which the company has just released for the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. BT's streaming platform originally came out for Android in June and gives you access to tunes and videos from BT's partner musicians and filmmakers, including IHEARTCOMIX and The Onion. You might have to pay up to be able to stream some of them. But if money is tight, you can always just play the ad-supported entries in its repertoire. The images above show what the app's interface looks like, though you can download it right now from iTunes if you want to explore it yourself.
BitTorrent Now is an open, ad-supported music and video platform
Chances are, most people still think of BitTorrent as a tool to pirate the latest Game of Thrones episode -- but for several years now, the company has been using its peer-to-peer internet technology as a platform for independent musicians, filmmakers and other artists to distribute their work. The resulting BitTorrent Bundle network has played host to projects from Madonna, comedian David Cross and Radiohead's Thom Yorke as well as a host of smaller, lesser-known people. Since debuting in 2013, the ways artists can choose to be compensated for their work has evolved too. Originally, BitTorrent Bundle content was free (after you signed up with your email address), and then Thom Yorke's album introduced the "paygate," which let artists offer a preview and put the rest of their work being a paywall. Today, BitTorrent is introducing a new way for artists to get paid: BitTorrent Now is a new, ad-supported service that'll let users stream any participating artist's content to iOS, Android and the new Apple TV. The Android app launches today, with the iOS and Apple TV apps to follow soon.
