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Tag: BitTorrent
Posted inNews
Blockchain startup Tron buys BitTorrent for reported $126m
BitTorrent (the company) has a new owner: blockchain firm Tron, which bills itself as “the world’s largest decentralised ecosystem”.
BitTorrent confirmed the acquisition on its site, noting that its products have more than 100 million active users worldwide, and that it will now “provide robust support for Tron’s global business development and partnerships”.
Variety cites financial filings suggesting Tron paid $126m for BitTorrent, although a figure wasn’t confirmed in the official blog post.
Posted inNews
Blockchain startup Tron buys BitTorrent for reported $126m
BitTorrent (the company) has a new owner: blockchain firm Tron, which bills itself as “the world’s largest decentralised ecosystem”.
BitTorrent confirmed the acquisition on its site, noting that its products have more than 100 million active users worldwide, and that it will now “provide robust support for Tron’s global business development and partnerships”.
Variety cites financial filings suggesting Tron paid $126m for BitTorrent, although a figure wasn’t confirmed in the official blog post.
Posted inNews, Startups
BitChute uses BitTorrent to provide a YouTube alternative
If YouTube is a headache for music rightsholders, expect many to be reaching for the extra-strength painkillers at the news of BitChute, a new video-streaming service based on BitTorrent technology.
“What if there was an alternative to YouTube, one that doesn’t impose the same kinds of restrictions on uploaders?” is how TorrentFreak reported the new platform’s appeal.
“The idea comes from seeing the increased levels of censorship by the large social media platforms in the last couple of years. Bannings, demonetisation, and tweaking algorithms to send certain content into obscurity and, wanting to do something about it,” BitChute’s founder Ray Vahey told the news site.
Posted inNews
BitTorrent co-CEOs depart as streaming arm shuts down
BitTorrent’s media ambitions appear to be enduring rocky times, with Variety reporting that the company’s co-CEOs have both left, while its BitTorrent Now ad-supported video-streaming platform is shutting down. A […]
Posted inNews
BitTorrent co-CEOs reportedly out as Now service shuts down
BitTorrent’s media ambitions appear to be enduring rocky times, with Variety reporting that the company’s co-CEOs have both left, while its BitTorrent Now ad-supported video-streaming platform is shutting down.
A shock, given that Robert Delamar and Jeremy Johnson assumed their roles in April, while BitTorrent Now only launched in June. Variety also claims that an unknown number of employees have been laid off.
Posted inNews
BitTorrent Discovery Fund to support emerging artists
BitTorrent has launched a new fund aimed at emerging musicians, filmmakers and other creatives. Called simply The Discovery Fund, it will offer “cash grants and promotional support” to 25 creators in its first year.
Posted inNews
BitTorrent separates into media and B2B companies
BitTorrent is splitting in two, spinning off its file-synchronisation tool Sync into a business-to-business company called Resilio.
Posted inNews
Thom Yorke on YouTube: ‘It’s like what the Nazis did…’
Inappropriate comparison of the day – and quite possibly of the year – comes from Thom Yorke, whose latest interview included criticism of YouTube that escalated from an explanation of why he uses ad-blocking software.
“They put advertising before any content, making a lot of money and yet, artists are not paid or are paid small sums, and apparently this is fine for them,” Yorke told La Repubblica – his comments were translated by Consequence of Sound.
“Service providers make money: Google, YouTube. A lot of money. ‘Oh, sorry, it was yours? Now it is ours. No, no, we are joking, it is always yours,’ They seize it. It’s like what the Nazis did during the Second World War. In fact they all did that during the war, the British too: steal the art from other countries. What’s the difference?”
Posted inNews
Report claims Sony Pictures considered BitTorrent acquisition
Imagine a parallel world where movie studio Sony Pictures bought BitTorrent… in 2006. The move appears to at least have been considered, alongside potential acquisitions of Netflix and TiVo, according […]
Posted inNews
BitTorrent says RIAA is ‘barking up the wrong tree’ over piracy
BitTorrent has given a sharp response to the RIAA’s open letter demanding that the company do more to tackle music piracy online. “As informed commentary in the past few days […]
Posted inAnalysis, News
RIAA targets BitTorrent with plea to tackle music piracy
BitTorrent has been making strenuous efforts to stress the difference between BitTorrent (the company) and BitTorrent (the technology) in recent years.
The US company’s execs have regularly claimed that they don’t endorse piracy; that piratical uses of its filesharing technology are not the company’s fault; and that through its Bundles initiative, BitTorrent actually wants to become a distribution platform for creators and rightsholders alike.
Are those arguments winning over the latter group? In the RIAA’s case, not so much. The US industry body’s anti-piracy boss Brad Buckles has written a letter to BitTorrent CEO Eric Klinker – since published online – taking the company to task over piracy.