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BitTorrent Bundle sells first e-book 'Ricky Rouse has a Gun' for $5 as the much maligned platform monetises

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By John McCarthy | Opinion Editor

March 25, 2015 | 2 min read

SelfMadeHero is set to become the first book publisher to sell an e-book through BitTorrent Bundle, the paid-for peer-2-peer digital store.

Graphic novel ‘Ricky Rouse has a Gun’ will be the first e-book to be distributed through the BitTorrent Bundle’s new paygate premium content bundle scheme.

The publisher will use the Bitorrent peer-2-peer distribution network, often critisised for being used by pirates to download illicit files, to sell its wares to a digitally engaged audience fromThursday 26 March.

The title, described as a ‘Die Hard in Disneyland’ by one reviewer, will be available for download in PDF, CBR and CBZ formats, for use on comic or PDF readers. Earlier this month a 33 page teaser of the e-book was downloaded 245,000 times.

Matt Mason, chief content officer at BitTorrent, said: “We are huge fans of Ricky Rouse and so were BitTorrent users – we’re thrilled the full book will be available for sale on the Bundle platfom.

"Bundle was built for creative people who push boundaries, and there are no better examples than Jörg, John and the team at SelfMadeHero.”

This follows BitTorrent facilitating 4.5m downloads of Thom Yorke’s $6 solo album ‘Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes’ in September.

Furthermore, BitTorrent in February teamed up with Rapid Eye Studios to produce an exclusive P2P TV series, hinting at the growth of the unorthodox digital distribution method.

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