‘Webisodes’ from ‘Blair Witch’ Creator Take BitPass into Film Sales

Micopayments processor BitPass Inc., Menlo Park, Calif., is moving into uncharted territory for digital content by enabling payments for episodes of a new film being produced by a studio controlled by Daniel Myrick, best known as creator and co-producer of “The Blair Witch Project.” The so-called webisodes of “The Strand,” a movie-in-progress about the lives and times of people living in Venice Beach, Calif., are available via on-demand streaming from a site maintained by Gearhead Pictures. Viewers can see the first installment for free, then pay 99 cents to view each successive webisode, with BitPass handling payment. Viewers can share downloads with others but the files can't be opened until the user pays for the 99-cent license. BitPass will not reveal transaction numbers for the series, which launched in February with fresh webisodes emerging every four to six weeks. But the business model appeals to the processor because of its recurring-revenue potential. “We like this [webisode concept] because it's serial content,” says Duane Kuroda, vice president of marketing at BitPass. “One lesson in the content game we've learned is that people come back for more good content. We see business building fast, and more repeat business.” BitPass technology called StreamLock guards against unauthorized distribution of each download, allowing commercial filmmakers to consider the Internet and peer-to-peer networks as a new distribution channel for their work, the processor says. BitPass, which processes mostly micropayments for some 2,500 sellers of digital content, refuses to say how many consumers have signed up for a BitPass account since the service began commercial operation in December 2003. “Its been growing at a fairly healthy clip,” says Kuroda of the account base. Accountholders fund a so-called virtual prepaid card with a credit card charge or a PayPal payment, then use the account to pay for content on sites accepting BitPass. BitPass charges merchants 15% on transactions below $5; above that, the fee is 5% plus 50 cents.