Los Angeles, CA 5/31/14— MusicBizAdvice.com will accept Bitcoin virtual currency
as payment for its music consultancy services starting in June, MusicAdvice.com
Founder Randi Reed announced on the MusicBizAdvice Blog on Friday.
The move
places MusicBizAdvice.com in position to be one of the first, if not the first,
music business consultancy firms to accept Bitcoin virtual currency, as well as
one of the first music business service providers to accept it.
It also happens
just as many independent artists on the road at the height of concert season
discover the hazards of attempting to manage themselves, or realize the cousin
they hired to be their tour manager doesn’t know what he’s doing after all.
Says Reed, “Creative
people need a variety of solutions. Bitcoin is a great option for Indie
Musicians who don’t have a lot of immediate cash flow but need urgent advice
about how to market their music or manage their band when something goes wrong
on the road. A lot of them have Bitcoin they bought a couple of tours ago but never
used because the services they needed didn’t accept it. By giving artists the choice
of using Bitcoin, MusicBizAdvice.com helps them bridge that gap, which frees up
more of their traditional cash for other things they need.”
Bitcoin will
not replace other forms of payment MusicBizAdvice.com accepts, says Reed.
“Bitcoin is one more avenue to make it easier for artists. We’re all about creative
solutions, like the consultations I do through Clarity.fm (which does pro-rated
per-minute billing for telephone consultations). You have to make it easy for clients
in a variety of situations.”
Why haven’t
more businesses embraced Bitcoin? “They’re
nervous about the fluctuation in value. But we don’t see it that way. As an
ex-musician, it’s very important to me to make things easy for musicians, not
harder.”
MusicBizAdvice.com
will use Coinbase, which converts Bitcoin into U.S. dollars, for processing its
Bitcoin payments. On Friday, DirecTV also announced it will accept payment from
its customers via Coinbase.
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About MusicBizAdvice.com: MusicBizAdvice.com
is a resource for indie musicians, songwriters, self-managed bands, and new managers
and tour managers. Established in 1997, MusicBizAdvice.com has resources
including a free website and online magazine by music industry professionals
experienced in booking, artist management, and concert promotion at the
Platinum level, as well as offline short-term consulting services.
The MusicBizAdvice.com website launched
at its current URL in 2003 and has been utilized by Volunteer Lawyers of the
Arts, Song U, and E! News. It’s also
been featured on the News page of Bon
Jovi’s official website, and its This Month in Music History was displayed
at the entrance to the Hard Rock Cafe Surfers Paradise.
About Randi Reed: Randi Reed is
an independent music business consultant who has worked in artist management,
booking, and concert promotion from the local to Platinum level. She developed
MusicBizAdvice.com in 1997 while battling a chronic autoimmune disease, CFIDS
(sometimes known as CFS).
