MusicBizAdvice.com To Accept Bitcoin As Payment For Services (And Becomes One of the First Music Business Consultancy Firms To Accept Bitcoin)

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).

MusicBizAdvice Announcement Just For Loyal Readers Before the "Official" Announcement

Pssst...Hey, you! 

Yeah, you!

Because you're loyal readers of this blog and MusicBizAdvice.com, I'm telling you something no one else knows yet. I'm telling you even before the "official" announcement goes out:

Starting in June, MusicBizAdvice.com will accept Bitcoin virtual currency for our consultation services. 

Actually, me personally, because I'm the one insisting on adding this form of payment. That's only fair, right?

It's something we've been wanting to do since 2010, but the market wasn't ready. So, we had to put it on the back burner until I felt enough merchants were on board to make it worthwhile.

DirecTV's announcement this week that they're accepting Bitcoin through Coinbase is exactly what was needed, because Coinbase is our chosen Bitcoin payment processor, too.
 
Details to follow soon.


Risky from our end? Yes. But accepting Bitcoin for consultations is just one of many ways MusicBizAdvice.com is making it easier for bands to manage themselves, and for managers who are new to the industry to get better at it. Bringing good, client-centric managers into the industry is very important, because, who needs a stinkin' bad manager who doesn't care about their clients?

Meanwhile, here's a tip you can use now, regardless of where you are in the industry (or even regardless of your profession):

If something that looks cool and potentially helpful but the rest of the world hasn't caught on yet, take some actions toward implementing it anyway. Research it, do what you can without incurring much expense, if any, and keep it on the back burner. And tell no one.

If and when conditions are right, you'll be ready to act. If it never pans out, you're not out any money, and you've probably learned a lot.

Meanwhile, if you're about to head out on tour, rock on. :-)

RR



Follow me on Twitter @MusicBizAdvice .