First, There was Bitcoin. Now There’s Songcoin

February 27, 2014 Alan Cross 0 Comments

Alternative virtual currencies are all the rage these days. Bitcoins are catching on to the point where there are even ATMs that deal with them. And as soon as we get over the Mt. Gox fiasco, virtual currencies will continue to catch on.

And Bitcoin isn’t the only game in town: Ripple, Purecoin, Namecoin and Peercoin are some of the others trying to work into this space. And now there’s Songcoin. From Evolver.fm:

Assuming that this week does not mark “the end of Bitcoin” and, by extension, Bitcoin alternatives – or even assuming that they have been set back five to ten years as Mt. Gox fears — the music industry will get its own alternative currency next week in “Songcoin.”Songcoin is administered by Pimovi, whose co-founder and CTO Kasian Franks previously launched Seeqpod and Mimvi. Pimovi is a subsidiary of the natural gas exploration companyChancellor Group, Inc., which launched a technology division early last year.

The general idea with Songcoin, said Franks in an exclusive interview, will be to lower transaction and international wire fees within the music business, and to bake in pecuniary features that make sense for the music industry such as the ability to offer special promotions, leave tips for artists, and, eventually, buy concert tickets and more.

It’s basically an alternative alternative currency for musicians, fans, and merchants. Does it stand a chance? What will happen if it works? We spoke by phone with Pimovi co-founder Kasian Franks as birds tweeted in the background of his California backyard, to assemble the following Q-and-A, edited for length and clarity.