Songcoin Hoping to Save Music Industry...

The music industry might be on the verge of changing for good, as it's just about to get its own virtual currency - Songcoin.

Although still not fully grasped by the public, the idea of virtual currency is very much real and has made people very rich in recent times. One of the charms attracting people to it is the fact that most governments haven't yet figured out how to tax alternative currencies, but the industry also took a big hit after this week's Bitcoin scandal.

The mentioned scandal struck as a software loophole caused the largest Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox to lose about $367 million. The leaked document from the company had grim predictions, noting that "the likely damage in public perception to this class of technology could put it back 5-10 years, and cause governments to react swiftly and harshly. At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of Bitcoin, at least for most of the public."

But back to Songcoin, the musical virtual currency is administered by Pimovi. The company's co-founder and CTO Kasian Franks discussed the fresh currency with Evolver, naming the lowering of transaction and international wire fees within the music industry as some of the key ideas. Franks also expressed desire to enable artists and fans to offer special promotions, leave tips and even buy concert tickets using Songcoins.


After discussing the breakthrough of virtual currency, Kasian was asked about the company's plans to insert Songcoin into the business. "Let's say an artist has a tip jar," he replied. "They can now tell their fans, 'I accept Songcoins as tips, so you can go over to Pimovi and get some Songcoins.' Pimovi will give them away for free, initially, to help with circulation, and then they'll take on their own value, because other virtual currencies have proven that they can do this."

"We have a huge opportunity by focusing this on the music industry, and we can change things a little bit hopefully," the co-founder added.

In conclusion, Franks shared the company's specific future plans. "We're going to be launching and pre-mining for Pimovi in about a week ... once we announce, individuals or companies around the world can begin mining Songcoin," he said.

"Something interesting happens with a new alternative currency: It's put on a list of new alternative currencies that people can now leverage, and instead of just being overly leveraged on Bitcoin or the other alternative currencies, they take a position in new alternative currencies to hedge, and properly spread their risk. So we're looking at that, as well as working with transaction companies to have Songcoin be part of their transaction layer," Kasian concluded.